Australian T20 internationals need to play more in BBL: Brad Hodge

Brad Hodge

Australia, despite possessing a strong T20 team, have disappointed time and again in the World T20, with their best performance being a finals appearance in the 2010 edition, which is underwhelming for a nation blessed with such cricketing prowess.

Their latest appearance in the World T20 in Bangladesh was, perhaps, the most disappointing: the Kangaroos managed just a solitary win, against the hosts, in the entire tournament, before making a shock group stage exit.

Brad Hodge, Australia’s most experienced T20 cricketer, feels that the country’s poor showing has got to do with the fact that many of the players in the T20 national squad get very little chance of playing in the Big Bash League (BBL), Australia’s premier domestic T20 tournament.

“I don’t think they (Australia’s T20 international players) get enough opportunity to play,” he told cricket.com.au.

“Most of the guys that were in that (ICC World T20) side had been playing either Test or one-day cricket or both, so they don’t get to play Big Bash too often.

“The only guys that play (T20 cricket regularly) are those who are in the IPL (Indian Premier League) and that’s 15 matches a year with a couple of Australian T20s thrown in each year.

“It doesn’t allow you to get any better.”

David Warner, George Bailey, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner and Brad Haddin, all of whom are important members of the squad, played only a total of just 19 matches in the last BBL season, which supports Hodge’s claims.

The 39-year-old also believes that T20 cricket is no more just a hit-and-giggle and that success in the format requires serious skill.

“It is definitely a specialized skill and some people are good at it and some aren’t, but you need to practice it, for sure,” he said.

“We’ve seen (former Perth Scorchers opener Craig) Simmons who will come and open the batting with the Strikers in Adelaide – the guy hits a cricket ball like not many people in Australian cricket.

“And David Warner jumped on to the scene a few years back by whacking (South Africa’s) Dale Steyn into the members a couple of times at the MCG.

“It’s a special talent,” he concluded.