The 'Bazball' effect driving Short's incredible revolution

For 15 deliveries, Matt Short took guard nervously counting down – 93, 94, 95, 96 and so on.

The first 92 runs (from 73 balls) had been a walk in the park compared to this last eight.

At the other end was Marcus Harris, who had been there dozens of times before; at least 27 across his 12-year career, including 15 for Victoria.

Short considered himself fortunate to have the left-hander's experience and "calm head" out there with him as he approached the elusive milestone in a Marsh One-Day Cup match against Queensland last month.

"He's been there and done it numerous times, so it was nice to have him out there to run me through it," the Victorian allrounder recalled.

"He started to get a bit of a move on in the end and I had to get there pretty quick."

And he did, breaking the shackles on 98 with a glorious cover drive to the boundary off seamer Blake Edwards to bring up a maiden century for his state.

Arms aloft in the middle of the MCG, you could feel the relief on Short's face as his smile beamed around the scarcely populated grandstands that Tuesday afternoon.

It had been a long time coming – 69 games for Victoria – and no doubt the 27-year-old had started to question if it was perhaps a feat that would elude him.

***

Chris Rogers had stood watching Short bat during pre-season training for the past two seasons as Victoria head coach (plus many previous as a player) and each year the same thought crossed his mind: ''Oh my God, he's got it, this is his year'.

Only the consistency had never come.

For five years Short has threatened to dominate domestic cricket in Australia but eventually the runs would dry up, with his 2018-19 season averaging 35 across both the Marsh Sheffield Shield and 50-over format his best campaign for Victoria until now.

"The coaches, we probably question our method, how are we trying to help him?" said Rogers after Short's maiden Sheffield Shield century last month.

"And probably we've got it wrong.

"You watch him in the pre-season nets and you think; 'Oh my God, he's got it, this is his year' and he hadn't been doing it."

Even this summer, six weeks after hitting a six off the final ball of their season-opening Marsh Cup win against NSW, Short had found himself dumped from Victoria's Shield side with scores of 5, 10, 17 and 37 in their opening three games.

Then a phone call from Rogers came at the end of January.

It followed another outstanding Big Bash campaign for the Adelaide Strikers where Short backed up his 493 runs and eight wickets in BBL|11 with a Player of the Tournament 458 runs (including a maiden T20 century) and 11 wickets this summer.

"It was a conversation around how can we take the pressure off him a little bit and stop him thinking about his processes as much and just think about batting, just think about going out there trying to hit the ball in the gaps and take it on," revealed Rogers.

It had clicked.

Three centuries – including that first one-day ton and his maiden Sheffield Shield hundred a week later – followed that phone call in his next seven innings for Victoria, along with two half-centuries, for a total of 489 runs at 81.5.

***

'How' and 'why now' is a question Short has been asked a lot over the past few weeks.

He says it's a tough one to answer, but the phrase 'Bazball' was mentioned during that conversation with Rogers and it's proved something of an inspiration to Short over the past month.

Image Id: 7B89D3CD48CD4563971638B917DEBD68 Image Caption: Short speaks with Victoria head coach Chris Rogers at the WACA // Getty

Ultimately, 'Bazball' is a mindset, and it's the success of it that's allowed Short to free all his previous red ball inhibitions and play with freedom.

No longer does he let the fear of nicking off playing a flashy cover drive prevent him from playing the shot in the first place because he's now got that belief that he'll just "middle" the next one if he does edge it.

"Over the last couple of years in Shield cricket I've really struggled with adapting to different situations. And I go into my shell a little bit, blocking my ability to try and score and probably being a bit too defensive at times," Short told cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast.

"I've definitely had a look back and just tried to remember what I was thinking the last couple of years.

"Just being freed up, I might play a rash shot here and there or I might play and miss or nick one and get dropped in the slips. In previous years I'd probably dwell on that a little bit too much.

"Now if I get dropped, it's like, 'nah, bugger it, just keep playing shots, (I'm) still out there and get another opportunity'.

"So taking the positive option rather than going into my shell, it's been a really big one, and just not dwelling on the previous ball or previous over and just keep going with it.

"Looking to score and take the game on, that's where I feel most comfortable."

While the 'Bazball' analogy is just a reference point, Rogers says it's been instrumental in changing the perception around how to go about longer-format cricket.

"It's not just 'Shorty' that we're using it on, but it's just allowing players that freedom to go and play the way they probably need to play to be the best version of themselves," said the former Test opener.

"You can see that ('Bazball') works, there's a formula there (so) why can't some of our better ball strikers use it?

"It's quite incredible to think in his seven-year or eight-year career for Victoria he hadn't got a hundred and then he gets two in a week – it's amazing.

"He doesn't need experience out here playing, he's got a lot of experience, he's just always needed to figure out how to put it together and score runs.

"It was probably even … letting him go back into Premier Cricket (when he was dropped) away from the pressure a little bit and just allowing him to play.

"Going to the T20 (BBL season) and gaining so much confidence out of that, working with some coaches there as well, I think that's been really helpful and you just see a completely different version out there playing and it's so fortunate for us."

Short has also drawn inspiration from other sports, and like Australian superstar Steve Smith – who also dominated the BBL this summer – has adopted baseball techniques to up his power game.

Jarrad Loughman – Victoria's women's head coach who also coached the Ballarat-raised right-hander as he was coming through the underage pathways programs – is a keen baseball player, teaming up with Rogers to analyse how baseball swing mechanics could translate to cricket.

"The backspin (they get) on the ball is probably the main one; if you contact it at the right position, you get the backspin on the ball, it seems to travel a bit further," said Short.

"Rather than the top spin and that dip (where) you might get caught on the fence, it's just playing around with different positions and contact points and opening the face of the bat has really helped.

"We looked at Tim David as well, just the way he opens his bat face and the spin and contact he gets with the ball … (it) seems like he has nailed it."

***

A few weeks ago, Short received another phone call. It was George Bailey, Australia's national selection chair.

And while Bailey quickly let him know it wasn't yet the call every young cricketer hopes for, Short – having given up a promising Australian Rules Football career in Year 12 when he received a Victorian rookie contract – now knows his childhood dream is not that far off.

"To get a phone call from him and just see where things are at, I wasn't disappointed (not to be selected for Australia's ODI tour of India) at all," said Short.

"It was a nice call to see that they are talking about you, and you are getting noticed. It was reassuring to hear what he had to say; 'just keep making runs at the right times'.

"From a mental perspective, I'm definitely ready (to play international cricket). I'm in a headspace now where I'm just really backing myself and I haven't really got any doubts over my game.

"If I don't make runs, it's OK, I can get through that. If I do, it's all about getting better and better.

"If the call-up does happen, I think I'm more than ready just to do that same things and go out there and play the way I do, which is what's got me into this position.

"There's a lot of white-ball stuff coming up for the Aussies, so hopefully I can keep doing what I'm doing … thinking positively, looking to score and take the game on, it's definitely something that's paid off the last couple of weeks and it's probably something I've got to stick with."