Axed T20 World Cup star tipped for Test honours

Victoria coach Chris Rogers was disappointed for Matt Short after the all-rounder was dropped by Australia on the eve of the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India.

Short was replaced in the 15-man squad by Matt Renshaw, with selectors preferring the left-hander’s batting in spinning conditions.

While Short himself is now facing a reasonable challenge, Rogers is expecting the 30-year-old to improve for his state and return to national duties in the near future.

“It's not smooth sailing. You don’t just get better all the time, there’s challenges along the way,” Rogers told SEN Whateley.

“Shorty's had a pretty good couple of years, but this is another challenge for him where they've probably identified a couple of areas in his game that they're hoping he can improve. 

“He's got an opportunity to go and do that as well now with us.

“But from our point of view, and as a coach, I expect him to be able to do that.”

While Short’s white-ball dreams have been altered sharply in recent days, one area where Rogers thinks the all-rounder can flourish is against the red ball.

Even though Short doesn’t get to play for Victoria in Shield cricket often due to his white-ball duties, Rogers has been wowed by his performances when given the chance.

From just two Shield games so far this season, Short has scored over 200 runs at an average north of 50, while taking 5 wickets at less than 20.

With that in mind, Rogers thinks he could be a valuable option for the Test side if conditions in Australia continue to be those we saw in the recent Ashes series.

“Every time he comes back into our Shield side, he's almost our best player,” Rogers said.

“It’s his presence, the way he hits the ball. So it's just a bit of a shame he hasn't had a good run at red ball cricket, because I think if he did, he'd put his name up into Test calculations. 

“The fact that he can bowl pretty much frontline spin as well, as we saw when he got four wickets in the last innings against Western Australia, he could be an option if Australia are looking to play four fast bowlers.

“He could be one of those guys who does bat six or seven and bowls spin.

“It just depends on how many opportunities he gets in the red ball space to show that, but I'd love to see him get a bit of a run at Shield cricket.”

Victoria, who currently lead the Sheffield Shield, next face Queensland tomorrow at the MCG in their first match since early December.