A CONVERSATION with chairman of selectors George Bailey has given in-form batter Matt Short confidence he\u2019s not far away from the Australian setup.<\/p>\n
The Aussies released a 16-man squad on Thursday for three ODIs against India this month with a near full complement of players available.<\/p>\n
While Short said he\u2019s not disappointed to be overlooked, the 27-year-old Victorian would undoubtedly be among the next into Australia\u2019s white-ball side.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s scored two centuries recently, the first helping Victoria to a dominant win over Queensland in the Marsh Cup, and the second against the red ball as Short and the Vics defeated South Australia by 177 runs in the Sheffield Shield.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t enough to get him selected, but Short was simply glad to be mentioned in a selection meeting alongside some of Australia\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I was disappointed, not at all,\u201d he said on SEN\u2019s The Sporting Capital.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeorge Bailey did me give me a call [on Thursday] morning. When I saw his name pop up I thought, \u2018oh geez, I\u2019m in\u2019, but he quickly said I wasn\u2019t picked but my name was definitely thrown out there, which even in itself is a nice recognition to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I can do now, pretty cliche, is keep focusing on playing for the Vics and scoring runs and that\u2019s what George was saying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all can focus on now and hopefully that comes at some stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from Ballarat, Short is also coming off BBL player of the tournament honours.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s proven himself as a jack-of-all-trades across the batting order and featured in a number of different spots, but said Bailey suggested at the top of the order is where he could feature.<\/p>\n
David Warner was sent home form the current India Test tour with a fractured arm but is expected to be fit in March after being named in the ODI squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did mention that they\u2019re going with Warner and [Travis] Head at the top of the order and he sort of turned the focus to the T20 World Cup coming up later on,\u201d Short said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat might be more of an all-rounder type of setup, they might take eight batters with a couple of guys who can bowl as well, so there\u2019s certainly options coming up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just a timing thing if I can keep scoring runs and keep getting my name out there hopefully the opportunity comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next T20 World Cup is in the United States in 2024, while the ODI World Cup comes later this year in India.<\/p>\n
Short, who at the start of 2023 had not scored a century in any format, now has one in all three.<\/p>\n