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Short not dwelling on slice of misfortune

In-form Hobart Hurricanes opener explains his ‘draw shot' after being denied a century at MCG

D'Arcy Short was denied his second Big Bash century in the cruellest of fashions, but the Hobart Hurricanes star says he won’t be getting hung up on the missed call that cost him.

Chris Lynn's reign as the KFC BBL's leading run scorer didn't even last 24 hours as Short powered past him with an intelligent and power-packed 96 in the Hurricanes 59-run victory over the Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Monday. 

But the finest moment of Short's masterpiece innings, a canny 'draw shot' where he clipped a yorker between his legs and past the short fine-leg fielder for a boundary, was ruled leg byes (meaning the runs didn’t count to his personal tally) much to his dismay.

His misfortune was compounded when, on 95, he mishit the final delivery of the Hurricanes' innings and finished exactly four runs short of a deserved hundred.

While Cricket Australia reserves the right to retrospectively correct errors when batters are incorrectly awarded (or not awarded) runs, Short looks set to remain four short of the first ton of BBL|08.

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"Unfortunately it didn’t go my way with the umpire," he said with a laugh. 

"That was his decision, I can’t do anything (about it)."

The degree of difficulty means the draw shot is beyond all but the most skilled batters.

Steve Smith memorably pulled it out against Wahab Riaz in the 2016 World T20, while England's Natalie Sciver saw the stroke dubbed the 'Natmeg' after expertly playing it during the 2017 Women's World Cup. Going further back, WG Grace and Victor Trumper were also said to have played the shot.

Short revealed he actually practices it in the nets.

"It’s something that I’ve worked on a little bit and identified if they’re trying to go at my toes," he explained.

"I don’t really have the lap (sweep) so I’ve got to have something to try and hit it down there (towards fine leg)."

It was the second time in three innings since Short’s axing from Australia’s one-day squad that he's has passed 50, with Monday’s knock providing another timely reminder of his clean-hitting.

The 28-year-old now has 355 runs at a touch under 60 in seven hits this BBL season, with his strike-rate of 141.43 the highest among the competition’s top-five run getters.

Having been told to work on playing the turning ball in order to win his ODI spot back, Short looked particularly adept against the Stars' spinners; all four of his sixes came off sweetly-struck straight bombs off the tweakers.

"One of the things I had to work on was against spin and I just thought I'd go out and be confident against them and put the pressure back on them, which I did and it paid off," said Short.

"Stats speak for themselves. If I can be better against them, which hopefully I have, then hopefully I can get back in the ODI squad. It's going well at the moment."

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Fox Cricket commentator and spin great Shane Warne, a consistent and vocal backer of the left-hander, suggested he should have been included in Australia's 50-over squad to face India.

And while Short’s sights are firmly set on helping the Hurricanes go one better this season after losing last summer's Big Bash final, Short admits he has one eye on Australia’s next ODI series, a five-match tour of India next month.

With another 50-over campaign in Asia to follow in March (away to Pakistan), it might not just be his batting that wins him a berth.

Short's wrist-spin has now netted him five wickets at 23 in BBL08, while he's been the equal most economical Hurricanes bowler this season.

The left-armer credits both Warne, who mentored him at Indian Premier League club Rajasthan Royals last year, and Australia's subcontinental spin guru Sridharan Sriram for the improvement he's made with the ball

"I'm a lot more confident in my bowling, it's coming out a lot better than it did last year," said Short. "It's something I keep working on.

"Hopefully I can use that as a tool to get to back in (the ODI squad) as well.

"I did a bit of work in the IPL with Shane Warne and with Sri as well. They've both been very helpful in terms of getting my plans right and getting my cues right."