These were the current Australians who made an impact on the IPL.
Brad Hodge – Kolkata
365 @ av 40 sr 117 hs 73
7 wickets @ 23 econ 8.05 bb 3/29
Started off terribly, but as the team fell apart he became their banker. Eventually showed why he had made so many runs in this format of the game, happy to be 30 off 30, and then explode at the end. Was used as a front line bowler at times, which he isn’t, but he did bowl some very good overs.
Brett Lee – Punjab
28 runs @ av 14 sr 82 hs 14*
5 wickets @ 22 econ 5.55 bb 3/15
Only played a handful of games, but looked more like the late 07/08 bowler, and less like the heart break kid of recent times. Always does his best work with the white ball, so not a huge surprise he was too good for most batsmen at this level. His batting looked rusty but he will just be happy to be out in the middle and thinking about cricket.
Andrew Symonds – Deccan
249 runs @ av 35 sr 150 hs 60*
7 wickets @ 22.85 econ 6.66 bb 2/18
Won the final with 2 wickets in one over, and his medium pace bowling was swinging a lot, and was hard for most people to hit. His batting always looked murderous, but couldn’t quite cash in as he would like. Would be happy with his form though.
Ryan Harris – Deccan
21 runs @ av 21 sr 116 hs 9*
6 wickets @ 38 econ 7.41 bb 3/27
Couldn’t buy a wicket, but no one found him easy to hit. His bounce made him an ideal bowler. Was bagged in the South African press for not being up to it and then played as one of the imports in the final winning side.
David Warner – Delhi
163 runs @ av 28 sr 123 hs 50
Outshone Sehwag and Gambhir at the top of the order, but never really broke free. His fielding was probably his highlight, some of his efforts were amazing.
Dirk Nannes – Delhi
15 wickets @ 24 econ 7.51 bb 3/27
Started off with an average performance or two and the commentators and press questioned why he was in the side. 5 games in and he was being pronounced as rare diamond. Probably didn’t take as many wickets as he would have wanted, but was unplayable when he got it right. Definitely the best performed of this bunch, and even with Gilly’s punishment in the semi, has come away with a lew legion of fans.
Jarrod is the writer of the sexiest new cricket book in town, the year of the balls 2008: a disrespective.
2 Comments
Any idea of what happened to my hometown hero, Cameron White?
He was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangaluru but, from what I saw, didn’t get one single game. Was he injured? Homesick? Run out of baked beans?
Considering he is arguably best suited to the white ball forms, it seems strange that he totally missed out.
Paul, As far as I know he was not injured or homesick, and there are plenty of baked beans in South Africa. I think Martin Crowe was a big fan, and he was the main man at Bangalore last year. This year it was Ray Jennings’ team, and he basically played Ross Taylor or Jesse Ryder as the big hitting batsman, and rotated South Africans through the other 3 spots. Cam was shite last year, and I wouldn’t expect him to be on Bangalore’s roster next year. I’d put money on him ending up at Delhi or Rajasthan with their Victorian connections. There was some footage of him on the Bangalore bench during one game and he looked like he would rather be anywhere else. The good news is that he will be ready to play for Victoria in the champion’s league now.