Short keen to turn lessons into action

D'Arcy Short shot to stardom with a simple game plan straight out of the Chris Lynn playbook – see ball, smash ball.

It lead to a breakout year with the Hobart Hurricanes, a meteoric rise that peaked with selection in Australia's limited overs teams, winning a T20 tri-series against England and New Zealand, and earned him a A$775,000 IPL deal with Rajasthan.

His first trip to India was a learning curve, and disappointing limited overs tours of England and Zimbabwe followed.

Short, who famously was put on the fast track to stardom by some blunt words from then Western Australia coach Justin Langer, found himself back in the coach's office.

"There’s a couple of things he (Langer) wants me to work on, but I’ve worked on them for a little bit just before this tour, so hopefully I can put them to use here," Short said from Vijayawada, where Australia A will face South Africa A in their first match of a quadrangular 50-over series in India.

"Just being positive and backing myself. But obviously, just watching the ball a bit harder and pick and choose which balls I actually go at, instead of just going at every ball.

"So it’s just being a bit more patient but still being positive at the same time."

Short will get the opportunity to put those lessons into practice on Sunday afternoon and could find himself opening the batting alongside captain Travis Head in the first of five 50-over games ahead of a possible final on August 29.

The Australia A tour offers Short an immediate chance to improve on his returns for the national side during a difficult winter with tours to England and Zimbabwe.

His ODI debut came in the second match in England, and after scores of 21 from 33 balls and 15 from 12 as opener, with Aaron Finch moved into the middle order to accommodate him, he was dropped.

Short returned for the fifth ODI, scoring an unbeaten 47 from 52 in an innings of 205, and in the five T20 innings that followed put up 181 runs in five innings, including scores of 46 and 76.

"(The winter tours were) a great experience. We trained hard all the time, obviously the results didn’t go the way we wanted, but we trained hard," Short said.

"What I learned out of that is that you can still back yourself in those conditions as well, which is something I probably went away from a little bit.

"If I can do well here (in India), obviously the World Cup’s around the corner but there’s also games back home during our summer as well, so hopefully I can do well here and press my case.

"I know they’re going to come with plans, but hopefully I’ve done enough work to put myself in a position to take on those plans as well, and just to be positive and in a good headspace."