Dan Christian still has hopes of representing Australia and has plenty of Twenty20 experience
Dan Christian has no shortage of Twenty20 teams across the globe - 16 in fact - and he’s keen for another crack with one of them … the Australian team with a World Cup on home soil looming.
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Dan Christian only needs a few seconds of thinking time.
“I can name them,” the 35-year-old says of the many Twenty20 outfits he has represented.
“I started at New South Wales, then South Australia, then Brisbane Heat, then Hobart Hurricanes and now the Renegades – they’re the Aussie ones.
“In India I’ve done Deccan Chargers, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Pune Supergiants and last year Delhi Daredevils.
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“In England I started at Hampshire, then Gloucestershire, Middlesex and I’m now at Notts (Nottinghamshire).
“Trinidad (Trinbago Knight Riders) in the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) and then just recently I was in Johannesburg (Jozi Stars).
“And the 16th one would be … oh, playing for Australia.”
It is no surprise Christian gets a perfect score. When the match-winning all-rounder joined Victoria five years ago, teammate Rob Quiney nicknamed him ‘Siri’.
“They’re not the most intelligent bunch of cricketers I’ve ever played with, the Victorians,” Christian said.
“When I first got over they’d ask questions, and whatever the questions might be – whether it’s general knowledge or something like that – more often than not I’d know the answer.
“So it became ‘Ask Siri’, like on your phone. It stuck pretty quickly.”
Minutes later in this interview, ‘Siri’ put himself to the test.
“Harry Gurney is probably the best death bowler I’ve played with at any level anywhere in the world,” Christian said of the left-arm Englishman who has joined the Renegades.
“His career economy is under 10s, no, it’s under 8s – actually, it’s about 7.7.
“And that’s bowling at the death at Trent Bridge. He’s just an absolute gun.”
Gurney goes for precisely 7.76 runs per over. Thanks, Siri.
After the Big Bash it’ll be Twenty20 outfit No.17 for Christian, who has signed at Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League in Dubai.
“Johan Botha is the coach there and Steve Smith was supposed to be in, but he’s just had to pull out because of his elbow,” Christian said.
So, which franchise is the best?
“They’re actually not too dissimilar. You’re just a bunch of guys getting together for a month or two months and trying to get a team culture going pretty quickly and win a competition.”
And win a competition Christian has, with success stalking him across the world. Christian owns six T20 titles – Hampshire in 2010, South Australia in 2010-11, Brisbane Heat in 2012-13, Nottinghamshire and Trinbago in 2017 and then Jozi Stars last month.
Christian reckons only West Indies wiz Andre Russell has him covered.
“I think he won like seven in one year, something ridiculous like that, and then they won the (T20) World Cup,” Christian said.
Sheffield Shield was Christian’s favourite format, but after “leaving a few runs out there” he had to become a global T20 specialist.
Christian played in one of the first ever Australian domestic games 13 years ago, when you could get away with the odd bad ball.
But the game has changed.
“If you miss your execution now it just goes for four or six, whereas back in the day blokes were getting caught on the fence all the time,” Christian said.
“Even then, it was sort of frowned upon to be slogging in the nets.
“It wasn’t common to go in and slog, whereas now everyone slogs. You do your technical stuff and make sure you’re still holding your shape and doing your basics, but everyone nowadays practices their hitting every session.”
Christian spent about 24 weeks on the road last year but with millions of dollars on offer across the planet he knows now is the time to cash in.
“I’ve got a wife, but no kids yet,” he said.
“It’s something we’ve talked about, me to pursue my career as long as I can and my wife to do the same before we think about having kids.
“It’s a good time to be making the most of it.”
Christian is up to 267 T20s. In the past two years he has played in 49 wins, No.4 in the world behind Renegades teammate Mohammad Nabi (56), Sunil Narine (61) and Rashid Khan (74).
The last of Christian’s 16 international T20s was in October, 2017 against India.
The next T20 World Cup is scheduled for Australia next year. Could there be one lost shot at international glory?
“I don’t see why not,” Christian said.
“I’m a much better player now than when I played for Australia, I’ve got no doubt about that.
“The body is good so I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t be able to perform. If I’m going well then hopefully I get an opportunity.”
The batting all-rounder boasted an elite strike-rate of about 165 in 2018 and at 35 has been faultless in the field for the Renegades.
Christian leads the BBL with seven catches, including keepers, and is often put in the spots at the death.
“He often runs past and offers advice on when to change the field in the back end of an over,” strike quick Kane Richardson said.
Acting captain Tom Cooper lived with Christian in a Norwood “shoebox” in Adelaide 10 years ago and thought he’d enticed him to the Renegades four years ago.
“He’s a sounding board for the bowlers, he throws ideas out there and with the bat no one hits a cleaner ball than him in the world,” Cooper said.
Christian instead joined Hobart but is pleased to finally be playing at his adopted home in Melbourne, near his favourite golf courses in the world.
Christian’s powerful golf swing helped him club a 117m six on to the Gabba roof and he plays off a handicap of five.
But what does he do with all those cricket shirts?
“Every team I’ve played in I’ve kept a shirt – be it a four-dayer, a one-dayer, club cricket, whatever,” he said.
“They’re in the cupboard. I’ve got to work out what to do with them all, because I wasn’t expecting to have this many shirts.”
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