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With his bright red hair, tall frame and fierce winning instinct, Alister McDermott cuts a familiar figure on the cricket pitch. That’s because, like his father, former fast bowler and current Australian bowling coach Craig McDermott, Alister is on track for greatness.
You’d be forgiven for never having heard of 20-year old Alister McDermott. He’s only played five first class matches.
Maintaining a consistent record for Queensland cricket since the age of 17, the fired up fast bowler has been slowly developing into a fine young cricketer.
But it wasn’t until yesterday at The Gabba, in the Queensland Bulls’ Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia, that McDermott really made headlines. His impressive, near match-winning 7/24 haul earned the admiration of Australian Test captain Michael Clarke and selectors.
Though bowling spots with the national team (in any form) have become more competitive in recent times, it spells an exciting time for Queensland-bred cricketers, with McDermott joining Ben Cutting as names thrown into contention, hot on the heels of quicks Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, and newbies James Pattinson, Mitch Starc and Pat Cummins.
McDermott’s first class cricket career may be limited. However, the impact he’s had this season alone (2 matches for 12 wickets and 22 maidens) has been undeniably decent, with yesterday’s effort being the seventh-best ever wicket-taking record for the Bulls.
But it’s in the shorter forms of the game that McDermott is sure to carve out an impressive career.
Currently, the paceman is the leading wicket-taker (13) in the Ryobi Cup, well ahead of Mitch Starc, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus and James Pattinson. And while also taking the most wickets, he has a bowling average of just 15.92 and economy rate of 4.11.
In the most recent Big Bash League, he was lethal in the field, and even better with ball in hand. Averaging just over 7 runs an over in his seven matches for Brisbane Heat, his best figures were 3/18, and he also managed a couple of match-winning wickets.
Surprisingly, McDermott was overlooked by the IPL even at the low, low nominated price of $20,000.
If he keeps playing at this rate, you get the feeling that won’t happen again, though.
He may not yet be a household name like Shane Warne or Brett Lee. But rest assured, Alister McDermott will soon be a name worth remembering in Australian cricket.
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