D'Arcy Short can transform himself from an explosive T20 batsman into a Test player in a similar vein to David Warner, according to Hobart Hurricanes captain, George Bailey.
Speaking after the Hurricanes' BBL final defeat by Adelaide Strikers, Bailey praised Short's technique and said he had the ability to change gears to suit the longer form of the game.
"Absolutely. I think what you're seeing with all these young guys is that technically they're all fine, it's as much a mindset as anything," said Bailey. "That ability to change your mindset and your tempo when you go through the different formats. I think that took Davey a little time to work out but the best players across all formats, their biggest skill is their ability to change tempo, change their mindset and D'Arcy's got that.
"In four-day cricket he's probably still trying to find it a little bit, but if he gets an extended run in a four-day team he'll be phenomenal."
To say Short has had a breakthrough summer is an understatement. He was named player of the BBL, bagged a lucrative IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals and forced his way into the Australian T20 side thanks to his explosive batting and handy left-arm wrist spin. Along with Travis Head and Hurricanes team-mate Alex Carey, Short endured a manic 48 hours, during which he flew back and forth across Australia to make his international debut against New Zealand in Sydney before scoring 68 in his side's 25-run loss to the Strikers.
"It's been a rollercoaster two months, really," said Short. "But definitely the last 24 hours have been out of control and definitely one I'll remember, that's for sure.
"It's definitely beyond what I thought. I just wanted to be consistent really and always contribute to the team and hopefully get us off to a good start and get us into a winning position.
"That's all I was trying to do every game and it worked out."
While Short will return to the Australian camp for the T20I tri-series against England and New Zealand, he hoped his BBL batting exploits - he was the tournament's highest run-scorer by some margin with 572 runs - will help him get a run in the final rounds of the Sheffield Shield and he admitted that, despite his short form success, a Test berth remained the ultimate prize.
"Look I'm just going one step at a time at the moment," Short said. "I'll play this Aussie series and hopefully go on and aspire to play Test cricket and move on from there. But it's definitely a goal to play Test cricket, that's for sure."
"I was playing Shield cricket before the BBL started as a bowler. Hopefully I can go back and play as a batter as well as bowling.
"I'll just have to wait and see when I go back after two or three games with the Aussie stuff at the back end of February and go from there but hopefully I'm playing.
"I'd like to bat top six if I could but I'll bat anywhere at the moment, as long as I'm playing."