| Player: | B Casson |
DateLine: 3rd June 2008
His has been a tough battle to get into the national team, as he was injured for a long time, then battled poor form, went on to change his state side. However, 2007 turned out to be a great year for him at last, as he became the lead spinner for his state team, with Stuart MacGill either busy with international commitments or out injured.
On a spin friendly SCG pitch, he took 29 Pura Cup wickets at 35.13 and also scored a useful 485 runs at 60.62 batting down the order. Based on his form, he finally earned a Cricket Australia contract and thus, a place in the Test squad for the Caribbean tour in 2008.
Following Hogg's retirement and the failure of other spinners meant that the selectors chose Casson due to his young years, as a long term option.
He possesses a hard-to-pick wrong'un, and has a peculiar heart problem troubling him since childhood which means that he has to be monitored regularly. He was part of the Australian under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2002.