Vinny Sandhu presents six takeaways from his lively, interactive Maximo Chat with star guest, Jason Behrendorff of Australia, Mumbai Indians, Perth Scorchers and Sussex Sharks fame.
What a great pleasure it was to have my former teammate, Jason Behrendorff, as my guest in the European Cricket Studio last week. Jason is a current Australian fast bowler in the limited over formats and produced some impressive performances when Australia turned to him during last year’s World Cup, including a memorable five-wicket haul against England at Lord’s.
It has been wonderful working in the European Cricket Studio over the past couple of weeks and it amazes me that we have had people tuning in from places as far away as Singapore, Malaysia and even New York! The Monday show this week will contain a BIG announcement about the next edition of the European Cricket League - ECL21 - from founder Daniel Weston so don’t miss it! Michael McCann and I, “Mr Maximo”, will both be back with more opportunity for viewers to connect during our LIVE interactive chats. You can even see how my “Corona Patch” is coming along. Join us!
1 Jason has European heritage, but (unlike Shane Warne) wouldn’t be eligible to play for Germany.
It was very interesting to learn more about Jason Behrendorff’s European heritage. Shane Warne’s mother was born in Germany so he would be eligible for a German passport. Jason explained how an extra “f” was added on the end of his surname to avoid persecution during World War I, and that his surname actually means “bear in the village”. Apparently, it was his ancestors’ duty to chase bears back into the Black Forest when they threatened the villagers. (Maybe cricket isn’t so difficult after all?!) Interestingly, the Aussie star also bemoaned the length of his surname when filling out the circles on computer-generated test papers at school. By the time he’d finished filling out his name, he didn’t have much time to answer the actual questions!
2 Jason would still jump at the chance to play Test Cricket.
Behrendorff has proven to be an impressive red ball cricketer in the Sheffield Shield, boasting a first-class bowling average under 24. However, injuries have curtailed his development in the longer form of the game, which has limited his appearances to only 31 matches in nine seasons. We also learned that weighing teammate’s heads is apparently a thing? The left-armer is hopeful that recent spinal surgery will be effective in getting him back on the path to a baggy green cap. The surgery involves screws and wires being used to hold vertebrae together. The joys of being a fast bowler, eh?
3 Jason backs himself in a ‘Golden Ball’ finish.
My ‘Golden Ball’ tiebreaker has recently been adopted for the Dream11 European Cricket Series and European Cricket League. In the event of a tie, the ‘Golden Ball” requires the batting team to score at least two runs off one additional ball to win the game, otherwise the game is won by the fielding team. Behrendorff was confident of his ability to execute his bowling skills in this situation and restrict the batsman to one run or less. The only occurrence of a Golden Ball finish so far was in the Madrid United v Levante ECS game in Spain earlier this year. If you want to check out how that historic moment ended - check out the highlights here!
4 It’s not easy for him to pick a favourite wicket!
Asking a bowler to pick a favourite wicket can be a bit like asking a parent to pick a favourite child. But when pressed, Jason leaned towards dismissing Rohit Sharma on his T20 international debut in Guwahati in 2017. His other scalps include legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle (twice) so it’s quite the collection! I loved his answer though about his all-time ultimate fantasy wicket – current coach, Justin Langer!
5 Harrison’s birthday party went well.
Harrison, Jason’s son, celebrated his second birthday last Wednesday in between his father’s appearances in the Studio. At the current time, birthday parties don’t involve anybody beyond immediate family being able to physically attend, but judging by the picture we saw, the cakes are still allowed to be awesome! Jason provided a glimpse into his home life, which included taking to his wife’s wardrobe with a sledgehammer last week. This is what 2020 looks like.
6 Almost Famous.
I’m always thrilled to get questions sent in from kids, and last week was no exception. Six-year-old Brodie from London asked, “What is it like to be famous?” Jason’s response was, “I don’t think I am famous.” Despite his impressive accomplishments on the cricket field over the past few years, he has never let the success go to his head, and always carries himself with humility and class.
Tune into the European Cricket Studio Live four times a week on @europeancricket Instagram, Monday to Thursday at 17h00 Central European Time. You can even catch up on previous episodes by clicking the links below!
https://www.instagram.com/europeancricket/
Mon 06 Apr – This is McCann (Ryan Campbell)
Tue 07 Apr – Maximo Show (Pavel Florin)
Wed 08 Apr – McChat (Ryan Campbell)
Thu 09 Apr – Maximo Chat (Pavel Florin)
Mon 13 Apr – This is McCann (Corey Rutgers)
Tue 14 Apr – Maximo Show (Jason Behrendorff)
