Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting is not only a prominent name in the Big Bash League, but also other major Twenty20 competitions around the world. Having previously represented the Aussies in one-day internationals and T20 internationals, the 36-year old has featured for a host of teams in the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League and Caribbean Premier League, among other tournaments. The useful middle-order batter and right-arm seamer is turning out for Sylhet Strikers in the 2024 Bangladesh Premier League – his first appearance in Bangladesh’s premier T20 competition. He gave an interview to Dhaka Tribune where he talked about his experiences as a seasoned T20 campaigner playing around the globe, regrets at not being able to don the Australia whites, thoughts on BPL and Bangladesh cricketers, among other topics. Here are the excerpts:
How has been your journey in BPL so far?
Thank you for having me. It is my first time here in Bangladesh for BPL. I have been trying to come for the last few years but unfortunately the schedule has been clashing with the Big Bash. This year I am fully available for the tournament. I have been here now for a week and I am enjoying it.
You have played in many franchise leagues around the world including IPL, PSL and CPL. What’s the difference you see with those leagues and BPL?
To be honest every league is a little bit different. Obviously, the IPL is the pinnacle and PSL is very strong as well. The BPL does well. Get all the big names from around the different tournaments, it is always going to be difficult to attract all the big names in the world given it clashes with other tournaments in the window. It will be good if BPL could move windows at some point of time and have its own window like it used to. That will be good for the game. But what I have seen so far – the wickets, the standard of the game has been good.
There is a lot of talk regarding the wickets here in Bangladesh. How has been your experience thus far?
So far, the wickets have been very different to India or Pakistan but I will put that down to different time of the year. It is windy here at the moment and very, very cold. That doesn’t allow the field to dry out so that can be little bit tacky and a bit slow particularly during the day game. And the dew comes in heavily at night which is common in the PSL but the wickets are flatter there as well.
Having met Mustafizur Rahman during a practice session at the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s academy field, seemed like you went eight years back to your days in IPL playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad…
We have a lot of memories; we had won that year. It was one of the great memories of my career – winning the IPL final for Sunrisers and also get the man of the match in that game. Throughout my career I have made a lot of friends and obviously Fizz is one of them.
What convinced you to come to the BPL?
Look I always wanted to come here. I was actually signed with a team in 2018-19 when the league used to happen in October I suppose. But then it moved the window. So it has really been the clash with the Big Bash and other tournaments.
Bangladesh cricketers don’t get to play enough of the other T20 leagues except IPL. What improvements do they need to be a part of the leagues?
I honestly don’t know the answer to that. I know from time to time the Bangladesh boys have been signed but has faced the NOC [No Objection Certificate from BCB] issue. That is up to the board and I have got no idea why.
What are your qualities or features which help you to get picked in leagues around the world?
It is just working hard. I have worked seven days a week on my training, my fitness, my recovery. Had a difficult year past year where I had a pretty bad injury on my back. I had to undergo a surgery. So that had put me off for a while and now I am feeling pretty good. I really had to work hard to get back to the field, so it means a lot for me for being able to get back to cricket.
How was your meeting with Sylhet captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza?
Yes, I have met him. He is a very busy man with politics and I am excited to be here and be part of his team.
Bangladesh cricketers lack big hitting ability. What has been your mantra in turning into a hard hitter given that you had started out as a bowler?
Just playing a lot of cricket with my family at the backyard or in the park. Dad and my little brother have a massive influence in me. We used to come home from school and play cricket all into the night every day of the week. That’s how I have learnt to hit the ball hard as I was always trying to hit the tennis ball back at him.
So, you need a lot of practice but having saying that, the Bangladeshis don’t need to hit the ball hard. The Bangladeshi players can do many things that I cannot do like they are very good in using the pace of the ball, knocking the ball around, sweeping the ball because that suits the wickets here whereas that doesn’t suit the wickets in Australia. So, what I can do well is very different to what the Bangladeshis can do well. I wish I could play some of the shots that they can.
Your international career has not been a long one. What made you think that you can be a T20 player going around the globe?
To be honest I wanted to play more for Australia – I wanted to play Test cricket, more one day cricket, more T20I cricket. But there was a period of time when I was inured for a long time. I had come back from injury, played a few games and broke down again. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter how hard I had worked or things I did right, that was just the nature of my body. T20 cricket was far more conducive the way I played the game with both batting and bowling. Now obviously the batting has taken more over the bowling which is part of the game.
How does it feel to be playing all over the world?
I love it. There is a lot of those guys who are full time freelance cricketers but from Australia there is probably one or two of them – Chris Lynn and myself. That’s sort of exciting for that I am trying to pave the way for the young Australian guys that are coming through now. But there is plenty of lesson to be learnt as well.