Matthew Elliott (cricketer)
Matthew Thomas Gray Elliott is an Australian former cricketer, who played as a left-handed opening batsman. After he made his debut for Victoria in the 1992–93 season, he soon established himself as one of the top opening batsmen in Australian domestic cricket.
Test career
Elliott was called up to the Australian national team in the 1996–97 season, making his Test debut against the West Indies in November 1996. Unfortunately for Elliott, in only his second Test match he was injured in a mid-pitch collision with teammate Mark Waugh, resulting in the need for knee surgery.Elliott returned for the 1996–97 tour of South Africa. He retained his place for the 1997 tour of England, scoring two centuries in the Ashes series, including a career-best 199. He also made his One Day International debut in 1997 in the Texaco Trophy, but scored 1, making it his only appearance in a limited overs international. Elliott was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1998, although this wasn't enough for him to hold down a regular spot in the Australian side, and due to inconsistent performances after the Ashes series he slipped out of the national team in 1999. Steve Waugh, in his autobiography, described Elliott as "technically gifted but temperamentally flawed" and "prone to serious bouts of self-doubt and a tendency to let injuries rule his thought processes." Waugh stated that " would have been a perfect candidate... a sports psychologist."
Elliott continued to perform at domestic level for Victoria and on the English county scene, and in the 2003–04 season scored a remarkable 1381 runs in the Pura Cup, overtaking Graham Yallop's previous record. Rewarded with the Pura Cup Player of the Year award and a new Cricket Australia contract, he was recalled to the national team for the first time in five years. However, he played in just one unsuccessful Test against Sri Lanka, where he batted at number 3 in place of Ricky Ponting ; batting outside his normal position, Elliott scored just 0 and 1.
This performance dented hopes of a resurgence in his international career greatly. In addition to this, he also had a below-par season in the subsequent 2004–05 domestic season for Victoria, averaging in the mid-30s.
Move to South Australia
In April 2005, Elliott made a request to leave the Victorian team to join South Australia as player-coach; this was originally rejected by Cricket Victoria although Elliott appealed their decision. On 5 May, a Cricket Australia grievance tribunal overturned Cricket Victoria's decision, freeing the way for Elliott to move.In the 2005–06 season, Elliott struggled with injury and inconsistent form. The 2006–07 season was equally disappointing, with just 193 runs at 13.8 from seven first class games. As a result, he was axed from the South Australian state side. Curiously his form in the domestic one-day competition was much better with 465 runs at 51.6, highlighted by two centuries.