At the Arun Jaitley Stadium last month, Matthew Kuhnemann made his Test debut and scalped two wickets, including Virat Kohli’s prized wicket. On the first day of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2023, the left-arm spinner continued his top form and recorded his maiden five-wicket haul, thus destroying the Indian batting lineup. Though he wasn’t part of Australia’s original squad for the series, his late inclusion proved to be a huge game-changer.
1. He was preferred over Ashton Agar
The Australian team managers opted not to have Agar in the playing XI for the first Test and instead chose Matthew Kuhnemann as the replacement for Mitchell Swepson in the squad for the second Test. Despite having five Test matches under his belt, Agar was dropped from the second Test and sent home to play in the Marsh One-Day Cup.
2. Kuhnemann played 4 ODIs last year
Last month, Kuhnemann received his first Test cap against India. However, he made his One-Day International (ODI) debut last year when Australia toured Sri Lanka. In that five-match ODI series, he played four matches and took six wickets at an economy rate of 5.02. Despite being the second-highest wicket-taker for Australia in the series, Kuhnemann has yet to be called up for any ODIs since then.
#3 Kuhnemann’s maiden first-class wicket
Two years ago, Kuhnemann made his first-class debut for Queensland in a match against Tasmania. His first-class wicket was perhaps the most notable of the then-Australian skipper Tim Paine, who was caught off his bowling for 20. It was the only wicket that Kuhnemann took on his first-class debut.
#4 His debuts have always been last-minute calls
Kuhnemann was brought in as a sudden replacement for Mitchell Swepson in the India series, and he later replaced Ashton Agar in the ODI team against Sri Lanka. It surprised many that he cut at the last minute.
#5 He follows up with Ravindra Jadeja
Matthew Kuhnemann praised Ravindra Jadeja when taking his catch to dismiss the Indian all-rounder today. In an interview with cricket.com, the left-arm spinner revealed that he looked up to Jadeja as a mentor to help him improve his bowling skills.
