For Hobart Hurricane Nathan Ellis, it's been a while since he's played cricket.
In the T20 World Cup-winning squad, the 27-year-old quick last played over two months ago on October 1 in the Indian Premier League and is set to break his cricket exile in Launceston.
The Hurricanes open their BBL11 campaign against the Sydney Sixers on Wednesday, December 8, and Ellis is looking to start with a bang.
"On our turf, hopefully we can start with a win, one from one," he said at the BBL season launch earlier this week.
"I think we did the same thing last year, so hopefully we can do that again."
Heading into the first game, it hasn't been the smoothest of rides for the 'Cane train, originally meant to play practice matches against Brisbane Heat in Coffs Harbour before rain intervened.
Ellis will join the team in Melbourne this week, before they fly back to Sydney and down to Launceston alongside their first opponents.
"It's not ideal when you don't know where you're going to be or what time but it's been over a year now of dealing with that sort of stuff, so it's just rolling with the punches and it almost feels like the norm," he said.
"It sounds a bit lazy but you just wake up, get told where to go and where to be and sort of prepare for that to change as well."
Describing himself as "really lucky" to be around the Australian set-up, Ellis was joined in the squad by Hobart Hurricanes captain Matthew Wade, who famously smacked 42* off 17 balls to send Australia to the final.
While the performance has arguably become a part of Australian cricket folklore, Ellis is sick of hearing Wade talk about it.
"I don't want to be anywhere near him at the moment," he said with a smile.
"He won't stop talking about the semi-final but he's on top of the world at the moment and rightfully so.
"He's a great player and he's done a lot for both Tassie and Australia and he's hitting the ball better than anyone at the moment so hopefully he brings that form that he had for Australia back to the Hurricanes and no doubt he will."
While Wade foreshadowed the end of his 188-game international career is nigh, Ellis believes his teammate could hang around at the top for a while longer.
"I think he's got a lot of cricket left in him, he's sort of an ever-evolving player who seems to get better and better," Ellis said.
"I highly doubt it would be his last game, he won us the game in the semi-final, so I can't see it being his last game and if it is, what a way to go out."
Although he didn't feature in the World Cup itself, Ellis made his international debut in the tournament's lead-up, playing two matches against Bangladesh in August.
Making headlines by securing a hat-trick on debut, the quick almost can't believe it happened.
"It's not something you walk out trying to achieve but when it happens, it's obviously great and it's one of those things that looking back now, doesn't feel real to be honest."
Since arriving at the Hurricanes in 2019, Ellis has played 29 games and taken 32 wickets at an average of 26.56.
He sits sixth in the club's wicket-taking history, with his 33 wickets placing him behind Riley Meredith and Cam Boyce (43), James Faulkner (36), Ben Laughlin (35) and English superstar Jofra Archer (34).
PLAYERS
Ins: Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Josh Kann (Gold Coast), Joel Paris (Perth Scorchers), Tom Rogers (Sydney Sixers), Jordan Thompson (Yorkshire).
Outs: Will Jacks, Colin Ingram, James Faulkner, Johan Botha, Dawid Malan, Keemo Paul, Tim Paine, Charlie Wakim, Jake Doran, Nick Winter.
Full squad: Scott Boland, Harry Brook (o/s), Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Peter Handscomb, Caleb Jewell, Josh Kann, Sandeep Lamichhane (o/s), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Joel Paris, Wil Parker, Tom Rogers, D'Arcy Short, Jordan Thompson (o/s), Matthew Wade, Mac Wright.
Coaches: Adam Griffith (head), Ian Bell (assistant), Wade Townsend (assistant)
HISTORY
BBL01: Semi-final
BBL02: 6th
BBL03: Runners-up
BBL04: 5th
BBL05: 7th
BBL06: 7th
BBL07: Runners-up
BBL08: Semi-final (minor premiers)
BBL09: Eliminator (4th vs. 5th) loss
BBL10: 6th
FIXTURES
Wed, Dec 8: Hurricanes v Sydney Sixers, UTAS Stadium, 6.35pm
Sat, Dec 11: Sydney Sixers v Hurricanes, SCG, 6.35pm
Tues, Dec 14: Hurricanes v Perth Scorchers, Bellerive Oval, 7.15pm
Mon, Dec 20: Perth Scorchers v Hurricanes, Optus Stadium (Perth), 7.15pm
Fri, Dec 24: Hurricanes v Melbourne Stars, Bellerive Oval, 3.30pm
Mon, Dec 27: Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers, Bellerive Oval, 6.05pm
Wed, Dec 29: Melbourne Renegades v Hurricanes, Marvel Stadium, 7.15pm
Sat, Jan 1: Hurricanes v Brisbane Heat, Bellerive Oval, 4pm
Wed, Jan 5: Adelaide Strikers v Hurricanes, Adelaide Oval, 6.05pm
Sat, Jan 8: Brisbane Heat v Hurricanes, Gabba, 8.30pm
Mon, Jan 10: Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder, UTAS Stadium, 7.15pm
Thurs, Jan 13: Sydney Thunder v Hurricanes, Sydney Showgrounds, 4pm
Sun, Jan 17: Hurricanes v Melbourne Renegades, Bellerive Oval, 7.40pm
Tues, Jan 19: Melbourne Stars v Hurricanes, MCG, 7.50pm
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
