Get to know: Matthew Short (Pretoria Capitals)

Pretoria Capitals have added one of the most explosive top-order batters in world T20 cricket to their ranks for Betway SA20 Season 5, with Australian allrounder Matthew Short set to join the Centurion-based franchise.

Born in Ballarat, Victoria, in November 1995, Short worked his way through the domestic ranks until a move to the top of the order for the Adelaide Strikers in the 2021/22 Big Bash League transformed his career.

Short finished that season with the second-most sixes in the competition, and from there his stock only rose: back-to-back BBL Player of the Tournament awards in 2022/23 and 2023/24 saw him attract the attention of the Australian national selectors.

It led to an international debut in 2023, capped in both the T20I and ODI formats, against the Proteas in Durban and India in Mohali within three weeks of each other. 

He made an instant impression, striking a rapid 66 off just 30 balls in only his second T20I, and has continued to blend his aggressive opening game with handy off-spin ever since.

His bowling, often underrated, produced one of the finest figures ever returned by an Australian in the format: 5/22 on a white-ball tour of England in late 2024.

Short has transferred this form to the franchise arena, where he recently blazed through the MLC as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, with 513 runs at an average of 64.12 and a strike rate of 146.15.

Here's when the Capitals fans can see Short in the flesh! Register now for early access to tickets...

He has also been on a hot streak in The Hundred, with 195 runs at an average of 48.75 and a strike rate of 141.30.

Capitals fans will get their first glimpse of Short in action when Pretoria host Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the Betway SA20 Season 5 opener at St George's Park on 17 January 2027.