Like a lot of Australian children, I grew up with dreams of one day wearing the Baggy Green and representing my country when I was older.
And while I certainly scored a lot of runs and took a lot of wickets playing in the backyard against my brother during our childhood and teenage summers, that was the extent of my cricketing prowess.
I did venture outside the backyard one summer years later, and played one season of Sunday D-grade games in the Mercantile Cricket Association with a group of friends from university.
The friends I played with were all far better cricketers than I was, so my role was making up the numbers to ensure we had 11 players each week.
I don't think I ever batted any higher than eight or nine (from memory my best effort was 11 not out) and am pretty sure I only bowled once in a game when a team was trying to bowl us out twice in a day — we're talking real can't bowl, can't throw areas.
Watching the BBL over the summer got me thinking about how many of these professional cricketers had also gone through games without getting a bat and/or a bowl.
Was this a common occurrence? And were there players who had long-term success despite not making "significant" contributions to the team on a regular basis?
For the purposes of this exercise, I have excluded wicketkeepers — as they almost always never bowl — and matches that were abandoned, regardless of if and how much of the match was able to be played before the call to abandon it was made.
So, without further ado, let's look back at each of the 14 completed BBL seasons and see who has gone the most games without getting a bat or a bowl — something I'll call the Katich Award for reasons you're about to see.
BBL01: Simon Katich (Perth Scorchers) — three matches
Katich played all nine matches in the Scorchers' initial campaign but only made it to the crease on six occasions, scoring 85 runs at an average of 17.0.
The WA native floated up and down the order throughout the season, named anywhere between three and seven.
He was not required to bat in convincing wins against the Melbourne Renegades, the Sydney Thunder, and the Melbourne Stars as the Scorchers lost only two, one, and three wickets respectively in these matches.
And although his left arm wrist spin was serviceable, he was never tossed the ball at any point during his 29-match BBL career.
BBL02: Simon Katich (Perth Scorchers) — five matches
Katich, now 37 (but still a young buck compared to 41-year-old teammate Brad Hogg), played in all ten matches for the Scorchers in BBL02 (eight regular season games and two finals).
He had a leaner season with the bat, however, with his five innings resulting in scores of 8, 0, 8, 66, and 0. The second duck came in the loss to the Brisbane Heat in the BBL02 final.
My only hope is that the decision to name the award for the player who went the most games without getting a bat or a bowl over the course of a BBL season in his honour doesn't add salt to the wound of playing in and losing back-to-back finals.
BBL03: Brad Hodge (Melbourne Stars) and David Hussey (Melbourne Stars) — two matches
Hodge (219 runs at 36.5) and Hussey (149 runs at 49.7, three wickets at 9.7) made valuable contributions for the Melbourne Stars throughout BBL03.
The pair was not required to bat in comprehensive victories against the Melbourne Renegades and the Adelaide Strikers in the middle of the season as the Stars went undefeated throughout the regular season.
But their efforts were ultimately for nothing, with the Stars losing a home semifinal to the Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets. Hodge top scored with 51 and Hussey was the next best with 24.
BBL04: Alex Ross (Adelaide Strikers) — two matches
The Sweepologist claimed the Katich Award in his debut BBL season with the Strikers, who finished top of the table after the home and away portion of BBL04.
His performances with the bat weren't too different to that of Katich in BBL02 — 4, 36, 0, 30, 6, 0, and 3. But the Strikers suffered the same fate as the Stars did the year previously, losing a home semifinal to the Sydney Sixers.
Ross made just three runs as Adelaide were bowled out for 94.
BBL05: Tom Cooper (Melbourne Renegades), David Hussey (Melbourne Stars), and Ashton Turner (Perth Scorchers) — three matches
The first three-way tie for the Katich Award saw Hussey (138) score twice as many runs as Cooper (39) and Turner (30) combined in matches where they did get a bat.
However, Turner could have claimed the award outright had he not bowled his single over against the Hobart Hurricanes towards the end of the season — although his bowling was probably needed as the Scorchers played Michael Carberry in place of Joel Paris, leaving their bowling stocks a little thin.
BBL06: Hilton Cartwright (Perth Scorchers) and Ryan Gibson (Sydney Thunder) — two matches
Cartwright only played four games across BBL06 but finished the season as a Katich Award winner and a member of the Scorchers' championship winning XI, making him the first player to complete this particular double in BBL history.
His co-winner, Gibson, had a much rougher season, with 92 of his 101 runs coming in his first two matches as the Thunder finished bottom of the ladder.
BBL07: Jordan Silk (Sydney Sixers) — four matches
This was a tale of three parts for Silk, who has become one of the greatest fielders the BBL has ever seen.
After sitting out the opening two matches of the Sixers campaign he played the remaining eight — but only batted in the first four of these matches.
He performed well when required throughout BBL07, making three scores over 40 to finish with an average of 52.
Silk was not required to bat during the Sixers late season charge, when they won their last four matches after losing their first six.
BBL08: Evan Gulbis (Melbourne Stars) — five matches
The BBL fixture expanding from 10 to 14 regular season games per team didn't see a huge jump in the number of games played by the Katich Award winner, with Gulbis only playing one more match where he didn't get a bat or a bowl than last season's winner.
Gulbis featured in 11 of the 14 regular season games and the semi-final against the Hurricanes, but was left out of the side that lost 7/25 in the final to hand their cross-town rivals their first BBL crown.
BBL09: Jordan Silk (Sydney Sixers) — five matches
Silk became the second player to win the Katich Award and the BBL title in the same season after appearing in all 15 completed games for the Sixers in BBL09.
His batting performances weren't as flashy as they were in BBL07 (188 runs at an average of 26.9 with a high score of 36*), but his bowler teammates stepped up when it mattered — restricting the Stars to 99 and 6/97 in consecutive finals (with the latter match being shortened to 12 overs a side due to inclement weather).
BBL10: Nic Maddinson (Melbourne Stars), Jordan Silk (Sydney Sixers), and Ashton Turner (Perth Scorchers) — two matches
A Covid affected BBL season saw many teams play games at neutral venues, with Silk and his magenta-wearing teammates having to wait until the final to play a true home game.
Interestingly, the two matches Silk didn't bat or bowl in were both against the Scorchers (including the qualifier, which the Sixers won by nine wickets), while Turner got a bat in all four games against the Sixers that season.
Maddinson could count himself lucky (or unlucky, depending on which way you look at things) to be a joint winner, as he only played eight games, while Silk and Turner each played 16.
BBL11: Laurie Evans (Perth Scorchers) and Tom Kelly (Adelaide Strikers) — three matches
The joint Katich Award winners in BBL11 had quite similar seasons.
Both played 15 games in their debut BBL season and made meaningful contributions with the bat.
Evans, the more experienced Englishman, scored 361 runs, while Kelly, the younger South Australian, scored 214.
But it was Evans who ultimately got the last laugh, with his 76 not out proving crucial in the Scorchers' total of 6/171 in the final, where they denied the Sixers a third straight title.
BBL12: Nick Hobson (Perth Scorchers) — six matches
Evans didn't take part in BBL12, but the Katich Award and the championship trophy stayed in Western Australia with the Scorchers defending their title and Hobson not being required to bat in six of his 16 matches — well clear of the five-way tie for second with two matches.
It's possible that Hobson benefited from the Scorchers having another dominant season at a time when teams played a greater number of home and away matches.
BBL13: Tom Kelly (Adelaide Strikers) — three matches
Kelly saved his best batting performance for the season until the last of his seven games, the Challenger against the Brisbane Heat. After making just 6 in the Knockout and not getting a bat in the previous two games during the regular season, the right-hander made 41 off 24 as the Strikers were bowled out for 160 in response to the Heat's 7/214.
BBL14: Jordan Silk (Sydney Sixers), Lachlan Shaw (Sydney Sixers), and Tim David (Hobart Hurricanes) — two matches
Sixers teammates Silk and Lachlan Shaw were in prime position to share the Katich Award for BBL14 until Mitch Owen hit the equal-fastest century in BBL history against the Sydney Thunder in the final, meaning Tim David would not be required to bat.
Silk played every game for the Sixers and scored 196 runs while averaging 39.2. Shaw, a young wicket keeper from Northern Districts who signed as a local replacement player, featured in only seven games but made headlines earlier this month for an incredible fielding effort against the Strikers.
David was back to his destructive best this season after a quiet BBL13, scoring 254 runs at a strike rate of 177.6 — and having a huge impact in the Power Surge on more than one occasion. The Singaporean-born white-ball specialist becomes the latest player to win the Katich Award and a BBL title in the same season.
All-time leaderboard for BBL matches played without batting or bowling: Jordan Silk (20), George Bailey/Alex Ross (11), Jono Wells (10), Nick Hobson (9), Tom Cooper/Simon Katich/Ashton Turner (8), David Hussey/Tom Kelly/Nick Larkin/Simon Milenko (7).
