Jackson Bird

A tall Sydney-born right-handed fast bowler, Jackson Bird is one of the finest talents in Australia currently. Known for his high-arm action and for hitting the pitch the hard, Bird made his first-class debut for Tasmania in 2011.

Bird is more preferred in the longest format of the game unlike the modern day bowlers. He has played more first-class than the limited-overs formats. As he grabbed over 100 wickets in just about 20 odd matches, the Australian selectors were convinced that he is good enough to represent the country at the highest level and gave him a place in Australia's Test squad against Sri Lanka as they decided to rest Mitchell Starc.

Eventually, he made his Test debut at Melbourne against the Islanders in 2012, just over a year from making his first-class debut. He was given the last two Tests in the series and did well picking up 11 wickets overall, including a 4-wicket haul in the last match.

He was also given a ticket to tour with the side to England for the 2013 Ashes series but did not get opportunities as the likes of Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle were hard to be ignored. He made just one appearance but was dropped after failing to make an impact. It wouldn't be until 2016 that he would be recalled to the Test side for a series against New Zealand but noteworthy performances were few and far in between which meant that he never returned to the Test setup after 2017.

In the Big Bash League though, he started off with the Melbourne Stars in 2012 and left to play a couple of seasons for the Sydney Sixers in 2015/16. He returned to the Stars for just one season in 2018/19 before leaving to join the Sixers again in 2019/20. Bird switched teams in first-class and List-A cricket too and left Tasmania to join New South Wales in 2023/24.