Top five 30-plus T20 specialists - Batsmen

Brad Hodge (6 Tests, Batting Avg. – 55.88; 201 T20s; Strike Rate – 130.45) – Like they did with Michael Hussey, Australia waited till Brad Hodge was 30 before they decided to give him a chance to prove his mettle in the India series of 2004. He narrowly lost out to a debut tussle with Michael Clarke at Bangalore and the rest is history.

A year later, he got his Test cap on the back of a first Ashes loss in 16 years. He did little wrong scoring 60 on debut and then tonking a double century against South Africa in his third Test.

But 5 Tests and an average of 58.42 later, Australia’s interests in him had waned. He vowed to fight back and announced his return to the one day squad next summer with knocks of 99 not out and 97 not out against the Kiwis at home. That earned him a World Cup ticket but he would only get a chance to return to the Test match team a year later and that too as a fill-in. After which he was again dropped unceremoniously.

Disillusioned, Hodge drifted out of the first-class game by 2009-10. The same season he topped the averages in the FR Cup which is Australia’s domestic limited overs championship. Clearly onto something, Hodge channelled all his focus and potential into becoming a hired gun who is worth every cent paid for him.