Matthew Elliott

Matthew Thomas Gray Elliott (born 28 September 1971) is a former cricketer from Australia, who played as a left-handed opening batsman. Beginnings with Victoria After he made his debut for Victoria in the 1992–93 season, he soon established himself as one of the top opening batsmen in Australian domestic cricket, before progressing his way through to the Bendigo and District Cricket Association playing for the Bendigo Cricket Club in his role as an opening batsman. Test career Elliott was called up to the Australian national team in the 1996–97 season, making his Test debut against the West Indies in November 1996. Unfortunately for Elliott, in just his second Test match he was injured in a mid-pitch collision with teammate Mark Waugh, resulting in the need for knee surgery. Elliott returned for the 1996–97 tour of South Africa. He retained his place for the 1997 tour of England, scoring two centuries in the Ashes series, including a career-best 199. He also made his One Day International debut in 1997 in the Texaco Trophy, but scored 1, making it his only appearance in a limited overs international. Elliott was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1998, although this wasn't enough for him to hold down a regular spot in the Australian side, and due to inconsistent performances after the Ashes series he slipped out of the national team in 1999. Steve Waugh, in his autobiography, described Elliott as "technically gifted but temperamentally flawed" and "prone to serious bouts of self-doubt and a tendency to let injuries rule his thought processes." Waugh stated that "[Elliott] would have been a perfect candidate...[for] a sports psychologist."