Australian fast bowler Marcus Bean took a wicket off his first legal delivery on debut in the BBL today (January 16), having never played professional cricket before.
Bean made his debut in the competition for Hobart Hurricanes in their game against Brisbane Heat at The Gabba, and was brought on for the second over of the match. He started with a wide to Nathan McSweeney, sending the ball way down outside off stump. However, when he re-bowled the ball, McSweeney went after it, attempting to slap a short, wide delivery through the covers, but only succeeding in sending a simple catch to Caleb Jewell.
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That marked not only Bean's first wicket in the BBL but his first-ever wicket in professional cricket. Before being picked up by Hurricanes as a replacement for Mac Wright, who picked up a knee injury before the start of the competition, Bean had been playing in various domestic cricket leagues in Australia. He played second grade cricket last year in Queensland and has played one game in Tasmanian Premier Cricket this season.
Bean is a tall, left-arm quick who stands at around 6ft, 7in tall. He was scouted by Hurricanes' assistant coach James Hopes playing in Queensland. Speaking after signing for the side, Bean said: "It's always been a dream of mine to play professional cricket, and I have always looked at the Big Bash and thought I wanted to play on one of the biggest stages in Australian cricket.
"I'm thankful to the Hurricanes for providing this opportunity to me, and I am excited to be showing the fans in Tasmania, and the rest of the country my talent."
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The dismissal of McSweeney, however, isn't the only time Bean has found success against an Australia Test opener. In 2022, playing for Queensland Metropolitan U19s, Bean came up against Sam Konstas in a 50 over game in Adelaide. Konstas, who was playing for New South Wales Metropolitan U19s opened the batting, scoring 45 before coming unstuck against Bean. Bean finished that game with figures of 1-27, Konstas his only wicket.
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