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Seb Gotch turns heads with short sleeves in Big Bash debut for Melbourne Stars

Daniel Cherny

He was dressed like he'd been plucked from "C-Grade club cricket" but Seb Gotch has shown he has what it takes to make it in the professional game.

The diminutive batsman and occasional wicketkeeper made his Big Bash League debut for the Melbourne Stars in their MCG loss to the Brisbane Heat on Tuesday, chipping in with 30 from 25 balls. He arrived at the crease with his side in trouble at 2-1, after two legal deliveries that saw  Rob Quiney and Kevin Pietersen dismissed for ducks.

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Gotch, 23, the son of former Fitzroy and St Kilda footballer and veteran VFL coach Brad, got his chance after Peter Handscomb's call-up to Australia's one-day international side, with Stars coach Stephen Fleming instructing Gotch to "bring your gloves to training".

And while Gotch impressed with the bat, he arguably made more of an impact while keeping – not with any particularly fancy glove work, but rather with his attire.

After being told he would be behind the stumps against Brisbane, Gotch asked Fleming if he could wear short sleeves rather than the long sleeves usually worn by glovemen. Fleming thought the question was a joke, but teammate Adam Zampa told Gotch to stick to what he knew. "I keep every now and then at club land, and my trademark is the wide brim and the short sleeves," Gotch said.

"There were a couple of people yelling out to me from the sidelines about how 'village' I looked. They thought I'd been plucked from C-Grade club cricket. But until I got off the ground, I didn't realise it had caused such a ruckus on social media."

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That "ruckus" referred to comments on Twitter from the likes of veteran Queensland gloveman Chris Hartley and former Victorian wicketkeeper and captain Darren Berry, who coached Gotch when he was on the fringe of the Adelaide Strikers squad.

"Oh NOOOOOO @sebgotch please No not short sleeves as a keeper. Clubbie stuff, country C grade. At least look the part if taking the gloves," Berry tweeted.

Gotch said he was amused by the reaction. "I definitely didn't mean to offend any keepers out there.

"I get along really well with Chuck, I spent a bit of time with him at the Strikers, so I think his comments were a bit tongue in cheek even though it did cut him up a little bit, I think he was still having a bit of a laugh."

Not that he plans to change his ways in Saturday night's crucial match against the Sydney Sixers.

"I've already got a message from [Victorian teammate] Cameron White saying, 'If I don't wear short sleeves to training I'll have to wear a skirt to training the rest of the year. If I can find a floppy, I'll wear that as well."

Gotch had tasted the big time in a handful of matches for the Cricket Australia XI and made 53 in a tour match late last year against the visiting South Africans, but said he hadn't anticipated an opening to emerge in the Stars' XI.

"It came as a bit of a shock. I wasn't really expecting to play at all. We've got a deep list and seem to have blokes coming in and out but it was awesome to get an opportunity," Gotch said.

But having been to the MCG to watch sports "thousands of times", Gotch – a handy junior footballer in the TAC Cup – said he relished the opportunity and was looking forward to more appearances on the famous arena. "It was so surreal. When I first got out there I just stood and looked around and so many memories came back of watching other people."

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