Nathan Ellis - Australia - Bowler

Standing at 5 feet 9 inches, Nathan Ellis isn’t like your traditional Aussie fast bowler, but he was determined to not let stereotypes and perceptions come in his way. Ellis has had a long and inspiring journey to get to where he is now, but now in 2023 people finally recognise his value, specially in T20I cricket.

A New South Wales kid, Ellis faced multiple rejections at an early age, with coaches brushing him aside due to his unimpressive physique. Ellis had to relocate to Tasmania at the age of 22, where he had to work multiple jobs just to support his cricket career. It was a shot in the dark, as Ellis didn’t have a state contract at that point. It took him two years to prove his mettle to Tasmania, who finally gave him an opportunity in 2019. Ellis also got a Big Bash contract with Hobart Hurricanes that season.

He impressed with his performances in the Big Bash League, especially as a death overs specialist and got a T20I call-up for Australia in 2021 on their tour to Bangladesh. The sluggish tracks of Bangladesh aided his style of bowling, as Nathan Ellis became the first bowler in T20I history to claim a hat-trick on debut. Ellis was then also picked as a traveling reserve for the 2021 T20I World Cup.

While he still hasn’t cemented a place for himself in the International setup with plenty of competition, he has been a handy customer in franchise tournaments throughout the world. A big believer of sports analytics, it shows in his bowling as Nathan Ellis has a bucket full of tricks to mask his lack of pace and enable him to be a solid death overs specialist.

Nathan Ellis was picked in the IPL for the first time in 2021 as a replacement for Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson who were unavailable for the UAE leg. Since then, he has played a handful of games for the franchise and was retained for the 2023 season.