Max Bryant is one of those players who comes across as a savage pinch-hitter who just loves to have a wild swing at the hard new cherry. His brute strength is rather unusual for a teenager (all thanks to his junior rugby days), but a rather useful asset for a hard-hitting opener. However, the talent scouts in the Australian rookie circuit looked beyond the raw numbers, qualitatively assessed the youngster, and decided that his basic technique and his composure set him apart from your run-of-the-mill pinch-hitter.
Bryant is one of those batsmen who can take the game away very early in the innings as an opener. He has the essentials to mould himself into a next-generation Sehwag who bludgeons the polish off the ball, rather than blunting it down with caution. More importantly, because he has the upper-body and fore-arm strength for it, he can check his shots with a small bat-swing, play a fraction late, and still clear the fence at will. And let us be honest, if you can clear Australian boundaries with a jab, you have the strength to clear any boundary. This could prove to be a rare asset for any side because the everyday teen-aged opener tends to be less built, and uses his bat-swing/body-weight to play shots, thereby succumbing to the new ball seam movement.
He scored at an average in the mid-thirties at the U-19 championships in 2016/17 at a strike rate of 138 and immediately caught the eye of the T20 franchises. He was awarded a second rookie contract in 2017/18, and will look forward to impressing the selectors with better numbers in the upcoming domestic season. However, as I mentioned previously, a qualitative assessment is more important at this age, and he is a raw talent who needs to be nurtured and seasoned for the big stage.
A change-up seaming all-rounder as well, he immediately strikes comparisons with Shane Watson. He has been known to be a very cunning bowler with decent pace and a plethora of variations - an prominent feature in a T20 bowler's résumé . Little is known about him, as he has only played 6 List A games, and he has already grabbed his opportunities with two impressive fifties against Queensland and New South Wales and here have been whispers in the cricketing fraternity about this child prodigy.
The Brisbane Heat have scouted him for the 2017/18 season of the Big Bash League, and although it is a bit of a gamble, Bryant could be the next big thing in Australian cricket once his talent is honed and directed. If that seems like a bit of a far cry, the league is definitely a great platform for the young man. A big innings or two on such a big stage could definitely turn out to be the turning point in his career, and give him the confidence and the belief that he belongs at the highest level. All in all, he looks like a prodigious talent in the making.
by Rishi Roy
As of December 2017
