Rob Quiney

Probably no player has ever debuted for his state against such exalted opposition as Rob Quiney did in October 2005. He found himself called in to the Victoria team for the warm-up game against the ICC World XI at Melbourne's Junction Oval. He faced up to a bowling attack that featured Shoaib Akhtar, Shaun Pollock, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori and Makhaya Ntini. Quiney can brag that none of them dismissed him but he has little else to boast about from that match, as he was run out for 3. He made his name in 2006-07 by hammering 89 from 57 balls against New South Wales, and facing Brett Lee for the first time in his career Quiney repeated hooked and pulled him for boundaries. He initially earned recognition in the shorter formats and in 2009 won a Rajasthan Royals contract and a call-up to Australia's Twenty20 squad that took on New Zealand, but he couldn't force his way into the starting XI.

A talented left-hand opening batsman, Quiney's consistency across all formats has been one of the most impressive aspects of his game. In 2010-11 he scored 724 Sheffield Shield runs at 42.58 and the following summer made 938 at 49.36 and was a deserving winner of the Domestic Player of the Year Award at the Allan Border Medal night in 2012. Quiney's composed nature and ability to score all around the wicket impressed Australia's selectors and after compiling a solid 85 against the South Africans for Australia A in a tour match in Sydney in November 2012, he was called in to the squad for the first Test as a shadow player for the injured Shane Watson.
Brydon Coverdale