Scott Muller

Will probably always be remembered for the infamous 'can't bowl, can't throw' jibe that was directed at him and broadcast from an effects microphone during an Australia-Pakistan Test at Hobart in 1999-2000. But it shouldn't be allowed to completely overshadow Scott Muller's substantial talent as a right-arm pace bowler and handy fieldsman ... nor as a plucky lower-order batsman, either. Muller's career was been somewhat chequered; he made his first-class debut as a promising 19-year old in 1990-91 but soon lost his passion for the game and did not return to the Queensland team until the 1996-97 season. Even then, business commitments continued to take precedence, and he was not only a shock withdrawal from the Bulls' Sheffield Shield final squad on account of work interests but also announced his retirement from the first-class game shortly afterwards. He was eventually wooed back to the sport by then Queensland coach John Buchanan and, around frustrating brushes with injury which left him on the sidelines for prolonged periods, produced a number of outstanding performances in each of the following two seasons. His success in 1998-99 led to a surprise call-up as a replacement for an injured Jason Gillespie on the Australian tour of Sri Lanka in September 1999, and paved the way for his Test debut two months later against Pakistan at Brisbane. But his rise and fall in international circles was just as spasmodic. His mix of speed and prodigious outswing netted him seven wickets in the opening two matches of that series - and he featured in a record-breaking tenth wicket stand of 86 with Shane Warne - but he also showed a tendency to bowl with erratic length and width. He was axed from the team and then increasingly bitter fallout began to emerge from the airing of that response to a wayward throw of his from the deep. Debate raged across Australia as to whether Warne was the figure behind the derisive remark and Muller was reported to be considering instigating legal action, but Channel Nine cameraman Joe Previtera quickly stepped in to claim responsibility. The strapping Queenslander was not been seen at international level again and retired - for good -shortly after.
John Polack