He made just 21 appearances in the IPL but, in one of those, he was the player that got Sunrisers Hyderabad their first and only IPL title
Matt Roller22-May-20255:23
There are messages on social media saying, can you make yourself available for the IPL for whoever is facing RCB?’
“It’s one of those things where if you know, you know,” says Ben Cutting, with the smile of a man who is a relative unknown at home but a cult hero for millions overseas. For all his success in domestic cricket, and his eight caps for Australia, Cutting knows that his cricketing career will be remembered for one night: May 29, 2016.It was the night that he silenced the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and brought Sunrisers Hyderabad their first – and still only – IPL title with one of the great all-round performances: 39 not out off 15 balls with the bat, then two vital wickets with the ball. “The time has flown,” he says. “Even at the time, I realised that was probably going to be the highlight of my career.”It was also the night that he ensured Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the IPL’s perennial underachievers, remained trophy-less. “For some reason, this year, social media has blown up far more,” Cutting says. “I think because the longer the years drag on and RCB still haven’t won, the more important that [night] becomes for the Hyderabadis.”That Cutting even played in the final was something of a surprise: he had made a solitary appearance across his first three IPL seasons, and Sunrisers coach Tom Moody made clear early on that he was back-up for Moises Henriques in 2016. It took quiet seasons under two international captains – Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan – for him to win a chance in the middle order.Related
Cutting sends one flying over the roof
The Chinnaswamy becomes Cutting's slogging canvas
“I got my first [2016] opportunity in Mohali against Kings XI Punjab and performed well there: I finished the game with the bat with Yuvraj Singh,” Cutting recalls. “Unfortunately I got quite sick after that, so I missed two games. But as soon as I was well again, they got me back into the side and I obviously finished the season strongly with bat and ball.”After two knockout wins, Cutting arrived in Bengaluru feeling invincible. “I rocked up that night to Chinnaswamy on the team bus and I was so relaxed – which I really shouldn’t have been, looking back, given the stage that was set. Deep down, I knew that if I got an opportunity, I could hit the ball out of the park there… My mindset was 100% the catalyst for results.”Cutting’s 39 not out was his highest score of the 2016 season in the four matches he played•BCCICutting walked out to bat at 147 for 4 after 16 overs; after Yuvraj picked out extra cover and a mix-up with Naman Ojha, that was 158 for 6 seven balls later. But he single-handedly took Sunrisers to 208 by taking down his compatriot Shane Watson at the death, including one 117-metre six that cleared the roof of the stand at deep midwicket.”I knew that he was bowling close to 140 [kph] and some quick bowling like that on that sort of wicket was going to suit my game to a tee,” Cutting says. “I just wish it wasn’t against Watto! I love the bloke. He was a hero of mine coming through the ranks. I still feel guilty about seeing it unfold like that against someone that I looked up to – and still do – as a hero on the field.”I also knew that if I got in, the wicket was so true and the boundary is small enough that if I got enough of the cricket ball, it was going to travel. Chinnaswamy, especially that year, was very similar to the faster, bouncier wickets here in Australia – like the Gabba, like Perth – where ball comes onto bat, and the ball can fly. In most games, 200 wasn’t enough there.”It looked like it would not be enough that night, either: RCB were 112 for 0 after ten overs, with Virat Kohli playing second fiddle to Chris Gayle. But Cutting led the fightback with the ball: using the variations he had developed on the sidelines, he had Kohli dropped at short third, then had Gayle caught in the same spot off the following ball.Cutting picked up the two crucial wickets of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul•AFP”An over earlier, I’d missed my yorker and disappeared out of the park – as everyone did that night – so I started going wide and slow, on the wide line,” Cutting says. “It’s done to death now – everyone does it – but back in 2016, it wasn’t really a done thing. I’d played a lot against Gayle, and I knew if I could hang it out wide to him, he’d still try to drag me leg-side.”I had to set him up for that by bowling on-pace, and that night was probably one of the quicker games I bowled in: looking back at the gun, it was around 145 [kph]. It makes that change-up a lot more effective, particularly if you can get it right out wide and make them reach for it. David Warner [Sunrisers’ captain] was really good at giving freedom back to the bowler.”Cutting returned to bowl KL Rahul with an offcutter in his final over, finishing with 2 for 35 from his four overs as RCB’s chase fell apart. “One of the young fellas was running drinks with about an over to go and said, ‘If we win this, you’re going to be Man of the Match. It hadn’t crossed my mind until then, and it probably didn’t really sink in until after the game.”He still has his player-of-the-match trophy at home in Queensland, but another souvenir never left the ground. “I grabbed a stump, pulled it out of the ground, ran straight off the field and put it in my kitbag,” Cutting recalls. “Then I was straight back out there celebrating… When I got back to my bag, the IPL staff had gone through it and rifled it!”Sunrisers’ celebrations started in the changing rooms and continued deep into the night at the ITC hotel. “Looking back, I just wish I’d had more photos during the celebrations with the trophy,” Cutting says. “I’ve got one blurry one of myself and [assistant coach] Murali [Muthiah Muralidaran], but I really wish that I would’ve had more with that special trophy.”Despite Cutting’s performance, he found himself back on the bench for most of the following year. Across eight IPL seasons for five franchises, he made only 21 appearances in total. “I was never the first-string player, so my mindset was to cover every base for that one game that may or may not come, and make sure that I’m ready for it. That’s exactly how it played out [in 2016].”Shane Watson came in for the most punishment, Cutting taking him for 33 of his 39 runs•BCCICutting is now in the final stages of his playing career, rendered unable to bowl by a series of serious spinal injuries, and most recently spotted in the International Masters League. He is transitioning into a second career in real estate, and the name of the business he runs – Golconda Property Group – is a nod to an ancient fort on the outskirts of Hyderabad.”There’s certainly many people in Australia that I come across every week that will say something [about the name],” Cutting says. “I’ve got a development site nearby: the same bus driver drives past every day – I think he’s from Hyderabad – and always says g’day. For the general public, it’s just one of those things. It comes with the job, I guess, of playing freelance and being overseas.”The IPL dominates for two months in India, but time zones mean that it hardly makes a splash in Australia: on the east coast, 7.30pm IST fixtures start at midnight. “Those that follow cricket know full well what the IPL is all about,” Cutting says. “For everyone else, it’s life as usual because it’s footy season here: there’s three codes [AFL, rugby league and rugby union] to compete with.”Cutting himself will never forget that night in Bengaluru – not least with daily reminders on social media. “If I load up my private messages on Instagram now, there’ll be 150 every day saying, ‘Can you make yourself available for the IPL as a replacement player?’ for any team that’s coming up against RCB,” he says, laughing.”What was achieved that night… It’s essentially one of the biggest sporting events in the world. To play for Australia was always a lifetime goal of mine, and I’m still disappointed I didn’t get to play Test cricket. But that IPL final, for me, still ranks higher than everything else.”