‘Takes toll both mentally and physically’

September 10, 2025

Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting opened up on a vast range of queries and stories in an exclusive conversation with CricTracker. He went from differentiating between finals played in the IPL and the BBL to offering his take on Virat Kohli and Steve Smith’s retirements from T20Is and ODIs, respectively, amongst other questions. Cutting also played an interactive rapid-fire round during a fun-loving and an interactive chat with this site.

The Queensland-born may have represented Australia in only 11 internationals (four ODIs and seven T20Is), however, he can be counted as a T20 veteran. Having played 212 T20s across seven franchise competitions, the 38-year-old has contributed heavily with bat (2921 runs at a strike rate of 145.25) and ball (137 wickets at an economy rate of 9.03).

Excerpts from the interview

How do you compare the pressure of playing IPL finals vs Big Bash finals?

Look, they both have their pressures, but there is nothing that comes close to the pressure of an IPL final. Whether it’s a semi a quarter or the grand final in the IPL, you know that there are hundreds of millions of eyeballs on you are barracking for you or wishing you to fail. You know, it’s massive. It’s what the EPL [English Premier League] of cricket essentially. That’s how big it is so it is far and beyond where the BBL finals ranked.

Do you think Virat Kohli retired early from T20Is and Steve Smith from ODIs?

Yes, you know we’d obviously love to see them playing forever as long as they can. So obviously they’ve done that for a very good reason that they spent a majority of their lives on the road playing cricket for their countries and that certainly takes its toll both mentally and physically so as those guys age and mature somewhat that they spend they want to spend time with and obviously focus on more important parts of their life but also more important parts of their games that they can extend their longevity somewhat.

Which bowler in the world would you want to face the least in the death overs?

Look, there are two bowlers that they’re both up both faced them each. Shaheen Shah Afrid and Jasprit Bumrah both bowl 150 kph and both bowl the perfect yorker. I had faced them both at the death. They are equally as difficult.

Which young Aussie cricketer excites you the most right now?

There are probably two from my state in Queensland that probably not many guys have heard heard about yet. Hugh Weibgen, who’s a batting off-spinning all-rounder, excellent cricketer and Callum Vidler, who’s a fast bowler young, probably 18 or 19 years of age, but is already bowling close to 150 kph.

If given a chance, would you like to mentor an IPL team today? Which one?

I’d love to yeah, from a batting and a bowling perspective, I feel like it’s those things I’ve done for 20 years throughout my career either at the top of the order or at the death overs. I do have a vast array of experience, both the good and the bad, to be able to lean on with the younger guys. So, if there was a team, you know teams like Mumbai, SRH, where I spend a lot of time, I’d love to do that!

Who’s the best captain you’ve played under, and you’ve played against?

That’s a tough one. You never really know if someone is a good captain, having played against them but playing with them, David Warner was right up there for me at the IPL with two years at the Sunrisers, how he backed his bowlers and backed his players and had minimal input but just enough to steer the game and his players in the right direction. I think he was a good perfect against that, that’s a tough one, quite a lot against obviously MS Dhoni. He’s got to be right up there. That’s for sure.

Rapid Fire Round — Cutting-Edge Choices

Batting cameos or bowling yorkers?

Batting cameos

Playing against Virat Kohli or against AB de Villiers?

Virat Kohli

Winning Player of the Match for batting or for bowling?

For batting

Facing Jasprit Bumrah or facing Mitchell Starc?

Mitchell Starc

IPL crowd or BBL crowd?

IPL crowd

Coffee in Australia or Chai in India?

Coffee in Australia

Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli as captain?