Full name Benjamin William Hilfenhaus
Born March 15, 1983, Ulverstone, Tasmania
Current age 26 years 84 days
Major teams Australia, Tasmania
Nickname Hilfy
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Height 1.86 m
Benjamin William Hilfenhaus (Pronounced Hilfen-House) (born 15 March 1983 in Ulverstone, Tasmania), is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket. He is Ricky Ponting's second cousin. Hilfenhaus plays club cricket for Tasmania University Cricket Club. Prior to turning fully professional, he worked as a bricklayer as well as playing cricket.
He is right-arm fast-medium bowler known for his ability to swing the ball. He has best bowling figures of 7/58. Hilfenhaus took 39 wickets at 30.82 in his debut season and was rewarded with a place in the Australia "A" squad for the winter Top End series. He had previously represented Australia at under-19 level.
Hilfenhaus made his International début in a Twenty20 international for Australia against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 9 January 2007. He bowled four overs and took two wickets for 16 runs. This was followed up by selection in the one-day team for the One Day International on 14 January against New Zealand at Bellerive Oval, his state team's home ground. He took his first ODI wicket (Brendon McCullum) in his second over. Hilfenhaus quickly became a local favourite, with the crowd cheering "Hilfy" whenever he was involved in play. He is expected to start challenging from a more stable place in the Australian team over the next few years, although he faces competetition for a place from two other young fast bowlers, Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait.
On 6 February 2007, Hilfenhaus was named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year. He was a convincing winner of the award, as he polled 97 votes to finish well clear of second-placed Cullen Bailey of South Australia (11 votes) and NSW's Edward Cowan (6 votes). He was the leading wicket-taker across Australian cricket during the voting period with 75 wickets at 25.17 in 23 matches.
There have been several comparisons made between Hilfenhaus and a young Glenn McGrath[2] and McGrath himself described him as "very impressive" .
After receiving his first full national contract with the Australian cricket team, Hilfenhaus was included in Australia's squads for the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship and the One Day International tour of India. He also received a call up to the Test squad to take on Sri Lanka when South Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait was ruled out with injury. However, he did not get to add to his international appearances on any of the above occasions.
Profile
The journey took a little longer than expected, but Ben Hilfenhaus picked up a baggy green in 2008-09 to re-confirm his status as one of Australia's bowling stars. While back injuries have worn him down at times, he pushed through the problems to join Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle in a bowling attack that could become frightening if the trio stays together. Hilfenhaus swings the ball at speed and gained seven South African wickets in the three games before going home to rest his back ahead of the Ashes tour.
Hilfenhaus was able to lay down his trowel after a series of dramatic performances in his first two seasons catapulted him to a national contract in 2007. Two years earlier, Hilfenhaus was earning money on a building site, but his ability to shape the ball away at 140kph earned a six-figure pay packet. "It has been a fast ride," he said after picking up the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year prize in February 2007. A month earlier he represented Australia for the first time in a one-day international on his home ground at Hobart, taking only 12 balls to get his maiden wicket when he trapped Brendon McCullum.
A strong and fit man from Ulverstone in northern Tasmania, Hilfenhaus is only the second fast bowler from the state to play for Australia after Greg Campbell, Ricky Ponting's uncle. While shaping the ball away is his specialty, he can also angle it in and his repertoire was crucial to the Tigers' maiden Pura Cup victory in 2006-07. Hilfenhaus' 60 wickets at 25.38, the third most in the competition's history, included three five-wicket hauls, but his back-breaking workload means he is always an injury candidate. He delivered 509.1 overs in the first-class arena that summer, nearly 200 more than any of his domestic fast-bowling counterparts. His collection of 28 wickets at 43.82 in 2007-08 was not the follow-up campaign he wanted but the selectors showed faith and chose him in Australia's Test squad to visit the West Indies in 2008, although he was later ruled out due to a recurrence of stress fractures in his back.
In his opening season Hilfenhaus quickly built a strong reputation and after 39 wickets at 30.82 was named in the Australia A squad for the Top End series. A former national under-19 representative, he also accepted an invitation to return to the Academy after first attending the facility when it was based in Adelaide in 2002. He was Man of the Match in his second game against Victoria and his first-season highlight was a ten-wicket haul, including 7 for 58, against New South Wales.
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