Simon O'Donnell

It's definitely the hardest game of cricket I've ever played. The World Cup was difficult, if not more difficult, but you knew it was all going to be over in a day. This just took turn after turn after turn over the four days' duration, plus your rained out day — it was a real tough game of cricket to play for every body.

He also toured with Australia on a trip to Sharjah. In a game against Sri Lanka, O'Donnell scored 74 off 29 balls, making his 50 in 18 balls – the fastest one day 50 at that time.

There was a risk he would be made 12th man for the third test but O'Donnell kept his position. He was made 12th man for the last test.

In November 2011, it was announced that O'Donnell would replace James Brayshaw was host of The Sunday Footy Show. However, In November 2012, Nine announced that O'Donnell had left the network.

O'Donnell hosted Melbourne radio station Sport 927's morning program with Kevin Bartlett until 2004.

In July 1993 O'Donnell resigned as captain of Victoria.

O'Donnell was reappointed Victorian captain for the 1992–93 season. He earned selection in the Prime Ministers XI. Victoria struggled that summer and O'Donnell's captaincy came under criticism for lack of imagination and aggression. There was some talk his job was in danger. O'Donnell:

He recovered with treatment to return to the Australian One-Day team in the 1988–89 season and played 43 more limited-overs matches till 10 December 1991 and claimed 56 wickets and made 5 match winning 50 plus scores including the fastest half-century in One Day Internationals (18 balls v Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 1990, which lasted for 6 years until Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya scored 50 from 17 balls v Pakistan at Singapore on 7 April 1996). O'Donnell maintained a very good batting strike rate of 80.96 runs per 100 balls in ODIs, almost double his scoring rate in Tests.

In 1991 he scored 71 off 45 balls in a one-day game for Victoria against Essex.

O'Donnell was selected in Australia's one day side for 1991–92 but had to withdraw due to an dislocated shoulder. He played for Victoria as a batsman only for a few games. Despite his injury he was named in Australia's preliminary 20 man squad for the 1992 World Cup. He suffered a poor run of form, scoring 124 runs at an average of 12 with the bat, and only bowling gently medium pace. He was not picked for the final 14 man World Cup squad.

O'Donnell was voted international cricketer of the year in 1990–91.

During the mid-1990s as part of his work with Channel 9, O'Donnell was a regular on the daytime program The Midday Show, teaming up with former rugby league footballer Paul "Fatty" Vautin on Friday's to give an overview of the weekends sporting events, usually the AFL and NSWRL competitions, and to give their racing tips. The pair would generally get into silly situations (e.g. coming out onto the set dressed in blowup Sumo suits), or would be on location such as in early 1994 when O'Donnell was taken on some hot laps of the high speed Calder Park Thunderdome oval racetrack in Melbourne with multiple AUSCAR champion Brad Jones.

O'Donnell continued to play strongly for the Australian one-day team throughout the 1990–91 summer. Highlights included 4-45 against England, and 71 against England He over took Dennis Lillee as Australia's leading ODI wicket-taker and there was talk he might go to the West Indies as a limited over specialist. He was not selected but did win the International Cricketer of the Year Award despite playing no tests. He also led Victoria to the Sheffield Shield when they defeated New South Wales in the final. O'Donnell said after the match:

Through the 1989 English summer, O'Donnell played club cricket for Haslingden. He played a game for the Rest of the World against Glamorgan and scored 66 off 23 balls.

He played in the Australian one day team that toured India in late 1989, and had a mediocre tournament with the exception of 3-48 against Sri Lanka.

At the beginning of the 1989–90 summer there was some talk that Dean Jones might captain Victoria instead of O'Donnell. However O'Donnell retained the captaincy.

He was captain of Victoria for five seasons from 1988–89 until his retirement in 1993. This was a mixed period, which included a Sheffield Shield victory in 90–91, but Victoria also finished last in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1992–93.

Simon O'Donnell was appointed Victorian captain at the beginning of the 1988–89 season. He told the press:

O'Donnell was selected to play in Australia's one day tour of Sharjah in 1987 and the World Cup.

O'Donnell began the 1986–87 season well with 52 against Tasmania and 108 against NSW. He followed this with 77 against England in a tour game and 86 against West Australia.

Seen as a limited-overs specialist with clever medium pace bowling and explosive lower order hitting, he played 87 ODIs between 1985 and 1992, scoring 1242 runs and taking 108 wickets in his career. He played in Australia's 1987 World Cup Final victory and was a significant wicket-taker and finished the World cup as Australia's most economical bowler, but soon after he suffered severe pain that was diagnosed as non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In January 1985 O'Donnell was named in the 12 man Australian one day squad. ""I am very delighted", he said. "It will be the biggest thrill of my life to walk out on to the MCG on Sunday. It was my goal at the start of the year to try and make national selection, but I thought that might not come for two or three years."

In the World Championship of Cricket, O'Donnell had a fantastic game against Pakistan, making 74 and taking 2-42. This helped earn O'Donnell selection on the short tour to Sharjah in early 1985. He was also selected on the squad to tour England for the Ashes. "A lot of hard work has been one thing", he said. "The dividends are starting to pay off — they're paying off very quickly", adding that "I've still got to get a Test match over there. There are 17 going, so I've got to get into the top 11."

O'Donnell injured his hip at the beginning of the 1985–86 season and missed some early games. He recovered in time to be selected for the first test against New Zealand. He took a career best 2-53 and 5-66 against New South Wales. However fellow all rounder Greg Matthews took 5-22 in the same game and he was preferred to O'Donnell, who was made 12th man.

O'Donnell played as an all-rounder for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield between 1984 and 1993, scoring a century in his first match. He went on to play 6 Test matches in 1985, 5 on the Ashes tour of England and one at home, but with a low bowling strike rate in 5 and 4 day cricket, he was more successful in the shorter form of the game.

O'Donnell made his first class debut for Victoria against South Australia at the MCG in February 1984.

O'Donnell played 24 games and kicked 18 goals between 1982 and 1983 in what was then the VFL. However, he had continued to play cricket and retired from football to focus on his cricket career.

Simon Patrick O'Donnell (born 26 January 1963) is an Australian former cricketer, VFL footballer, and horse racing and cricket commentator. He is currently a horse breeder. He is a former record holder for the fastest ODI fifty, who was first cricketer to score fifty less than 20 balls in ODI history.

As a junior, Simon played Australian rules football for Assumption College, Kilmore, where he kicked 100 goals in his senior year. This led to him being recruited for senior football by the St Kilda Football Club, where his father Kevin had played 49 games on a forward flank in the 1940s. Coincidentally, Kevin O'Donnell played alongside two more notable Australian cricketers; Sam Loxton and Keith Miller, members of the legendary 1948 Invincibles.