Steve O'Keefe

Stephen Norman John O'Keefe (born 9 December 1984) is a former Australian cricketer who played for the Australian national team in Test matches and Twenty20 Internationals, and a commentator for SEN and Nine.

O'Keefe was formerly the captain of the New South Wales Sheffield Shield team.

O'Keefe was born on 9 December 1984 in Malaysia to Stephen, who worked for the Royal Australian Air Force, and Jan, a nurse.

His father was stationed in Malaysia at the time of his birth.

The family, which also includes O'Keefe's sister Rebekah, later moved to Sale, Victoria and then to Richmond, New South Wales.

O'Keefe taught at the Richmond High School during his early cricket career.

O'Keefe made his First-Class debut for New South Wales against Tasmania in November 2005.

O'Keefe took 2 wickets and scored 10 runs on debut.

His first scoring shot was a six.

O'Keefe did not play first class cricket again until November 2009.

Against Tasmania he took 3–101.

That summer he took 15 first class wickets at an average of 30.93, making him one of the better performing spinners in Australia.

He also made 247 runs at an average of 61.75.

In 2010–11 O'Keefe took 26 first class wickets at 20.57 with a best of 4–65.

This saw him discussed as an international prospect, as Australian spin stocks were thin at the time.

The Australian selectors dropped Nathan Hauritz but used Xavier Doherty, Michael Beer and Steve Smith as spinners.

O'Keefe was picked to play for Australia A.

When the touring team for Sri Lanka and South Africa in late 2011 was picked, O'Keefe was overlooked in favour of Nathan Lyon.

Lyon's strong performances saw him establish himself as Australia's first-choice spinner.

O'Keefe struggled in 2011–12 only taking 9 first class wickets at an average of 52.

The following summer was better – O'Keefe took 24 wickets at an average of 22.2.

This made him the second highest wicket taking spinner in Australia, after Nathan Lyon but at a much better average.

He was considered a possibility as a backup spinner to Lyon on the 2013 tour of India.

However he was overlooked in favour of Xavier Doherty, who had taken two first class wickets that summer, and batting all rounder Glenn Maxwell, who had taken nine.

He also missed selection on the 2013 Ashes in favour of Ashton Agar.

O'Keefe's omission at international level was confusing to many.

According to one report:

"Over time there have been a range of reasons available on the rumour mill. He just bowls darts, some said. He's too chippy, was another explanation thrown out there. Yet another was a personality clash with an influential figure in the Australian set-up. The clash was very much true, but it being a reason for him being overlooked was only ever a theory. Whether his cause was further harmed, too, by his occasional bucking of the old-school maxim that you don't question selectors is unknown, too."

In 2013–14 O'Keefe took 41 first class wickets at 20.43 including a best of 6–70.

He finished the 2013/14 domestic Sheffield Shield season as the leading wicket taker for the NSW Blues, just edging out Western Australia's Jason Behrendorff.

He was picked on the 2014 tour of the UAE to play Pakistan.

Kerry O'Keeffe (no relation) said at the time:

"It is a reward for some of the stuff he has done over the past two years. His numbers are undeniable so they obviously misread him somehow. They have been forced to pick him as he has kept putting them in the book... I think they had a perception of him that didn’t quite fit and the only way to change that perception was to take wickets. He has fought against a perception and broken it down. This should be his reward."

O'Keefe made his Test debut.

On 8 August 2016, Steve O'Keefe was fined $10,000 by Cricket Australia after being issued with a criminal infringement notice by New South Wales Police following an incident at a Sydney hotel on 6 August 2016.

O'Keefe picked up the first wicket for the 2016–17 Big Bash League season, taking the wicket of Sydney Thunder opening batsmen Kurtis Patterson who was caught by Doug Bollinger.

O'Keefe is best known in the big bash during its fourth edition when he hit a last ball boundary of the bowling of Josh Lalor, to win a thriller against the Sydney Thunder which was Brett Lee's final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

O'Keefe was later fined $20,000 and suspended from the domestic Matador Cup following an alcohol-fueled incident in April 2017, in which he was reported to have made 'highly inappropriate comments' to New South Wales Breakers cricketer Rachael Haynes and her partner at Cricket NSW's Steve Waugh Medal function.

O'Keefe currently plays as a spin bowler for the Sydney Sixers.

He is also a handy batsman, and has previously opened the batting for the Sixers.