Teen Big Bash debutant an instant crowd favourite

Liam Bowe of the Stars looks on during the Big Bash League match between the Melbourne Stars and the Adelaide Strikers. Photo / Getty

Teenage debutant Liam Bowe was an instant hit with fans.

His debut for the Melbourne Stars at the MCG was destined to be impressive, occupying the number 23 jersey made famous by Shane Warne throughout his career in limited overs cricket.

The left arm recruit caught the attention of fans after snagging powerhouse Ben Dunk with a quicker ball, forcing the Strikers opener to rush his shot and slice it into the hands of David Hussey at mid-off.

His prowess with the ball led the Melbourne Stars to dub him "The Wizard", much to fans' enjoyment.

With Bowe's most obvious feature being his glasses, viewers were quick to affectionately rename him to "cricket's Harry Potter".

Bowe joins the likes of former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori as one of the rare players to opt for glasses over contact lenses on the field.

His immediate popularity was a sight to see, overtaking FIFA's huge new decision to include 48 teams in future World Cups for the number one trending topic for Twitter in Australia.

South Australian Redbacks coach Darren Berry was particularly impressed with his performance, praising the young spinner for excelling in cricket's "hardest skill".

Hardest skill in cricket 2 execute is wrist spin & rare 2 see left arm Harry Potter (Liam Bowe) @StarsBBL is a beauty Well done Craig Howard

— Darren Berry (@ChuckBerry1969) January 10, 2017

Wicket!
Could Liam Bowe be the chosen one?#BBL06 pic.twitter.com/CqjV8ODKnb

— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) January 10, 2017

No points for guessing why...👓#Bowe #HarryPotter #Wizard #BBL06 pic.twitter.com/YAYNEnpAoX

— Shmick 🇦🇺 (@_shmick) January 10, 2017

While only taking one wicket with figures of 1/21 from three overs, Bowe's control over the ball at such a young age left a lot of people excited.

Adam Gilchrist was impressed. "Young Liam Bowe, what a terrific effort from him," the former Australian wicketkeeper said.

Stars captain Kevin Pietersen was just as happy with his debutant's performance, sheepishly admitting he hadn't seen him bowl before Tuesday night's game. "Absolutely right, Gilly. Magnificent," Pietersen replied from the field.

"I'd like to be the professional, (and say) this wasn't the fist time I saw him bowl, but it was. I'm mightily impressed."

The Stars squandered an opportunity at finishing the game early against the Strikers, losing a number of wickets on their way to chasing down a lowly 153. The hosts fell like flies to the bowling of New Zealand leg spinner Ish Sohdi who began his reign of terror with a skidding delivery trapping Test star Peter Handscomb LBW for two.

The game got incredibly tight towards the last over with the Stars eight wickets down with three runs to win. All eyes were on the shaky Liam Bowe padded up at number 11 to hit the winning runs to complete a perfect debut, but luckily enough for the Stars he wasn't needed.

Ben Hilfenaus uneasily shanked the fourth-last ball of the game over square leg fielder's head to complete a difficult win for the Melbourne unit and earn himself Man of the Match honours with his figures of 2/21 from three overs.

The Big Bash returns tomorrow night at the Gabba with the Brisbane Heat taking on the Perth Scorchers.