A tall allrounder who combines right-arm fast-medium bowling with strong lower-order batting, John Hastings enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2009-10. He was Victoria's leading wicket-taker in all three competitions, played in the final in all three formats, and not surprisingly was named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year. Most impressive was his Sheffield Shield collection of 446 runs at 37.16 and 36 wickets at 26.13, which confirmed him as a serious all-round talent for the Australian selectors to consider in the next few years.

His first two names invited people to call him the Duke and New South Wales watched him ride into the Victorian sunset at the end of 2006-07 as he could not find a way into the Blues line-up. A muscular hulk of a man at 196 centimetres and 105 kilograms, Hastings is a remarkably canny bowler who relies on outsmarting batsmen rather than genuine pace. Less surprising is the fact that Hastings was a talented rugby player and was a second-rower in the Australian schoolboys team before he gave the game away to focus on cricket. Away from the game, he is qualified as a physical education teacher.