[7][8][9] Dubbed "The Wild Thing", during his career Tait was considered one of the fastest bowlers in the world,[10][11] regularly bowling at speeds up to 155 km/h.

[23] He made his List A debut in February 2003 and as a result of his strong first season, was awarded a place at the Australian Cricket Academy alongside players such as Ben Hilfenhaus and Luke Ronchi.

[29] His first match was against a Somerset side captained by fellow Australian Ricky Ponting, although he did not take a wicket and bowled 21 no balls in his 12 overs.

Tait was awarded his first Cricket Australia central-contract for the 2004–05 season, being included ahead of Queensland fast bowler Andy Bichel.

[33] After missing the opening half of the 2005–06 domestic season with an injury to his right shoulder, sustained on the Ashes tour,[34] Tait struggled on his return, taking only 14 wickets at 38.35 in the four matches in which he was able to play.

[37] An elbow injury kept Tait out for the opening parts of the 2007–08 Sheffield Shield season,[38] however, upon recovery, a match against Queensland at the Brisbane Cricket Ground saw him take his first 10-wicket haul.

[47][48] Tait made his One Day International debut in February 2007 against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 2006–07 Commonwealth Bank Series.

[50] Tait was selected for the final two games of the series, taking two wickets as New Zealand chased down scores of over 300 twice and whitewashed a strong Australian team.

Despite the added pressure, Tait performed to much acclaim in the World Cup, finishing the tournament as the equal second leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets at an average of 20.30.

[57] He went wicketless in a rain affected final against Sri Lanka,[58] but Australia won the tournament in what was described as the "most dominant campaign" by a team in World Cup history.

[59] Tait was selected in the 13-man squad for Sri Lanka's tour of Australia in November 2007,[60] however his ongoing elbow injury forced him out, being replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus.

He went wicketless; his claims to "bowl over" the Indian team had backfired and he announced that he would take an indefinite break from cricket after the match.

During the 2015–16 Big Bash season, he bowled an economical spell of 3/16 for Hobart[73] and was recalled to the national team for the T20 International series against India, but missed selection for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 after failing to take a wicket in the two matches he played.

[77][78] At the end of the same year he resigned from the post[79] and in February 2022 was appointed as the bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team for 12 months.