cricket with balls

I’m going to try and be tactful here. Its pretty much the house style around here to be in love with Bryce and when you’re a guest in someone’s place it is very bad form to criticise the fixtures and fittings. So, rather than say anything too much, imagine how you’re feeling right now if you’re Mr Bryce Edward McGain.

You’ve waited 35 years to play for your country. During that time you’ve fallen in love with cricket, fallen out of love with it and then fallen back in with it again.

Even then, you never thought of playing for your country. But, suddenly, you hit the form of your life and everyone starts thinking you’re the (latest) successor to Warney.

You start believing it yourself and, sure enough, you’re called into the national squad. Then, horror of horrors, your shoulder remembers how old it is and gives out on you.

You fight back from that, pick up another shedload of Sheffield Shield wickets and once again the call comes from the selectors.

Then you oversleep and miss the plane out of town.

Finally, at the age of 36 years and 359 days, you get to make your debut.

Whereupon Ashwell Prince hammers your second ball for six. You’re disappointed, but you welcome the challenge. You keep tossing the ballup, trying everything you’ve learned in grade cricket and a whole 21 first class games. But South Africans keep hitting you for boundaries and you finish the second day of your test career with figures of 11-2-102-0 – arguably the worst in history.

So, if you’re Bryce, how are you feeling?

Look back at everything above. This is a man who has come through a lot to make his debut at an age at which, even in the modern era, most players are thinking of retirement. He might look like a bust at the moment, but let’s twist the scenario a bit. How many batsman fail abysmally in their first test? 37 of them have made pairs. The list includes Graham Gooch, Marvan Attapattu and Saeed Anwar – not to mention New Zealand’s current number six, James Franklin.

McGain might yet turn out to be a bust, but I’m certainly not going to make that call after 11 overs.

I’ll tell you one thing, though. I bet he won’t oversleep tomorrow morning.