Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\nMcGain\u2019s pleas fell on deaf ears \u2013 and making matters worse, the next QANTAS flight to Sydney had been cancelled.<\/p>\n
Analytical skills honed from years working in a bank came to the fore as McGain worked out a solution off his own bat.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d fly to Hong Kong first, before getting a connecting flight to Johannesburg, five hours later than the rest of the squad.<\/p>\n
It was that pragmatism that he believes smoothed out some rough edges when he linked up with the squad for what he remembers was an \u201cicy\u201d reunion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a big group \u2013 captain, vice-captain, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, and team manager and coach,\u201d McGain said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe coach was more than upset with it all, and so I just explained what had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they said \u2018You better get on to Cricket Australia and thank them for sorting that out for you\u2019, I said, no, I sorted that out. I did that myself.<\/p>\n
Green injured before six and out | 00:56<\/p>\n
\u201c(They said) \u2018Well, how do you do that? How do you know how to do that?\u2019 Well, that\u2019s what I do. I solve the problems. I\u2019m worldly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that bit struck a chord with Punter, although the others were left a little lost. Ricky went \u2018You did what? You organised your own flights to go to Hong Kong, to then go there and solve it, get the first available flight.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was Ricky who just said \u2018Oh, okay, now we understand that\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were ready to shoot the bazooka at me, and really blow up at me, and do all those things, but he sort of defused it pretty quickly once I explained it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDIDN\u2019T KNOW AT ALL\u201d: BAGGY GREEN SHOCK<\/p>\n
For the first two Tests, McGain was on 12th man duty as Australia stunned the Proteas to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain watches on with fellow squad members (L-R) Brett Geeves, Doug Bollinger and Steve Magoffin.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
His opportunity came on the morning of the third Test in Cape Town.<\/p>\n
North, who had served as the team\u2019s primary spinner as selectors opted for a four-man pace attack, was struck by illness \u2013 ironically, McGain himself had been laid low by a similar bug in the early stages of the tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI turned up to the game, and figured I\u2019d be 12th man \u2013 there\u2019s no reason to change a winning team,\u201d Australia\u2019s 410th Test cricketer told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an hour and 15 before the first ball gets bowled in a Test match \u2026 and they said, someone\u2019s going to make their debut. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m thinking, wow, interesting they\u2019ve changed the winning combination. Maybe they\u2019re rotating the quicks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey handed the calf to Ricky (Ponting) and he said \u2018OK, well, Bryce \u2026\u2019 \u2013 it was an overwhelming emotion, I\u2019ve got to tell you. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said some really nice things about deserving where I am, it\u2019s a lot of hard work, it\u2019s years of dedication. I do recall hearing all of that part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain gets a handshake from Michael Hussey after getting his baggy green.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
McGain\u2019s mother, who passed away in 2019, had been in the stands earlier in the tour, before returning to Australia before her son\u2019s big moment.<\/p>\n
She, and the rest of his family \u2013 including nine-year old Liam \u2013 only found out about his debut when it was announced on television coverage back home.<\/p>\n
\u201cMum didn\u2019t know until that happened \u2026 the word got around, I suppose, pretty quickly,\u201d McGain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few mates got together from Melbourne, cricket mates and mates outside of cricket, a whole lot of them got together and caught up late into the evening, and watched the Test and how it unfolded.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortunately, a lucky chance meant McGain had friends in Cape Town at the perfect moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome friends had just, on a whim, come over for the third Test,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of them was my under-14 coach at Mornington, Tony Stocker. Peter Buchanan, who was coach of Mornington, was there, and another good friend, Mark Dunsford, as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe three of them had just flown over and said \u2018Look, we\u2019re just going to go anyway. If he plays, he plays. He probably won\u2019t, but let\u2019s go and see a Test match. And they happened to be there in the crowd. <\/p>\n
My now wife, partner at the time, Georgie, was there as well. And she\u2019d done the same thing. She went to the second Test and came over and continued on to the third Test.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo to have those four people in the crowd and give them a hug in my warm-up gear with a baggy green on was pretty surreal. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I pretty quickly realised \u2018Oh, I\u2019d better get warmed up here!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain has a chat with selector on duty Merv Hughes.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
\u201cTHEY WERE COMING AT ME\u201d: HOW DEBUT TURNED UGLY<\/p>\n
With the benefit of hindsight, McGain has come to realise he \u201cwasn\u2019t quite right\u201d in Cape Town.<\/p>\n
The injury that had cost him a debut in India had healed enough for him to contribute at Shield level, but a smarting Proteas team featuring AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis and a recalled Ashwell Prince was quite another matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was limited with the pace variation that I could bowl,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably was lacking a bit of power to bowl the higher end paces, up into the 90s. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt took a bit of armoury away from making it harder for the batsman, as the ball and the change of pace was going to be critically important.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not necessarily saying you\u2019re bowling flat and quick \u2013 it\u2019s being able to change your pace with your flight, but being able to do that really quickly. That\u2019s what made Warnie so good.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarting the next season, I had all that back and realised then that that\u2019s the pieces that were missing at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surrounded by a strong, Johnson-led pace attack, the Proteas\u2019 mission to target the spinner led to one of Test cricket\u2019s most brutal introductions.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain and AB de Villiers watch the ball sail for six.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
McGain\u2019s second ball was hammered for six.<\/p>\n
Seven more would follow in 18 overs, with his figures swelling to 0\/149.<\/p>\n
At the time, they were the worst by an Australian in Tests, though fellow leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson has since surpassed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understood they were coming at me \u2013 every team would do that against a starting off spinner,\u201d McGain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen spinners get hit, they talk about thick skin and all those sort of things. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly how I did \u2013 \u2018Okay, great, you\u2019re coming at me. Terrific. I love it. You\u2019re playing shots. I\u2019m going to force an error here.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the worst thing that can happen? In your first over, you get hit for six. Okay, that\u2019s out of the way now. Get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as the onslaught continuing, McGain remembers a fatal mistake he \u2013 and captain Ponting \u2013 made.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I get into a groove, they\u2019d be attacking \u2013 it\u2019s not always a bad ball, but it might be just a touch short,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHell, these are the best players going around nearly all the time. Like, they\u2019re pretty amazing.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain manages a laugh coming from the field at the end of South Africa\u2019s innings.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess what I learned from that is really owning your strategy and honing in on your strategy, and believing in what\u2019s got you there. We sort of shifted away from that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the things that I certainly share with young spinners now: this is how I can hold. This is how we can get those guys off strike and different strategies like that. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a real learning opportunity for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
One thing McGain remembers most is the Proteas\u2019 show of sportsmanship after wrapping up an emphatic innings victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cMickey Arthur was coaching them at the time \u2013 it was quite interesting for an opposition coach to say \u2018This is just one moment. You\u2019ll be right, have fun playing in the Ashes\u2019,\u201d McGain said.<\/p>\n
The players were pretty supportive, to be honest. They weren\u2019t about tearing me down or anything like that. They just said \u2018You\u2019ll bounce back. You\u2019ll be right.\u2019 <\/p>\n
Warne, too, had got in touch.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said \u2018I went for a whole lot more runs in my first test and only took one wicket\u2019,\u201d McGain recalls.<\/p>\n
So close: Bryce McGain stretches unsuccessfully for a caught-and-bowled off South Africa\u2019s Albie Morkel.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
\u201cHOLY S**T, IT\u2019S ON\u201d: A SCARY ORDEAL<\/p>\n
McGain might not have taken a Test wicket \u2013 but he does have a pair of Test runs to his name.<\/p>\n
And he was also out in the middle for an incredible Australian achievement lost to history: Mitchell Johnson\u2019s one and only Test century.<\/p>\n
If he remained measured with the ball even while being dispatched by the Proteas\u2019 top order, coming out to face Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and co. was quite another matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to go down some stairs from the rooms at Cape Town \u2013 and I couldn\u2019t feel my legs going down,\u201d he told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cIncredibly nervous. I knew who I was facing.\u201d<\/p>\n
A \u201cwonky sort of a pull\u201d off spinner Paul Harris landed him his first run in the first innings; while second time around, a South African fan activation initiative made the task of batting even tougher.<\/p>\n
As did the fact he was coming out to face a hat-trick ball.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain walks out to face a hat-trick ball.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the series, they played this music for each of their bowlers \u2013 and Dale Steyn had chosen \u2018TNT\u2019 by ACDC,\u201d McGain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a couple of times that Doug Bollinger is singing it up in our batting room. And everyone\u2019s going \u2018f*** off, Doug, get out of here\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nearly like this Pavlov\u2019s dog trigger for these batters to go \u2018holy s**t, it\u2019s on\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe music came on when I was out there, and TNT started blaring out. I\u2019m in the middle of the oval and understanding the triggers that it had for the batters ahead of me, how tense that makes you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Facing Harris again, the No.10 did his bit to survive and ensure Johnson, who had been stranded on 96 earlier in the series, reached three figures.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in the absolute best form of his life \u2013 so to be out there when he made his hundred was a special little moment to share,\u201d McGain recalls.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain congratulates Mitchell Johnson on his maiden Test century.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd pretty consequently after that, he got that excited, he just ran me out the very next ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obeying his teammate\u2019s push for a nonexistent second run to allow Johnson to retain the strike, McGain was comfortably run out at the non-striker\u2019s end for a duck \u2013 a sacrificial final act in Test cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nowhere near it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m sort of like \u2018No, no, no\u2019 \u2013 and he was just running at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Oh, OK, well, far be it for me to just stand there and hold my ground against someone who\u2019s on a hundred. I\u2019d best run through and hopefully there\u2019s a fumble\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to be the one burning him out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell Johnson reacts to running out Bryce McGain.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
\u201cNIGHT TIME\u2019S FOR SLEEPING\u201d: THE DIG MCGAIN NEVER FORGOT<\/p>\n
While McGain remembers most of his time in South Africa fondly, there are moments that stick in the craw even now.<\/p>\n
Looking back, he cites several cultural differences between the successful Victorian environment he had been a part of, and an Australian team in transition \u2013 and far less well-resourced than he had expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the stuff leant on a lot was visualisation,\u201d McGain recalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be preparing myself \u2013 \u2018if I\u2019m bowling to them, this is what I do, I bowl this and bowl that\u2019, so you just shut your eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got really good at that, and I would do that in the Victorian change rooms, eyes shut, just lying there.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain visualises ahead of an Australian tour game in Potchefstroom in 2009.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I was going through that stage of my preparation (in South Africa), making the most of that sort of environment, I get a punch in the arm. And a senior player just goes, \u2018hey, night time\u2019s for sleeping\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018Okay, who\u2019s sleeping?\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that I really hold strongly is seek first to understand, then be understood \u2026 \u2018Oh, help me understand what you\u2019re doing there, oh, it\u2019s actually visualising\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of those things over that tour, little things like that just weren\u2019t about understanding me as a person.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving said that, some of the players were terrific, and connected, and wanted to find out more about me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found Michael Clarke one of those, and maybe it was because Warnie said \u2018hey, support Bryce, he\u2019ll be really good for the team, and we\u2019ll get along\u2019, and I know that Warnie and he were really close.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was really interested in me, how life was with my son, how I balance it playing professional cricket, a lot of those sort of things, so he was very interested in those things, and he took the time to have those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps unsurprisingly in an era in which countless Australian spinners, McGain included, were tried and summarily discarded, the level of spin-bowling analysis on tour was far removed from what he\u2019d had available even with Victoria, as well as from Jenner and Warne.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain of Australia in action during day two of the Third Test between South Africa and Australia. (Photo by Hamish Blair\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThey basically put (fellow spinner) Nathan Hauritz and I in a room \u2013 \u2018yeah, okay, spin bowlers meeting, go and work out where your plans are going to be bowling to these guys\u2019,\u201d McGain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of guidance, I was a little surprised that it was a little limited, but it was probably also empowering us to go, okay, you\u2019ve got here, how would you go? How would you go about this?<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess it was a little less than I\u2019d anticipated \u2026 in terms of technical coaching, yeah, there\u2019s none of that sort of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Australian team has since developed a far more professional off-field support system for its players, with Nathan Lyon a direct beneficiary.<\/p>\n
And McGain can only help but wonder whether it\u2019s experiences of players like him \u2013 as well as teammate and now-head coach Andrew McDonald, who played all three Tests on that 2009 tour \u2013 is a reason why.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows? It might have been the fact that Andrew McDonald didn\u2019t have that when he played Test cricket, that he realised how valuable it could be,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s background shapes who they are. And I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a player in that Australian team that doesn\u2019t have that, to enable their skills to best perform at the top level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain talks tactics with Ricky Ponting.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
Perhaps most galling is the feedback from selectors after letting him know he\u2019d missed the cut for that year\u2019s Ashes tour of England.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey basically just rang me and said no, you haven\u2019t been selected,\u201d McGain recalls. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I went oh, okay. What do you need to see from me to get selected? <\/p>\n
\u201cThey said you need to control the runs, take wickets, basically bowl like Shane Warne.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the feedback was kind of just wishy-washy. You haven\u2019t been selected. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how feedback used to be. It used to be keep you in the dark and manage it that way. Thank goodness that\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTHAT\u2019S A HAT\u201d: KEEPING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE<\/p>\n
Since those whirlwind days in early 2009, McGain has given more back to the game he loves than most.<\/p>\n
A year on from the Proteas\u2019 merciless onslaught, his four second-innings wickets led Victoria to a resounding Sheffield Shield final win.<\/p>\n
After being moved on in 2010 to make room for talented youngster Jon Holland, McGain returned to old Premier Cricket side Prahran, and in recent years has featured for junior club Mornington.<\/p>\n
Most recently, he has been named to Cricket Victoria\u2019s board, at a crucial time for the domestic game.<\/p>\n
Throughout, son Liam has grown into a talented young cricketer of his own \u2013 and helped McGain keep his cricket journey in perspective.<\/p>\n
Bryce McGain with son Liam, then 8, in late 2007.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have loved him to experience it because I didn\u2019t know if it was going to happen again,\u201d McGain told foxsports.com.au of his Test debut, with Liam a little too young to grasp its significance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got back, I\u2019m packing the bag and he\u2019s excited to see me and all that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s sort of like, oh, that\u2019s a hat. The baggy green!<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gave me an enormous perspective in life and it helped me perform really well in my cricket because I had a broader perspective than just cricket is absolutely everything. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had other responsibilities, had other considerations. It helped me enormously to be a better cricketer by having that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"17 years on, Bryce McGain remains \u201cincredibly proud\u201d. Just days shy of his 37th birthday, the Victorian leg-spinner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":918716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,85],"class_list":["post-918715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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