Finding your voice
Mastery comes more from doing, than preparing
Here’s a note I made in December 2024. I was with the VIC U19s at the National Carnival in Adelaide—Australia’s most underrated city.
140-odd young and aspiring cricketers came to Adelaide to find their voice. The majority left no closer to a solution than before. That’s not a knock—just reality.
Cricket is a complex game, like many pursuits. Mastery can arrive early or late, like the four aces in a deck of cards, if you stop turning, you’ll never know.
School was a distraction for me. English class gave me the cold sweats. The sooner I could leave Mr Wheatley’s room, the better. A cricket career followed, then full circle, back to class and writing.
Charlie Happell and Jon Howcroft were the editors at Backpagelead. They knocked my rough filings into readable content, and ever so slowly, I began to grasp the nuances of opinion writing.
Writing improved my writing.
It’s much the same for cricketers. Excessive practice gives a false sense of security. The true learnings lie in the games, not the nets. The VIC Metro boys will reflect and take undeniable intel from their narrow loss in the Championship final.
And I am still finding my voice. How's yours? For me, the proof is in the writing.
Nick
Links:
Charles Happell
Jon Howcroft
Scorecard WA vs VIC Metro Final 2024-25