From when I first took up cricket, and even tennis, my goal from a young age was to represent Australia by playing at the highest level.
I was lucky enough to get that opportunity with cricket, but not everybody has that opportunity.
And for those that do, it isn’t always for the country they have called home most of their life. So what takes precedence? Representing your country (being the country where you have lived the most) or giving yourself every opportunity to play at the highest level?
Last week I saw Luke Ronchi, a Western Australian boy at heart, don on the gloves for the Kiwis against England at Lords.
Having moved to Western Australia with his family at a young age, he became the No. 1 keeper for Western Australia after Ryan Campbell announced his retirement in 2006.
From 2008 – 2009 Luke was also seen as the No. 2 keeper for Australia behind Brad Haddin and when injury or resting took place Luke got the opportunity to represent Australia in 3 x T20’s and 4 x ODIs against the West Indies and South Africa.
In those five games he performed well, including scoring 36 from 22 on debut opening the batting and in the final game of the series against West Indies he recorded the third fastest fifty scoring 64 off 28 balls.
Over the next few years it became evident that the Australian selectors were looking at the likes of Tim Paine and Matthew Wade as the next generation of keepers and presumably this forced Luke to consider his options.
From a distance, it seemed as though his choices were to remain playing for Western Australia making a decent income as a state cricketer, or consider playing for another country to give himself the chance to see if he was good enough to mix it regularly with the best players in the game.
At the age of 31, to up and move his family a year ago to return to New Zealand wouldn’t have been an easy decision, but as he said “if I didn’t try it in New Zealand I’d regret not doing it.”
I expect it was a tough decision, but arguably the right one as he walked out on Lord’s, a ground he had only ever watched cricket at.
Although he scored a duck he did take three catches behind the wicket and became the first player since Kepler Wessels to play for two full members of the International Cricket Council and the first to represent Australia and New Zealand.
At the other end of the spectrum we have Sam Robson. Sam, the son of Jim Robson a current employee of Cricket NSW and a former selector for the Blues, is currently carving it up over in England for Middlesex.
Sam who had represented NSW at an U17 and U19 level headed over to England after he finished school.
Like most club cricketers, the appeal of heading over to England to play cricket for the winter was to too good an opportunity to miss.
So when he stumbled across a mate who was pulling out at late notice he jumped at the chance to replace him.
Once there, to increase his development as a cricketer, Sam began contacting counties to see if he could get extra matches during the week, it was soon discovered that he had an English passport thanks to his mother, therefore allowing him to play as a local player.
This meant his passage into county cricket was a little smoother as a county wouldn’t have to use one of their overseas player spots to contract him.
Sam received his break at the county level when he was offered a rookie contract with Middlesex, soon after being offered a rookie contract with Cricket NSW.
In choosing to accept Middlesex’s offer, the deciding factor was that he would be given more opportunity to play with Middlesex, than he would with Cricket NSW, so England it was for him to develop.
Sam, at 23, has developed quite nicely and is currently sitting on the most scored runs at 652 at an impressive average of 81.50 in Division 1 of the County Championships this season. Chris Rogers his opening partner at Middlesex is sitting right behind him on 552 runs at 61.33.
With Australia heading over to play in English conditions and the fragile nature of our current batting order, it is players like Robson that are starting to pop up.
Having passed his father in the hallways of our office, I managed to grab him and ask him what his son will do.
“He is going to have to weigh up all the options. He currently is just in the Middlesex’s County side and wants to be seen as a player who can play all formats”, said Jim.
As Jim pointed out to me, they play more longer format matches, 16 compared to our 10 Sheffield Shield and in a sport where there are hundreds of young athletes trying to make it to the top and make a living, it isn’t an easy decision.
With his current form, I am sure that there are plenty of States interested in obtaining his services for the coming season, but Sam’s situation is quite different.
He is currently playing for Middlesex as a local player (they only are allowed a small number of overseas players), therefore if Sam was to return to Australia he would have to also play here as a local, therefore giving up his contract at Middlesex as their overseas player is Chris Rogers.
Not the easiest decision to make for a young man who is finding some lovely form at the moment. With his parents heading over in July it will be nice to have their support as he sits down to make some tough decisions.
At the end of the day I believe elite athletes want to challenge themselves and see if they are good enough to compete at the next level, if given the chance.
I think gone are the days where athletes sit tight and wait for their opportunity.
After all, there are only so many contracts being offered that you would be ridiculous not to take one, even if that means you have to forgo your dream to represent your country that you have always called home.
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Ian Healy was once an advocate of a proposal to allow players from one country to play for another country on a series by series basis to prop up those weaker teams and make international cricket more competitive. This could have seen Brad Hodge playing for New Zealand for a year for example and Healy supported the idea as a way for those fringe players in one country to play international cricket.. However Australia had a need for a spin bowler at the time (i.e. Post Warne) and India had Kumble as their no.1 spinner and Harbajhan Singh could not get a game. The plan Healy supported would have seen Harbajhan playing test cricket for Australia. I'll say that again. The plan Healy supported would have seen Harbajhan playing test cricket for Australia. I have no problem with a player choosing one country over another but god help us if the T20 cricket mercenary ever finds his way into the test arena.
Ryderam
Guest
There is nothing that I could think of that would make me what to give up my Australian citizenship. Admittedly, I have not been overlooked by the Australian selectors when oh-so-close, nor have I been proposed to by a Danish prince. If I was good enough, Australia is THE only country I could represent with all my heart. How Kevin Petersen can continue to call himself a Pom with his Saffa accent, at a time in history where he didn't really have to do a Kepler Wessels, is beyond me.
Steve
Guest
Is Man U better than England?
peeeko
Roar Guru
i dont know if the wallabies are kiwi rejects, didnt most of them move to australia before their careers were decided?
Cantab
Guest
Every American sport.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Even worse, imagine if you're the German cricket authorities, and you've got a potentially great player that you can build a side around ... and he even gets a contract to play for a county in England. And everyone knows that in five years he will announce he's playing for England. Welcome to the reality of Dutch and Irish cricket.
JGK
Roar Guru
I always thought that Merlene Ottey representing Slovenia at the Olympics in 2004 (after representing Jamaica in the previous 6 Olympics) was quite surreal.
JGK
Roar Guru
Is Barcelona or Bayern better than Spain or Brazil?
Brian
Guest
Interesting I can't think of another sport where the pinnacle is not the highest level.
MadMonk
Guest
prestige/respect of your peers and cash
MadMonk
Guest
my apologies to him. Make an assumption and it bits you on the a#@$.
sheek
Roar Guru
The most amazing example I can think of is Kepler Wessels. Following the 1976 tour by the NZ All Blacks rugby team to South Africa, the subsequent boycott of the 1976 Montreal Olympics by African black nations & the Soweto shootings in the same year, the Gleneagles agreement of 1977 effectively froze South Africa out of all international sport bar rugby. Wessels was a young, ambitious man of 20, suddenly with his future as a test player cut off from him. He had represented a South African President's XI against the International Wanderers in 1976 (containing many Aussies). Rather than try his luck in England, Wessels moved to Australia where he was signed up by WSC for the rebel Australians for the season 1978/79. He made his official test debut for Australia in 1982/83 after four residential years in Queensland. In 1986/87, he moved back to South Africa but appeared for the rebel Australians cricket team. In 1989/90 he then represented the unofficial South African XI against the English rebels, before making his official test debut for South Africa in 1992 as captain. It had been an extraordinary 360 degrees turnaround journey for Wessels over 16 years. No player in history has had his extraordinary sporting journey.
Roboh
Guest
How about if you had the talent to be the next Tendulkar but you were born in Germany? Sure, you can represent your country, but only at the level the ICC says you can. Being so talented, you could probably lift your country up through the World Cricket League rankings, but only so far. In reality, you have absolutely zero chance of playing test cricket. ODIs are limited to the top 16 nations, and I think T20s are similar. So you are stuck playing first class games with no recognition. All because the ICC say only certain teams are allowed to compete. What a ridiculous system!
Brian
Guest
As someone who cares relatively little for League why is SOO a higher pinnacle than the Kangaroos. Surely the Australian side (and probably NZ) are better teams than NSW or QLD.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
State of origin is a perfect case study. The amount of young Pacific Islanders pledging their allegiance to Australia in order to play origin is getting silly. But I don't blame them, who wouldn't want the opportunity to play at the pinnacle of their sport, and that's what origin is to many.
Football United
Roar Pro
Mike Havenaar was born and raised in Hiroshima and became a full citizen at the age of 7.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I don't have a problem with people qualifying for other nations through things like residency or ancestry. My real gripe however is when a sport lets you change nations. My personal preference is that once you choose, that's it - what makes you decide is up to you, but you shouldn't be allowed to go around willy-nilly changing teams. This is not club cricket - it's Test cricket!
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Hell yeah! Sam is interesting in that he didn't test the waters in Australia first. He's about as English as vegemite. He's said he's happy as Larry there and he's got the backing of his county and perhaps the English board. So good luck to him I say. The old Ronch probably wishes he'd left for NZ five years earlier.
MadMonk
Guest
I think in football Ronchi's situation could not occur because he has played an A international for Australia. For cricket this would not be a bad rule. I am no rugby expert but rugby would appear to be enhanced if Australian, NZ (and British) internationals of Pacific Islander extraction or birth could play for their country of heritage once their career for their other country has ended. To decide these rules you need to understand the economics of the sport. Japan fielded a Dutchman against the Socceroos the other night who presumably was uncapped by the Netherlands and had lived and played in Japan for a long time. European teams are starting to field players from African and South American countries that have come to professional club academies at a young age. Many choose their birth country but some feel stronger ties to their country of "choice". Interesting in football that players income is predominantly from club not country so decisions may be a little purer. Where your income is linked to these decisions (say for example an Pacific Islander rugby player or Ronchi) the decision to follow the dollars is entirely understandable and rational.
Nick
Roar Guru
You should allowed to play for any country that you identify with (and of course, legally qualify for). For many many people on the planet, people identfy themselves from multiple nations. If they want to play for one over the other, so be it. If they want to flip flop, so be it. Its their right to do so.