Nicholson walks tall among Australia's new crop (27 December 1998)

27 December 1998

Nicholson walks tall among Australia's new crop

By Peter Roebuck

MATTHEW Nicholson was a bold and shrewd choice for the Melbourne Test match. Upon hearing of his inclusion in the party he turned white but need not have worried. The selectors knew their man; pace and honesty are not about the rawness of a skeleton or a light bulb in a dark room.

Sophistication has only a small part to play in the rattling of skulls and stumps. Did not the great prophet Thommo once explain his approach by saying: "I just run in and go whang."?

Nicholson is tall, athletic, determined and the fastest bowler in the country. Always Australia have relied upon pace and wrist spin on their own pitches. Hard wickets are a hard taskmaster. Not that Nicholson is a novice. Although he has played only nine Shield matches, his promise has long since been recognised. He played for Australia's Under-19 team and soon afterwards had the nerve to leave his family in Sydney to move to Perth. Doubtless he liked the look of the pitch. Patently he was ambitious.

Nonetheless, Nicholson has had to fight his way to the top. Australian cricketers are supposed to come from gruelling back streets. Nicholson's background is comfortable. Born and raised in St Ives, a plush suburb in the conservative northern parts of Sydney, Nicholson attended Knox Grammar School, and moving from school cricket with its manners and teas to the cursing of grade cricket is a shock from which most never recover.

Nicholson was not to be put off, besides which he was 6ft 6ins tall and could take care of himself. He was fast, too.

Nor was his background his only drawback. Nicholson has also endured a veritable cocktail of illnesses. It started with glandular fever in his last year at school, soon Ross River fever and salmonella were detected in his blood, and, finally, chronic fatigue syndrome laid him low, a demoralising and devastating sickness from which he recovered with remarkable alacrity. For a year, Nicholson could not walk let alone run or bowl. And it was not long before he returned, further evidence of his fortitude.

To round it off, Nicholson also suffered a stress fracture of the back and was forced to change his bowling action. Nowadays he flows in from a longish run and delivers the ball with his chest facing the batsman, easing the pressure on his back. He does not waste his energy on wild bumpers. But captains must nurse him, using him in short spells because his recovery is not quite complete.

It did not take Nicholson long to secure a place in the West Australian team and to introduce himself to this deteriorating touring team. Battering Mark Butcher's helmet saw to that. He also impressed on a calmer pitch in Canberra where Corey Richards also caught the eye. These are cricketers to take Australia into the next century. Unsurprisingly, Gloucestershire are keen to persuade Nicholson to play for them next year while the Australians are reluctant to let him go.

A year ago the Australians could hardly find a fast bowler. Now Glenn McGrath is back and Jason Gillespie and Nicholson have appeared. Probably Nicholson will not play in Sydney but he will go to the West Indies in March and take a lot of Test wickets. It helps to be tall. It also helps to be fast and willing.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)