Another cricketer lost to football

[Beny]

Another cricketer lost to football

By Darren Berry
November 21, 2004

Brett Deledio, the Kyabram teenager taken with the first pick in yesterday's AFL draft, is yet another example of a talented cricketer lost to football. If all the talk is true, he perhaps has made the correct career choice. He may well be a future star on the MCG, but not in cricket whites under a navy blue Victorian cap.



He is not the first and will not be the last multi-talented sportsman forced to make the choice between the two sports.

Sadly, gone are the days of the great Keith Miller, Sam Loxton and Max Walker, to name just a few, who have graced the field at the highest level in cricket creams and football boots. Simon O'Donnell was the last man to do both, back in the 1980s, while Craig Bradley was the last to combine AFL with state cricket.

Many others have tinkered with both sports before deciding to concentrate on one endeavour.

It is becoming a common trend in the modern day for the talented schoolboy cricketer to turn his back on the summer sport and focus entirely on his dream to become an AFL player.

How is this for a cricket XI, chosen from those who represented their state at under-age cricket before they began to chase the AFL's bright lights: Robert Harvey, Karl Langdon, Peter Sumich, Don Pyke, Tony Brown, Brett Montgomery, Damian Cupido, Brad Green, James Bartel, Jade Rawlings and Deledio.

That's not to mention the likes of Luke Ball, Luke Hodge, Jonathan Brown, Brendon Goddard, Stuart Dew, Blake Campbell and Leigh Fisher, among others, who all displayed exceptional talent as junior cricketers.

Cricket authorities have a problem and need to do something to address the issue.

The AFL has surpassed cricket with its talent identification programs, many of which run during summer. These ultimately steer talented young athletes away from the cricket pitch. Cricket administrators have been slow to respond and many talented players have been lost to the AFL. Citing an inability to compete on a financial level with AFL clubs is no longer a valid reason. This was perhaps true 10 years ago but not today.

The AFL has surpassed cricket with its talent identification programs.

As the No. 1 draft pick, Deledio signs on for a $45,600 base salary with a guaranteed $2200 per senior game in his first year. In round figures, that's close to $100,000 if he plays most senior games next season.

On the other hand, Cricket Victoria contracts are slightly less at $17,500 base for a rookie player aged under 23 or $32,500 for the base level full contract, ranging up to a maximum of $95,000 for the No. 1-ranked state player. Match payments are $3300 per Pura Cup game and $1100 for an ING Cup game.

The Australian Cricketers Association has played a vital role in improving remuneration for state cricketers and now the up-and-coming talented players can look seriously at cricket as a career.

But the real question is: is it just money that entices the young athlete to choose football over cricket? I would suggest not. The adrenaline rush and notoriety that is part of the package of being an AFL player will never be matched by state cricket. Only as an Australian cricketer would you regularly feel that same buzz. Every boy dreams of one day kicking the winning goal on the MCG.

Deledio is a talented fast bowler who was the quickest in the national under-17 championships earlier this year in Adelaide. His coach likened his upright action to former Test opener Terry Alderman. Victorian batsman Matthew Elliott, who hails from the same country town as Deledio, rated him a legitimate talent.

Elliott said: "He is a genuine swinger of the ball and sends them down at a fair pace." He can also bat, which poses the question of whether he might be a genuine all-rounder, a rare find in Australian cricket these days.

At the national titles, he scored 236 runs at an average of 78, including a matchwinning 85 from 92 balls in the final against NSW.

Deledio strode confidently to the wicket just before stumps one evening during the final. His coach, Cameron Matthews, pleaded with the free-spirited Deledio to play safe until stumps. The NSW captain was bowling off spin in the dying overs and was baiting Deledio for blocking, which was against his natural instinct. The NSW captain offered a deal to Deledio: "I'll throw one up nice and high if you agree to take me on." Deledio responded: "You're on."

With mid-on and mid-off on the boundary, the offie flighted one and Deledio charged him, sending the ball sailing over the sightscreen. He raised his arms in the air and shrieked: "Wha-hoo, how do you like that one?"

It's a shame we'll never know if Deledio is that all-rounder Australia has longed for since the days of "Nugget" Miller.

Deledio is a highly gifted young sportsman who could quite easily play football and cricket at the elite level. The problem for the summer game is that his cricket talent - as of yesterday - is now a thing of the past.

[acker]

Dont forget Warnie played under 19's for St Kilda , and both Warnie and Punter Ponting have been regulars in the Saints and Kangaroos coaches boxes on match day respectively.

[Zainub]

I don't know what to say to that. Interestingly just the opposite happens in Pakistan, where other sposts, most noticiably field hockey our national sport and squash lose out to cricket.

[Beny]

Yeah but Warne was'nt that good, he was always going to play cricket. Punter was meant to be preety skillfull but I dont think he would have had the physiqe to do it.

I assume 'Aker' is refering to Jason Akermains?