It’s another thing to get your hands dirty as a rookie West Australian batsman – at least in the way Tom Moody had in mind. I used to love going to the WACA to watch my heroes play. Players like Geoff Marsh, Mike Veletta, Graeme Wood, Tom Moody and Justin Langer were my role models. Suddenly I was in the same dressing room as most of these guys. It was 1994/95. I made my debut in the first game of the season as a fill-in for Veletta, who’d been injured, and was 12th man for the following three games. In a short space of time, I’d gone from being a determined but self-doubting teenager to being part of this great team. I was pretty proud of myself. I’d been left to observe and learn during those first few games, which was great. But when I was 12th man again, for the game against Victoria at the WACA, far from leaving me alone, the boys gave me an initiation that I will certainly never forget. It very nearly resulted in me having to give the role of 12th man a whole new job description.
