ANOTHER Coonamble-bred sportsman is poised to represent Australia with Hayden Page selected in the national team to play in the Last Man Stands Cricket World Series in England in August.
“Everyone in my family was excited when I told them,” said Hayden. “My grandmother (Louise Page) was very excited, she just grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. She and my grandfather (Choc) were a huge support to me when I was a kid playing junior representative cricket in Coonamble, carting me around on weekends to training in Narrabri and weekend carnivals in Wollongong and Armidale so I’m really pleased for her.”
Hayden has received his baggy green cap and is now in serious training mode, spending four afternoons a week facing as many balls as he can with the bowling machine and bowling in the nets.
“It reminds me of when I was a kid and used to go to the nets at the Coonamble oval and bowl by myself,” he said.
“I am also doing a lot of gym work trying to improve my aerobic fitness, and I play matches every Sunday.”
Page, who is now 30 years old and a social worker in Canberra, says the worldwide interest in the short format of the game has created new opportunities and pathways for passionate players.
Last Man Stands is an 8-a-side 20/20 competition that runs 11 months of the year. The fast format and unique rules where the last batsman plays by himself – hence Last Man Stands – is attracting a massive following around the world.
There are over 30 teams in Canberra’s competition and over 7000 teams registered across 19 countries
“It’s a good opportunity for cricket tragics like myself to keep playing after the summer season finishes,” Hayden said. “It’s all over in a couple of hours so you can even play a match after work.”
The format is played competitively in 19 countries and 12 of those nations are coming together in England for the inaugural world series. The Tournament runs from 5 to 12 August with teams made up of the best 8 players in each country.
Australia’s ten-man team will be led by cricket international Marcus North as player-coach.
Some other high profile names in international cricket have been drafted as player-coaches in the coming series, including Shiv Chanderpaul for USA, Ajantha Mendis for Sri Lanka and Abdul Razak for Pakistan, drawing extra attention to the World Series.
“With 20/20 competitions starting in many countries around the world, competitions like this provide pathway opportunities” Hayden said.
“For now I’m really excited just to get there and test myself,” he said. “It’ll be good to play against all those players and test myself under different conditions.”
Australia’s team members come from Adelaide, Brisbane, Wollongong and Sydney, with Hayden and another player from Canberra.
“Four were picked from the National Championships – best bowler, best batsman and two all-rounders,” Hayden said.
Page was picked as a wild card as a result of maintaining a position in the top 10 of international all-rounders. The LMS (Last Man Stands) Australia management keep an eye on the scores and performances of players across the competition and the side was finalised towards the end of 2017.
“I was able to get up to an all-rounder rank of 7 mid-way through last year,” he said. “So I was lucky enough to jag a position.”
Hayden left Coonamble at the start of 2006, after finishing at Coonamble High School in 2005. He attended Newcastle University to start a teaching degree before switching to social work part way through.
With encouragement from his grandparents, mother Dorrie Page and father Roger Nalder, Hayden pursued his love of cricket through the Coonamble junior competition and as a keen player in the B Grade was occasionally drafted to the A Grade district competition playing with much older cricketers in inter-town matches.
“I played with the O’Connor and Connick brothers and Dan Keady,” Hayden said. “They were a great encouragement. There’s a lot to learn from playing with older, more experienced blokes and I was able to learn a lot about the game from those guys.”
“David and Ginny Taylor were also a big support of my cricket at that time, helping me get to rep carnivals all over NSW,” he said.
Even after finishing university and moving to Canberra to work Hayden would play cricket with his family whenever he came home. He hopes one day to be involved in junior cricket coaching camps at Coonamble if there’s local interest.
In the meantime, his attention is focused on getting ready for the LMS World Series. Apart from part subsidy of playing fees by the LMS Australia management, the trip is self-financed by each of the players.
“We’re running some barbeques and doing other fundraising,” Hayden said. “I’ve started a gofundme page and people have been very supportive.”
Even though his Coonamble family can’t get to England Hayden’s partner Laura will join him for the second half of the competition.
“Hopefully, she’ll be cheering me on for a World Series finals victory,” he laughed.
