Goodwin announces his arrival, Aussie style

13 April 2012

Murray Goodwin is similar in stature and appearance to Ricky Ponting, the most exciting batsman in Steve Waugh's Ashes side. Nine years ago they were room-mates until Rod Marsh, the director of the world's leading cricket learning centre, the Australian Cricket Academy, told Zimbabwean Goodwin: "I am splitting you two up. You're a bad influence on Ricky."

Ponting wasn't exactly earning high marks himself for good conduct. Only recently he has straightened out his life after his drinking and gambling problems.

Goodwin, whose four 100s for Sussex this season has won the Evening Standard 'Cricketer of June' award, laughed about it. "I was just having a good time," he said.

The majority of Waugh's squad graduated from cricket's West Point including Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich, Damien Martyn, Ponting and a part-time Shane Warne. Some of them played hard off the cricket grounds as well as sweating under Marsh's tough regime.

Marsh, of course, wasn't a teetotaller himself. The story of his lager-drinking marathon on a flight to England many years ago has turned into cricketing 'lore with the number of cans being consumed increasing every year. The moral of ACA seemed to have been hard work and play hard within the rules. "There has to be a lighter side, to relax," said 28-year-old Goodwin.

Up until Tuesday he was the leading scorer in the country with 930 runs, average 77.50.

As Kent's David Fulton passed the 1,000-run barrier earlier that day, Goodwin was caught off the second ball he received from Alan Mullally in a Norwich Union game at the Rose Bowl, his first duck for a long, long time. Afterwards he sat holding his head on the dressing room balcony. He said: "Give me 10 minutes."

Michael Bevan, the previous overseas player for Sussex, also has his intense side.

Bevan is still rated as the world's No1 on the PriceWaterhouseCooper's list, but last year he announced he was taking a year out from County cricket. David Gilbert, the astute Australian who is the club's chief executive, surprisingly picked out Goodwin as his successor. He wasn't a household name around the cricketing counties and it was a controversial appointment.

Goodwin admitted: "I didn't have a good season with Western Australia, but I did get runs in the one-day matches and I was confident I could handle it.

"I'd love to stay with Sussex. I love County cricket and the lifestyle. I don't know whether Michael will come back next year.

"I think he might do. If he does, I think I can do a good job with another county and I'm available for the whole season."

Goodwin, born into a cricketing family in Harare in 1972, emigrated to Western Australia at the age of 13. That was where he learned the Australian way, how to think only about winning.

He said: "It rubs on to you. English cricket is copying it, but it's still lagging behind.

"The attitude in Australia is that every time you go out to bat you think to yourself 'it's now or never'. Too many English players still think 'Oh well, there's another day'."

Goodwin played 19 Tests for Zimbabwe averaging 42.84, a higher figure than most of England's current squad. A year ago he suddenly quit the Test arena. He added: "I was a bit upset at the way the Zimbabwe board treated me.

"They handled it very unprofessionally and they didn't bother to respond to my call about a new contract. They came back six weeks later and it was too late.

"It's tough there in Zimbabwe. The country is in trouble and I think Robert Mugabe will hold on. They have a rule that two blacks have to play in the side and although they've got a lot of young promising black players they're not up to it yet."

Despite England's heavy defeat in the First Test at Edgbaston, Goodwin believes the series is far from over.

He went on: "The Aussies won't be complacent. That's not in their make-up. It will be tough and it won't be four or five nil. England will put up a fight.

"But I think England's selection policy is wrong. They should try other batsmen who have the figures, like Northamptonshire's Mal Loye and my Sussex partner Richard Montgomerie. They both altered their techniques a bit recently and they're good enough and young enough to cope with McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee. Yet no one mentions their names."

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Goodwin announces his arrival, Aussie style

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