Brendan Nash - The road less travelled

Brendan, we’ll start with a bit about you. What’s your name, and when and where were you born?

Brendan Nash, I was born in Perth WA in 1977

What are your nicknames? 

Bubba and Nashy

Other than cricket, what sports did you most enjoy playing growing up?

I was lucky growing up that my dad ran a sporting complex and we lived above it!! I had access to tennis courts, squash courts, indoor cricket nets and outdoor cricket fields. I also played soccer.

When did you first pick up the bat and start playing? 

I was around 8yrs old when I started playing junior cricket

What were your junior cricket clubs? 

I can’t remember the name of the club but my first memory of a club that I joined was Rovers up in Cairns.

You moved to Brisbane to board during high school, how did that influence your cricket? 

It was a really difficult decision for my parents and myself, but as I was showing some promise in cricket I had to be based in Brisbane to develop further. It was a massive sacrifice from everyone, especially my parents. There is no doubt I would not have achieved what I have both as a cricketer and person if I didn’t come down to Brisbane.

Which clubs did you play for in Brisbane? 

East Redlands under 16’s for half a season, Toombul CC for 1 season and Northern Suburbs for around 17 seasons

When and at what age did you make your first grade debut? 

I was 17 nearly 18 when I played my first game. I had to give up going to schoolies as in those days to be considered for 1st of 2nd grade you have to be at training and performing at training. It wasn’t a bad trade off though as I got to play against Allan Border, Matthew Hayden, Stuart Law, Joe Dawes and a few others. I would never have gotten the chance to play against Allan Border again!!

When was your first hundred in grade cricket?

When I was 16 in 3rd grade. That 3rd grade team I played with was a very successful team which was great to be a part of.

When was your first hundred in first grade? How special were each hundred afterwards? 

My first hundred was when I was 19 and it was such a relief. I made 94 in my 3rd game in first grade and to get so close then was frustrating, but it was nice to make my first one and prove to myself that I could do it at that level. All hundreds are special as they were what I had trained for over the years. The experiences I got from scoring hundreds coming up through the ranks really helped me understand how to score hundreds in the top grade.

Highest scores in each of first grade, first class and test cricket?

First grade I think is around 170, first class is 204 (I believe!!) and test it was 114.

Best bowling figures in the three levels?

First grade 5 fa, first class 4 fa and test 1 fa. I couldn’t tell you the exact figures.

What was your best or most fondly remembered innings in grade cricket?

There are honestly so many, and it is hard to think of just one. Probably the one that springs to mind was a 2nd grade final playing for Norths against Toombul which we only just won (I think 9 down). I opened the innings and batted all the way through to be not out. I didn’t score many runs but manage to ‘bat ugly’ for the best part of 5 hours. The innings had a lot of meaning given that I was having a season from hell and had just been dropped from first grade. I think I had around 150 runs in 10 innings before being dropped so it was really pleasing to play my part in that final.

What was winning the Sheffield Shield like with Queensland in 2001/02?

Nothing like I had experienced before and probably something I didn’t totally appreciate when it happened. Being a part of the QLD Bulls at that time was a fantastic time in my career. The players and staff before I became a part of the group had come up with this culture they wanted to take forward to be successful. This culture helped get the best out of each of us individually and collectively as players and as a group of sportsmen representing our great state. It was a very successful time and to be involved in some many finals during that period was something special.

Fondest memory while playing for Queensland?

Again, honestly so many to remember, from making my debut at the SCG (where I got a duck in the first innings) to winning the shield and playing against some of the greats in Australian cricket at that time. Probably something I can tend to overlook is that the players I got to train with almost everyday and share a changing room with the best memory of all.

You played for Jamaica and then the West Indies, what prompted the move and how did you adapt to living north of the equator? 

Most people don’t know this, but I had virtually given up playing cricket when I moved there. After being told by the then chairman of selectors for QLD that my career was over, I moved to Jamaica to experience part of my heritage. Both my parents and sister were very proud Jamaicans and had talked about what it was like to live there. I guess I wanted to experience this for myself. Cricket was a way to help ease me into my life there. 

To live there and to be accepted into the cricketing world was difficult for sure but having been through all the little life lessons to that point certainly helped me adapt more quickly. I was very fortunate to have some very good family friends in Jamaica to help me out along the way.

What are your favourite three things about the West Indies, non cricket related?

Beaches, rum and the people. There are many more!!!

What are your favourite three things about playing in the West Indies? 

There were plenty. One would be representing this iconic cricket region which I had followed as a kid growing up.

Two would be getting to play against and with some of the great players at that time in the game.

The third thing would be experiencing what cricket meant to all the people of the Caribbean. The people in the crowd enjoying themselves, partying and music playing it was a great time!!

You came into the West Indies test team just after the great Brian Lara retired, did you feel a greater amount of pressure due to this? Or was it as much pressure as you expected when playing test cricket? 

I never really thought about trying to fill anyone shoes, especially not Brian Lara’s!! There was already so much pressure on me given my short amount of time playing cricket in the region and given where I had come from. Test cricket was a level I never thought I would get to, so in a way I just really enjoyed being out there and tried not to worry about the way I did things but more about getting the job done!! Test cricket was everything I expected and more, it really was difficult!!

We know how harsh the media can be in Australia, what’s in like in the county cricket scene and also in the West Indies for their domestic and national sides? 

I guess I was under the microscope more than most players over there. Even from when I first arrived in Jamaica and a month later I was invited to trial for the Jamaican team. When I first was selected, a lot of the media questions were about how I feel about taking the spot of a younger Jamaican’s spot. My intentions were to give back the experiences I learnt from playing in Australia to hopefully show they a different way to prepare and play cricket. I made a point of helping the younger players out where I could even though we were competing for spots. This is something I learnt being part of the QLD Bulls culture, the stronger competition for spots means the better we had to get individually.

After the West Indies, you went to the UK and had some great years there. Tell us a little bit about that experience? 

County cricket was something I had wanted to play for a little while, I had played a lot of league cricket over the years so I wanted to try that next step. You play a lot of cricket which I loved, and you play in some very different conditions week to week and day to day.

It was great to play with some cricketers of all ages and skills to see how they went about it week to week and again it was a great opportunity to show a new group of the experiences I had learnt from playing around the world.

Talk us through your highest score in county cricket, 199 not out. 

Yes, I remember this innings pretty well!!

It was the middle of summer and they were having 2 weeks of unusually hot weather. It was the last day of a 4 day game. We needed to chase I think 420 to win. I had spent 3 full days in the heat either fielding or batting. We decided to try and chase the runs as a team so when I came out to bat knowing we needed every run possible (and I am this type of player anyway) I was running hard for easy singles trying to put extra pressure on the fielding team. As the day wore on and the intensity keeps rising, we were in a position to win the game. It was all a bit of a blur at this stage as I was dehydrated and didn’t want to drink too much to break my concentration. I remember receiving a short ball and the ball just whizzed past my helmet and I barely moved to try and hit it. 

It was the end of the over and I was at the non-striker's end when the umpire asked me if I needed a drink as he could see my bat was holding me up. I said no thanks and the bowler bowled the next ball which went through to the keeper. The umpire then stopped the game as I had barely moved and call for the trainer to bring out some water. When the trainer was coming out onto the field I went down on my knees and couldn’t move. I didn’t know I was on 199, I remember seeing my score at around 185 before. I retired hurt (exhausted) and I haven’t lived it down since!!

Playing cricket in the UK is a bucket list item for so many Australians, what was it like for you?

I enjoyed the challenge at that stage of my career. When I arrived there, Kent were in division 2 of the county championships. So the goal was to get back into division 1 with all the experienced first class players we had as well as bring along the younger players. 

What are your three favourite things about the UK, not cricket related?

Pretty countryside where we lived in Kent, being able to travel to so many different countries which are close by and the golf courses

What are your three favourite things about playing in the UK?

The challenge of playing on some many different pitches and conditions, playing most days of the week and playing against some great international and domestic cricket of all ages

What is your most memorable win? 

Probably the test against England in Jamaica where they were bowled out for 56 (I think) in the second innings.

What is your most memorable moment in cricket? Doesn’t have to be on the field.

Again, I have been lucky to have so many in my time. Meeting Sir Garfield Sobers and having a chat to him probably because he was my mum’s (who is the cricket lover in the family) favourite player and always talked about him.

Who has been the biggest influence in your career? 

Certainly, my family but again there are so many. From some of the coaches I have had coming through the ranks and some of my teammates all played their part

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received? 

In my cricket life, don’t be happy with a start

What’s your favourite cricket ground you’ve played at?

I couldn’t give just one, but Lords, Adelaide Oval, SCG, Kensington Oval Barbados and Queens Park Oval are just some of them

Who are the three funniest/ best personalities you’ve played with?

Chris Gayle

Who is your favourite ever cricketer to watch?

Allan Border

Who are the fastest bowlers you’ve faced? 

Plenty of them once they hit 90mph. Dale Steyn and Mitch Johnson

Who are the best spinners you’ve faced? 

Saeed Ajmal from Pakistan, Stuart McGill, Shane Warne (only faced a few overs off him) and Graeme Swann

Who is the best batsmen you’ve played with and or against? 

So many to choose from. Shiv Chanderpaul, Martin Love, AB de Villiers, Kumar Sangakkara, Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting etc

Who is the best batsmen you’ve bowled to? And also best you’ve got out? 

AB de Villiers, Steve Waugh, Jacques Kallis etc. Best player I have out is Mahela Jayawardene

A young boy or girl starting their junior cricket career, what’s your piece of advice to them? 

Have fun playing with your friends, and give it a go. You never know if you don’t try in sport.

What’s your current occupation?

I run my own finance broking business called Windies Financial Services Pty Ltd 

Are there any key life lessons from your time on, in or around the cricket field that you still use everyday? 

Play to win but be gracious in defeat. Always strive to work hard and practise the right things. As long as you get the end result, don’t worry too much about the way you looked doing it.

Learn from your mistakes so can limit the chances of them happening in the future.