Jason Swift played first class cricket for the Canberra Comets, he won a premiership in NSW Premier Cricket and is now a Match Referee for the England and Wales Cricket Board.
JJ Swift is one of the games characters, a funny man and a highly respected team mate to all who played with him.
Let’s find out more,
Welcome Jason,
Firstly let’s start with your age, what year were you born?
1970
Where did you go the high school?
St Joseph’s – Aberdeen in Northern NSW
Do you remember your first ever game of cricket?
I remember on Monday mornings when I think I was 7, my primary school principal Mr Gore used to read out the junior cricket scores from the weekends games. I wasn’t playing at the time, but having watched some cricket on TV and then seeing the reaction of the other kids when their score was being read out was enough for me to tell dad to get me into a team. I wanted a piece of the action on a Monday morning!
Where did you play your junior cricket?
In Muswellbrook. My first team was called The Bumpers.
Which clubs have you played for?
South’s in Muswellbrook, Hawkesbury (Sydney), Queanbeyan (Canberra) and Eastern Suburbs back in Sydney.
How old were you when you first played grade cricket, what grade and for which club?
When I was 19 in 1989 and I started in 3rd Grade at Hawkesbury. I think it was my first or second game at Bensons Lane (No 2) we were playing University of NSW. Geoff Lawson was playing in the first grade fixture next door. I thought this is great to get a close up of an international player. It was a Saturday/Sunday game and when we came back the next day and players from both first grade teams were green after contracting food poisoning from the day before. So I found myself on the first grade ground sub fielding for one of our unwell players and sure enough out comes Lawson to bat.
I’m thinking how good this is! Within his first 10 balls he swept Neil (Bones) Hall low to my right and I spilled it… gutted!!
What age did you make your first grade debut?
19 in that first season, (1989) v Campbelltown – I got a pair. I edged Ken McLeod to second slip and was LBW to a Tom Shiner flipper first ball in the second innings.
What was your highest score in first grade?
I think it was about 144 against Penrith at Benson’s Lane.
Who was the fastest bowlers you came up against in Grade Cricket?
Ken McLeod, Chris Killen, Wayne Holdsworth & Andrew Jones.
Who was the best spinners you played against in Grade Cricket?
Tom Shiner, spun it both ways and great control.
GRJ Matthews, spin, drift & read batsmen very well, created the theatre. Massive competitor!
Who were the best three bowlers you played against in Grade cricket during your career?
GRJ Matthews (reason as above)
Anthony Stuart, great skill, loved a battle and would go all day. Always good for a chat and a beer after the game.
Wayne “Cracker” Holdsworth, pace, aggression, flair. It was great to test myself against him.
Who were the three batsman you admired most in terms of skill and competitive spirit in Grade cricket during your career?
I’m a little bit bias here, because two of these guys I saw week in and week out.
As far a raw talent goes, my good mate Mark Higgs, he was one of those batsmen that on their day you couldn’t stop him scoring. Flair, arrogance, style, there weren’t many other batsmen I enjoyed watching as much as watching him.
Mark Patterson, read the game really well, knew when to go up and down the gears, good skill, and great competitor.
I only played him a few of times, but always felt a presence and intensity when I played against Rod Bower. Hit a hard ball!! One of my favourite players I ever played against. Would like to have had the chance to have played with him.
You played 9 games for the ACT Comets when they played in the first class one day competition in Australia - can you tell us about that experience and how did you find competing against the best players in Australia?
I enjoyed it and I was scared of it, lots of mixed emotions. I made it bigger in my mind than I should have.
At the time I broke the all time record as the leading run scorer in Canberra cricket, so going out to bat I was confident of scoring runs. I focussed on the right things at the right time.
This changed when I played in the Mercantile Mutual Cup, instead I was thinking about various other things like, who I was playing, TV, and thinking about not wanting to fail, what the commentators might be saying about me… all these distractions took me away from the process that had got me to that point.
What’s been your most memorable moment in cricket?
My last game of grade cricket! Winning the first grade title with Easts in 2003/04. An amazing game to win after being 5-15 on the first morning.
Editors note - check out the scorecard for the Grand Final and see who guided Easts to secure the premiership with a 2nd innings century
Who’s been the biggest influence in your cricket career?
Canberra Comets Jeff Hammond made a minor tweak to my technique that made a major difference. But I didn’t really have a mentor during the early days that grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and kicked me in the backside when I needed it.
In my later years as a player, Mark Patterson at Easts was a great help both on and off the field.
Now days, when I’m back in Australia I talk to my good mate Brad Haddin about coaching. He’s got great knowledge of the game and has coached at the highest level.
Who was the funniest cricketing team mate?
Tough call… but… Matthew Lang from the Hawkesbury takes it I’d say.
Who is your favourite all time cricketer?
Allan Border. Great captain, batsman, bowler, fielder, off field. Legend!
What was the best win you’ve been involved in?
The 2003/04 Grand Final for Easts against Randwick Petersham at Coogee Oval easily, followed by the 460 odd we chased earlier in the same season against Western Suburbs at Waverley Oval. I only made 20 odd, but a hell of a chase and gave the lads a lot of belief for the rest of the season.
What did you enjoy most about playing Premier/Grade Cricket in Sydney?
Extremely competitive, the standard of cricket was high! I loved the banter in the dressing room & mixing with the opposition after the game.
Was there a particular team you really looked forward to playing?
Bankstown especially when they were at full strength. I always checked when we played them and if there were any state or Australia fixtures on. I loved the challenge of playing the best.
If you’re in the middle seat of the middle row of Qantas QF1flight to London which team mates would you choose to on your left and right?
Well Dennis and David Hourn have placed me on one side of each of them which I am extremely grateful for.
Toughest question of the lot!! There are numerous old teammates I’d love to sit next to, trying to find two is bloody tough!
If pushed, I’d go Jeff Cook – good man and has my type of humour. He also has the ability to put me to sleep and he doesn’t have to buy the beers.
The other side I’d have to say Adrian Tucker. Tuck would keep the standard of chat to an acceptable level.
Did you have any cricketing superstitions?
I never walked on the crease lines when I batted, if I had to, I had to cut it in half.
Which ground in Sydney club cricket did you enjoy playing at the most?
Apart from my home clubs, it’s North Sydney (first 1st Grade 100 there too)
What’s the best advice you ever received?
When my old friend Steve (Scrubba) Collins from Muswellbrook said I should have a crack at grade cricket in Sydney I quit half way through a boilermaker apprenticeship. Had I not, God knows what I would have done with my life. I wasn’t a fan of the work so I don’t think that would have lasted that long anyway.
You’ve just been announced as the batting coach of Sussex Cricket - County Club in England and we understand you’re a Level 4 qualified ECB coach, how did you get into coaching?
I was coaching well before I moved over to live in England. I was mainly doing one on one sessions, but also help out with various coaching camps in Sydney and up in Bolton in Lancashire.
The main reason is that I wanted to stay in the game is I wanted to help players make better decisions than I did. Things like diet, fitness, and creating a real purpose to what you are doing, being specific on what you are practicing to be a better player by the end of each session.
I moved to Manchester in April 2004 just after Easts won the Grand Final and got married that September. I was playing in the Bolton League at the time, got a part time job, did my ECB level 3 coaching certification and coached at a few schools along with some private one on one sessions.
I got the job at Lancashire County Cricket Club as an analyst and later became the assistant coach of the academy and assisted with the coaching of the County Professionals in batting and fielding.
Previously you were the fielding coach with Bangladesh working under Stuart Law as Head Coach. Can you share what that experience was like and any memorable moments or wins?
I worked with the Lawman at Lancashire, he must have seen something that he liked about my coaching. He asked me if I would be interested in being his assistant coach for the Bangladesh team as he was about to take over as head coach. That was a pretty easy decision to work with him & for an international team. It was quite challenging having to live away from the family for 80 percent of the year, but it was good to test my coaching skills in that environment.
Bangladesh making the Asia Cup final for the first time was pretty special. We’d beaten India (the game when Tendulkar scored his 100th international 100) and Sri Lanka in the group games. There were some pretty amazing games in front of a packed stadium in Dhaka. As you can imagine for the final, the stadium was chockablock. It was a game we should have won, possibly a lack of big moment experience in the final that cost us.
What’s the role of a batting coach of a county club? How best do you describe the role – is it working with the batsman as a group, or breaking it down individually with batting plans and techniques. Do many still have their own personal batting coach and if so how does everyone stay on the same page?
My role is to help players identify what it is that allows them to score runs consistently. Whether that be the technical, tactical and psychological aspects of batting. Building trust through relationships with each player and knowing what it is that makes them tick.
As a team, creating role clarity so everyone is clear about what they are coming up against and also prepared to adapt when a situation asks for it.
If a players has their own private coach the player should inform the teams batting coach that they’re working the coach so communication has to be open so that we’re all working toward the same goal.
In my opinion, the best coaches don’t have an ego especially when a situation like this arises. Players are doing what they feel gives them the best chance to perform consistently. They are the ones out in the middle being judged by the world and for me, if they choose to use outside help, I will support that and do what I can to facilitate when the player is in my care.
How does a batting coach help players prepare for 4 day county games, one day games and now the new Hundred game being launched in England?
Right now the players in county cricket have better preparation time than they have in the past where previously you would play a four day game, followed by a one day game, another four day game and then a T20.
These days the structure is better to give players some consistency in each format with less changing throughout the season. It’s all about being prepared for what’s ahead and being able to adapt.
What are your coaching ambitions?
No limitations on what or where I could end up as a coach. The main thing is to work hard on the right things and the rest will take care of itself.
Do you like the modern game and what can the game do to make it better?
What’s not to like! It caters for all types, traditionalists who like the longer version of the game and people that just want to go and watch a bit of bang crash wallop!
I think T20 cricket has made Test cricket more interesting. Batsmen have expanded their range of shots but I do understand it can also be their down fall when the situation doesn’t ask for it. It’s knowing when you have to suck it up and when to move to the game forward depending on who’s bowling, conditions and the situation of the game.
To make it better…. four day Tests have been discussed, but I’m not so sure. I love the thought of having to test yourself over a five day period. Over the years we have seen so many amazing finishes on the 5th day of a Test, we’d hate to miss those epic final days. To contradict myself… maybe 4 day Tests accept for the Ashes!!
What advice would you offer a young 18 year old who has the ambition of playing test cricket?
Get obsessed with it!
Motivation is the starting point, your obsession with playing for Australia will be the driver that will ensure sure you accept nothing less.
Find a good mentor that you can trust that has your best interest at heart both on and off the field.
Be prepared for work hard & be consistent with what works for you.
You’ll have to make some sacrifices with diet, fitness, be able to repeat your skill consistently.
Be adaptable.
Enjoy what you’re doing and keep things simple!
Are there any lessons from your time in cricket that you take into work or life in general?
When times are tough, dig in, bide your time and the rewards will come.
The path won’t always be the way you thought it would, be prepared to adapt to various situations, people, dynamics or the landscape and keep moving forward.
Stay in the moment!
Never take being in a good moment for granted.
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