3 months ago
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Bulls batsman Jack Clayton has developed a reputation for rescuing Queensland from precarious situations.
There was a time when he could see himself playing football for Brisbane Lions, before he begrudgingly accepted a local cricket call-up.
But he has since shown his ability to counter-punch. In last summer’s Sheffield Shield final he notched a century in the face of a 166-run first innings’ deficit, with a resolve strikingly similar to batting legend Steve Smith.
Jack Clayton celebrates a century at a Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba.Credit: Getty Images
At 36, Smith is closer to the end of his illustrious career, preparing for what could be his final Ashes campaign on home soil.
Clayton, 26, is in the discussion to one day replace him.
En route to 113 against New South Wales last week at the Gabba, rebuilding the innings after Usman Khawaja (87) and Lachie Hearne (nine) fell in quick succession, the left-hander went some ways to vindicating that claim.
And with Australian selectors showing a willingness to pick players well into their careers – 31-year-old Jake Weatherald earning an Ashes call-up – time is on Clayton’s side.
“Obviously, I’d love to throw my name into that mix, but my focus is to score runs for Queensland, and the rest will take care of itself,” he said.
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“I think previously when I’ve started to think about things like that, or in grade cricketing trying to play for Queensland, you get too worried about selection at a higher level, and you lose focus on the here and now.
“My favourite player was Mike Hussey, and he didn’t debut until his 30s.
“I’m just beginning my journey, but I think it definitely does give hope to anybody in state cricket who’s not necessarily young but a bit older and knocking the door down.
“There are opportunities there, and selectors pick people who score runs – that’s your main currency.”
Clayton has slowly built his resume away from the spotlight.
An off-season spent tightening his technique has paid dividends, working closely with Test star Marnus Labuschagne.
Against the Blues, he looked rock solid defensively on the front foot, drove with precision, was quick to get into his hook and cut, and was unafraid to take on Test spinner Nathan Lyon.
But despite a tendency to thrive the more challenging a situation, he remains frustrated by not converting promising starts into groundbreaking knocks.
“Have you been talking to Uzzie [Khawaja]?” Clayton asks with a laugh. “After the last game, he said, ‘You’ve got a few hundreds now, I want a big hundred’.
“I was having a think after the last game, and you can almost put too much pressure on yourself to go out there and make that hundred a really big one.
“But you get to a hundred doing what you did. Keep doing that for as long as you can, and don’t get out of that bubble.
“I definitely think it’s something I love when the game’s on the line.
“I don’t know, it just seems to focus me on what I need to do, and I need to find a way to get into that mindset more often.”
Clayton’s fate could have been so different.
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A former member of the Brisbane Lions academy, Clayton’s junior sporting days were littered with schoolboy honours, and even a 2016 Rising Star nomination in the second division North East Australian Football League.
His cricket return came by chance – playing third-grade for the University of Queensland in the footy off-season, before accepting a second division invitation with a sigh.
“I wasn’t overly keen – it was a full day of cricket, and I was enjoying my half-days. But I loved the group I was playing with … I was loving the environment and the culture, and then next season I got into the first-grade team,” Clayton said.
“It was never a goal of mine to come back to cricket and be a professional cricketer, it worked itself out and that’s the attitude I try to take.
“When you talk about Australian selection, my attitude is to enjoy what I’m doing right now and embrace that as much as I can.
“It was a bit of a different experience, but one I’m grateful for. I learnt a lot from the whole footy experience that has helped my cricket by just making sure whatever I do I enjoy it, and take nothing for granted, realising how lucky we are to be able to do what we do for a living.”
Clayton will join Queensland in taking on Western Australia from November 11, with the Shield round to serve as the final audition for Australia’s Ashes squad in the lead-up to the first Test against England.
