As Australian fast bowler Nathan Ellis contemplated the fruition of what had once seemed the most unlikely of dreams four years ago, a new challenge emerged, namely sourcing a betting account for his gran.
The New South Welshman had overcome the odds to earn selection for Australia’s tour of Bangladesh, something he could never have seriously contemplated when growing up Sydney as he was overlooked for different representative sides.
After all, if he was unable to make the squad for a state representative team, surely the green and gold was Mission Impossible.
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But a shift to Tasmania for the 2018 season, and the sharpening of an impressive arsenal well suited to white ball cricket, saw Ellis come to the attention of national selectors.
When scouting for a low-key tour of Bangladesh in 2021, as parts of the world were reopening after the pandemic, the slight fast bowler with the shock of blond hair appealed as an ideal candidate to be tried. Which is where it got tricky for Ellis.
So off-Broadway was the tour at a time when broadcasters were counting every penny given the economic ravages of the pandemic, the Dhaka outings held little appeal to Australian broadcasters.
Given the travel difficulties at the time, there was also no prospect of Ellis’s family being on hand for his Australian debut.
He was in cricket’s version of the story about a tree falling in the woods. If Ellis debuted for Australia, but no-one else was able to watch it, did it really happen?
Which is where the gambling account comes in. At the last minute, a wagering firm snapped up the rights for bugger all and streamed the series, but the catch was the viewer had to have an active account. So Ellis dug deep, so to speak, for his family.
“The most unusual one is probably my debut in international cricket, which was in Bangladesh during Covid. There was no crowd and no-one picked up the TV rights,” he told foxsports.com.au.
“But at the last minute, a betting agency picked it up for a bag of chips, I think. And then to watch it, you had to get an account and put $5 in it. So I had my grandma getting a betting account, and I put five bucks in the account for her to watch it. So that’s probably one of the weirdest (tours of my career). It started so strangely.
“Just the whole thing was like a blur. Honestly, it feels like that potentially didn’t happen. Like, that’s where it is in my mind, because (through) that whole period when you’re in the bubbles and the quarantines, it just sort of blows into one. But it’s a memorable one, that’s for sure.
“But I do look back and I’m like, you see guys have their families at their debuts, but my family didn’t make the trip across to Dhaka in the middle of Covid, so it was odd.”
LIVING OUT OF A SUITCASE
Ellis is an early exponent of what is certain to become more prevalent in a world where franchise cricket is becoming a driving force in the sport, be it for better or worse.
The 31-year-old, who recently became a father to Reggie Roy, has been here, there and everywhere in recent years, and not just when representing Australia.
He has starred for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, the Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in the IPL and the London Spirit in The Hundred in between more traditional experiences with Randwick-Petersham in Sydney, Tasmania in Sheffield Shield cricket and Hampshire in County cricket.
Since breaking into the Australian team in 2021, the versatile bowler has become used to living out of a suitcase for extended periods, with his bags packed again for the next three weeks for intriguing series against India in ODI and T20 cricket.
“I feel like it’s been four or five years of just non-stop travel, which has been amazing and I would have given my left arm for (that) 10 years ago,” he said.
“But I sort of felt like my journey coincided with franchise cricket going to another level as well as Covid. So things were heightened and travel was heightened, and (there were) bubbles and things like that.
“That came with a lot of challenges that, when you’re dreaming of playing cricket around the world, you don’t picture (the) bit about quarantining and sitting in hotels for weeks on end. So that comes with challenges.
“But I have loved playing cricket around the world (and) I feel like playing in different conditions in different countries is the fastest way to get better. I think you adapt and you learn so quickly, as opposed to just staying in your hometown where you’re playing the same wickets. I think that’s the big shortcut to getting to fast improvement.”
THE LONG ROAD TO SUCCESS
The thing about Ellis, who has become a superb death bowler, is that he is in some way cricket’s accidental tourist.
It was only by virtue of taking a gamble a few years back and moving to Tasmania that his talent began to shine through, something unlikely to have happened if he had stayed in Sydney.
Sure, Ellis had skill. But when your state team features legends of Australian bowling, and the guns including Sean Abbott and Jackson Bird for a period, even representing New South Wales seemed a long way off.
And the popular pace bowler was well used to being knocked back.
“I look back now that I’m here and I’m somewhat established so fondly on my … pathway,” he said.
“I’ve said it a couple times, but when you’re in the moment and you’re in the junior system and you miss out on certain squads or certain teams, or you’re not potentially playing at the level you want to be at, it feels like the end of the world and it feels like the dream is sort of leaving you, or that it’s over, which is very real at that age.
“But now I look back on missing out on those sort of things … and it feels like it’s a big part of the reason I’m here.
“I didn’t burn out at a young age. I got to study. I got to work. I got to travel, which was some of the greatest experiences of my life, and it definitely gives me a sense of gratitude, I reckon now, knowing what I had and what I have.”
PATIENCE PROVES A VIRTUE
Even now, Ellis looks at his move to the Apple Isle and what it resulted in with wonder, for it could so easily have been different.
He loves Tassie and has enjoyed playing for the Hurricanes, but despite all the success that has followed, he is not certain he would have made the decision to leave home again if given the chance. It was a flip of the coin call.
“I look back now, and if we were in a Time Machine, I don’t know if I could do it again,” he said.
“I was blissfully unaware. It was the first time out of home and I was sort of fumbling my way around and I had no idea what the real world was like, that sort of thing. And I couldn’t do it again.
“But I look back on it and I grew up really quickly. I’ve made some amazing friends. I’ve made some amazing memories. I love Tasmania. I love Hobart. It was crazy.
“But if I had stayed in Sydney, I wouldn’t be here. Sydney’s just got such a huge crop of talent and I wasn’t in any of the pathway squads or anything like that. So I felt like, whilst I was in and around it in Sydney, I was (at the back) of a long list. So I think if I had stayed, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Even while developing as a cricketer of note in Tasmania, Ellis had his moments of doubt. Was this the right place to be chasing his dream? Should he consider life without a ball in hand?
In a chat in Brisbane last month, Ellis cut a relaxed, amiable figure at ease with the world, which is saying something given his first born was only a couple of weeks away from arriving. But he experienced real moments of angst in his mid-20s.
“There’s so many sliding doors moments I look back on now that, at the time, potentially felt insignificant (but were) big moments in my career,” he said.
“There is actually one I look back on a fair bit and that was a chat with now Victorian (assistant)coach Ben Rohrer (when he) was down in Tasmania. I played a fair bit … against Ben, more in Sydney grade cricket, but he was down in Tasmania at the same time I was down playing club cricket, and it was at the end of a season where I had a reasonably good grade season, and a couple of good years down there, and I was sort of ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ as to whether I should stick around or I head home.
“I had a conversation with him as he was in the Tassie coaching staff and it was sort of just like, ‘What should I do? Am I close? Am I not? Should I go home? Am I chasing a dead end here?’ And the words he said were that some people just have to wait longer than others.
“At the time I was just like, ‘That’s crap’. But he embodies that. He got away and he was a later starter. He said ‘There’s a lot of cricketers out there. You’ve (just) had a later start.’ And that really stuck with me. It’s something I look back on now and it’s something that I’ve said to other people as well, that just naturally, some people just have to wait longer than others.
“I well and truly felt like the time had come and gone on the chance to play professional cricket, which is crazy to think now. I was 23, 24, 25. I was a kid. I still feel like a kid, but like at that age to think that it was gone (is crazy).”
SHEDDING THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
Sidle up to one of Australia’s quartet of champion fast bowlers and it is not hard to feel a little intimated.
From Pat Cummins to Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, they are relaxed and amiable figures away from pitch, even if they are deadly with the red ball in hand.
But they are just so bloody big and strong, broad shoulder and burly. Even though Ellis is far from diminutive, he does not boast the Superman body of the big boys of Aussie cricket.
Even for him, it was hard for the right-armed bowler not to feel a little overawed when first walking into the Aussie dressing room.
“It’s a funny one with that because I sort of have an internal battle constantly where I … have a bit of an impostor type vibe around them,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve looked up to them for so long, so initially coming into the squads, I was sort of in awe of them. But they’re some of the best folks in the world. They’re great guys. So once you get in and you get around them, they’re just like every other guy, so it has been great.
“I’ve said it 1000 times, but rubbing shoulders with them and bowling and learning the craft from them is amazing. I’m at a point now where you feel like an equal. I still look at them as the greatest we’ve ever had. I’m under no illusions as to where I sit in the pecking order, but I’m just as happy to be competing and playing alongside them, whether I’m in the 11 or running drinks for them. And I think we will look back on the current crop pretty fondly.”
LEARNING THAT LESS IS MORE
Having become a more permanent fixture on Australia’s white ball scene, with Ellis playing 15 ODIs and 27 T20s for his nation since his debut in 2021, he has had to learn that less is more.
As he was growing up and coming through grade cricket in Sydney and making his way in Tasmania, he loved to bowl. The more deliveries he bowled in the nets, the better he felt about his ability to get the job done when it mattered most.
But back then he was only playing through the summer. His emergence as a real talent, which led to international honours and franchise invitations, has turned cricket into a 12 month enterprise. That puts a lot of stress on a bowler.
“Purely in the sort of role that I do, you’re on show and it’s quite a nerve wracking sort of role, so when I first came in, I found my nerves would be subsided by bowling,” he said.
“I’d go to training and I’d bowl and I’d bowl and I’d bowl and I ended up being knackered by the time I’d be playing. Or there was a couple of times where I would end up getting injured, and we’d look at the numbers, and I was just bowling way too much.
“I love bowling and I get a lot of confidence out of bowling a lot and that’s been the biggest learning curve coming into (international cricket).
“You sort of go from being a six month in the year cricketer to a 12 month in the year cricketer and that is a massive change, because your training has to change and has to almost take a back seat at times, purely so you’re fresh for the games.
“So that’s been an ever growing conversation with Ronnie (McDonald) and Bales (George Bailey) and something that I feel like I’m probably at the best stage I have been in my training, just sort of understanding what I need and what I don’t need and sort of finding time to sacrifice a bit of training to stay fit. It’s a balance, though. It’s tough. It’s definitely tough.”
WHY GREEN AND GOLD TOPS THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR
Franchise cricket offers big bucks and the chance for a young father like Ellis to set his family up for life.
But dollar signs were not in his dreams as a kid. A big bank balance is not the reason his grandma signed up for a betting account. Representing his country whenever the opportunity arises is his motivation and what makes him the most proud.
“I’m very much a day to day sort of guy. I just take each day, as cliched as that sounds. I try not to get too far ahead, because things change. Injuries happen. You know, everything can change in a matter of a day,” he said.
“But I put a real emphasis on playing for Australia. I think with the way cricket is going, it can be really easy to find yourself in different leagues really quickly, and your priorities can shift, sort of without you knowing. There’s a lot of opportunity, a lot of different leagues, a lot of cricket being played. But as it stands right now, I just love playing for Australia.
“As a kid I grew up, all I wanted to do was play for Australia. I think that’s something I try to remind myself a lot of is when I was 10, I didn’t know what franchise cricket was going to be, or it wasn’t even a thing.
“But as a 10-year-old, all I wanted to do was play for Australia, and I like to remind myself of that a lot. So to play in a World Cup, I’ve been to a couple now as a travelling reserve and I was a squad member last year, and there’s no better cricket, no better occasion. So certainly I have got my sights set on those.”
The next opportunity to play in a World Cup comes next February and March in India and Sri Lanka, which will host a T20 edition.
For Ellis, who missed the recent tour of New Zealand to be at the birth of …, the ODI and T20 series against India shape as his chance to further his hopes of being in the squad for the World Cup.
“It’s a big series too. I mean, any series against India is massive, but you have got the three ODIs and the five T20s, so it’s going to be jam packed, and they’ll no doubt bring a strong squad,” he said.
“It’s one we’ve had on the calendar for a while.”
The best part for his grandmother and extended family? There is no need to sign up for a gambling account, as it will be live on Fox Sports!
