Australian prospect Will Pucovski declares his love of red-ball cricket as possible Test debut looms
Will Pucovski hated getting out as a kid. So much so, there was one season he wasn’t dismissed. The prodigy opens up about his love of red-ball cricket, and batting, as he prepares to press his case for a Test debut against Pakistan.
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Sir Donald Bradman grew up practising alone with a cricket stump and a golf ball.
Steve Smith reached for the tennis racquet, using his innate sporting smarts to defeat more powerful opponents.
So, what did wonder boy Will Pucovski – who is the Victorian on the verge of a Test debut at the tender age of 21 – do?
“I don’t really know to be honest. It was more I just hated getting out when I was young,” Pucovski told the Sunday Herald Sun.
Well, Pucovski hated the umpire’s raised finger so much that he had more birthdays than dismissals growing up.
“Yeah, I had a season where I didn’t go out,” he said.
“There were three or four seasons where I got out once. I hated it too much, so I tried to get to my 30 retired as often as I could.
“I reckon I got caught down leg-side one day and run-out. They were two of the three dismissals over about four seasons.
“You’re playing under-12s or under-14s and it’s just concentrating. A lot of kids drift in and out, so I just tried to concentrate for longer than they do.”
It is that steely focus that goes to the heart of why Pucovski is a long-form cricketer.
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Pucovski has never warmed to Twenty20 cricket and isn’t interested in signing a Big Bash contract.
“I’ve probably got to get better at hitting the ball over the fence first,” he said.
“I really like watching it, but from a playing perspective my goal has always been to play Test cricket so I’ve just kept my focus on that.”
What about the millions dollars on offer around the globe for world cricket’s T20 guns-for-hire?
“You’re obviously not going to complain if you’re earning more, but I think if you play Test cricket for a long period of time you’re going to be pretty well off anyway.
“It’s not that big a deal for me.”
It’s a refreshing attitude.
On Monday night Pakistan’s attack – armed with a pink ball – will get a crack at the kid that former Victorian spinner Bryce McGain labelled a “once in a generation” player.
Pucovski knows Pakistan is loaded with left-arm quicks and his selection for Australia A has him in the mix to bat at No. 6 in the Gabba Test, most likely competing with Travis Head.
But what if it doesn’t happen for him this summer?
“I’ll go back and play club cricket (for Melbourne) and be a normal 21-year-old for a couple of months, which will be nice. If I’m not in the Test squad that’ll be a nice trade off.”
Cricket has always been a game to tax the mind and Pucovski has had his challenges along the way.
Glenn Maxwell thinks it is now more about how Pucovski handles the attention rather than the willow.
“Ever since he scored all those runs in the under-19s his name has been up in lights,” Maxwell said.
“The way he scores runs he’s never going to be unnoticed or away from the limelight. It’s just how he deals with that, that’s probably going to be his biggest challenge.
“It’s not going to be a bowler or anything like that.”
The Brighton Grammar boy isn’t putting any pressure on himself. A Test debut would be a “dream” rather than an “aim” this summer and he’s already been exposed to coach Justin Langer’s environment.
In February, Pucovski faced up to Mitchell Starc in the Gabba nets when he made the squad for the Sri Lanka series.
“Starc’s fast, that’s for sure,” Pucovksi said.
“He’s a world-class bowler and just probably a level up in terms of pace on most blokes.”
So, did Starc get him out?
“Yep, numerous times. He was swinging them straight back in with a brand new rock. It was scary, but a good challenge at the same time.”
In the pre-Ashes tour match this year, Starc put Pucovski in hospital for X-rays on a suspected broken foot.
But it was Pucovski’s gutsy second-innings knock, where he scored 37 runs and lasted 81 balls on a pitch so spicy it was labelled dangerous, that stuck in the memory bank.
It’s been a rough ride for the Hampton boy.
Pucovski gave up soccer when he was 13 and was then forced to quit footy when he was 16 because of a concussion that hit him for six.
Pucovski was caught in a sling tackle at training and smacked his head on best mate ‘Ace’ McBain’s knee in what would be his final footy act.
“It was pretty bad, I missed six months of school so it was pretty full on,” he said.
“I kept on having ongoing symptoms and no one really knew what was going on.”
Concussions have followed Pucovski although while some bowlers go short deliberately, he does average 39 runs against pace when batting in the top three for Victoria.
Crafty spinners on turning decks present a bigger challenge, but a forward defence as solid as a slab of concrete and crisp cut shot are often Pucovski’s answers.
But why the real love of the red ball?
“It suits my game for starters, and I’ve just always like the traditional element to it,” Pucovski said.
“I feel like it’s a real battle when you’re out there and there’s battle within battles.
“It’s a test of physical endurance, mental endurance and the different phases of a game have always intrigued me quite a bit.”
Originally published as Australian prospect Will Pucovski declares his love of red-ball cricket as possible Test debut looms