Southern District’s Englishman Lewis Hatchett proves an inspiration – on and off the field
Englishman Lewis Hatchett has overcome the odds to prove a hit on and off the field at SACA Premier Cricket club Southern District.
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Lewis Hatchett doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
Southern District’s English, left-arm paceman has overcome too much adversity to be weighed down by minor issues.
When he hears sports people complain about something or fail to work hard at training, he tries to remind them to “find a way’’.
Hatchett has been finding a way his entire life.
The 29-year-old was born with Poland Syndrome – a rare condition that appears in about one in 100,000 births and affects one side of the body.
In many cases it results in an underdeveloped arm or hand.
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But Hatchett is missing his right pectoral muscle and the two ribs that would have sat behind it.
With a visibly sunken chest on the right hand side of his body, he shouldn’t be playing cricket, nevertheless defying the odds to manage 27 first-class matches and take 72 wickets for English County club Sussex.
When Hatchett was growing up he was told that his condition meant contact sports were not an option, including cricket.
But he watched his heroes strut their stuff on television and by age 10 was determined to have a crack at the sport.
“I’ve never really thought about what I can’t do,’’ said Hatchett, who is at the Stingrays for a fifth stint this season after first representing the club while with the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy as an 18-year-old in 2008.
“Obviously I’ve had some challenges to overcome, I’m physically challenged in some spaces, but it’s not something I’ve ever dwelled too much on.
“There were times when I was younger when I was self conscious about my body and very protective about it.
“But I slowly learnt to accept my condition and when people ask about my chest I joke that it was a shark attack.
“The most powerful thing I’ve done is use my perceived weakness to give me great strength and as a driver to make me work harder.
“I knew my condition meant I was different to everyone else and just to get level, I felt I had to work three times as hard as the next guy.
“My big thing has been to find a way. Every time I have hit a physical barrier, I have found a way around it.
“I never think about what I can’t do.’’
The tall, athletic Hatchett, who claimed a season-best 5/67 against West Torrens in the last SACA Premier Cricket round, bowls with his left arm because of the damage to the right side of his body.
“I’m dominant on my left hand side,’’ he said.
“With my condition I had to work physically very hard to try to get my body balanced and strong enough to play cricket, particularly as a bowler.’’
When batting, Hatchett wears a specially designed chest guard to protect him in the area lacking muscle or bone.
While he has overcome physical barriers to carve out a fine cricket career, his English first-class career was ended on medical advice after he suffered serious stress fractures in his back at age 26.
This was partly caused by the stress he had put on his underdeveloped body.
“It was very disappointing that my professional career ended so early and I struggled with that realisation for a while,’’ Hatchett said.
“But I am very happy with what I have achieved and that I made myself into a professional cricketer.’’
Apart from the 27 first-class games, Hatchett played 16 List A and 10 Twenty20 matches for Sussex, taking 30 wickets.
Hatchett, who combines playing with a leadership and development coach’s role at Southern, is hoping to make Australia home one day.
Proof that hard work trumps talent, Hatchett – also a performance coach dipping into yoga, breathwork, mindfulness and meditation – is using his story to inspire others.
He does motivational speaking – for corporates, teams and schools – and can be found on most social networks while he also produces the Raising Your Game podcast.
“The theme is about getting people to realise what is possible for them,’’ Hatchett said.