Jackson Warne reveals why he didn’t follow his dad into cricket
Shane Warne is one of Australia’s best ever cricketers, and his son Jackson showed plenty of potential that he too could become an international star. But one thing stop him from following in his famous dad’s footsteps.
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Spin king Shane Warne and his son Jackson have revealed their regret over him not following in his famous dad’s cricket footsteps.
But the pair have found joy in a shared passion for the sport of poker which has allowed them to play together around the world.
Jackson, 21, starred during a high school cricket game but was turned off by the immediate pressure that came with being the son of one of Australia’s best ever cricketers.
“I think pressure plays a big part,’’ Jackson told the A Few Off the Wood podcast.
“If I was to take up cricket the expectation of me to be great or the next big thing was huge. “I couldn’t just be a player, I had to be the best of the best.
“It would be like if Tiger Woods has a kid and he has to take up golf. Or LeBron (James) has a kid playing basketball.
“There’s such a big expectation it sort of takes the fun and enjoyment out of it because people are coming to watch the game to see if you’re going to be as good as your dad or whoever your relative is in the sport. They’re not watching you for who you are I guess. So I never really took it up.
“Sitting back I kind of regret not trying more or playing a bit more games.”
He added tongue in cheek: “I’m happy letting dad have the record or the legacy. I didn’t want to take it over and make him feel upset.”
Warne recalls that day when Jackson excelled on the cricket pitch.
“The last (school) year he played cricket he took a hat-trick, took four wickets in five balls and smashed the ball out of the park,’’ Shane said.
“Within half an hour, 45 minutes, there was that any people coming down to the ground asking for pictures and interviews. He said never again and that’s it.
“As much as I would have loved to play cricket with Jackson just socially, I understand the expectations on him.
“We’ve found poker together so the good news is poker goes to some pretty cool places that cricket didn’t.”
Warne, 50, also revealed his humble beginnings and first jobs at Forty Winks, a jewellery store and in a pizza shop.
He said when he first got a Cricket Australia contract 30 years ago he was still working at the pizza shop.
“I wanted to be an AFL footballer but wasn’t tall enough, fast enough and wasn’t good enough so I had to do something else,’’ Warne said.
“In between cricket finding me I worked for Forty Winks delivering beds, so it’s a pretty good picture thinking of blue shorts, the big boots, the blue singlet and driving a truck.
“I worked in a jewellery store, Patterson jewellery, where I did signet rings. Picture an old sewing machine with a sheet of either copper, silver, gold. I had to push a pedal that would stamp into that sheet of metal and then move it across and stamp again.
“I worked on a Friday night for some extra money at a pizza shop. I think I used to get about 10-15 bucks and the pizza was about eight bucks. I’d get a pizza at the end of the night and I’d end up earning about two or five bucks for the night.
“When I first played cricket for Australia I was still working at a pizza shop on a Friday night. My first contract was three grand so, that was for the year, so I couldn’t afford to live playing cricket for Australia back then 30 odd years ago.”
Jackson said he loves to play with LEGO, wants to pursue poker professionally and explained why training in the gym had transformed his life.
“It was when I was 15 or 16 I looked at all my friends and I was still the skinny kid always covering my self up and going into the water with a T-shirt on,’’ Jackson said.
“I wanted to feel confident to go to the beach in summer. I started at 56 kgs and now I’ve got to 82, 83 and feel a lot better.
“I feel a lot better. Even friends or family say you are happier, a completely different person, more confident and you’ve inspired me to do something about my confidence or health.”
The Warnes said they were enjoying the lockdown time.
“I’ve loved it actually,’’ Shane said.
“For the first time since 89, 31 years, I’ve been in the one city longer than two weeks.
“I caught up on all Netflix shows. Money Heist I thought was outstanding. I rewatched Entourage twice because I just love that.
“I’ve got a lot of stuff done. Reassessed, took a step back from everything and just slowed down. It’s been nice, I’ve loved it.”