Behind Mahli Beardman’s meteoric rise: The tee-totalling teen tyro who knows cricket is ‘mostly between the ears’

One game into his professional career, Mahli Beardman has already been called up for Australia duty. Yet tapping into the mind and lifestyle of the teen pace phenom, there is little sense of a young man about to get ahead of himself.

Mahli Beardman is only just 19 but you wouldn’t know it talking to him.

It is extraordinary that a player with just a single state match under his belt has been called up to a senior Australian squad in England, yet tapping into the mind and lifestyle of the WA teen pace phenom, there is little sense of a young man about to get ahead of himself.

To the contrary, Beardman has taken ultra-professional steps not typically associated with cricketers to ready himself for the rigours of consistently bowling at above 140km/h.

“This pre-season I’ve completely given up drinking,” Beardman told this masthead last month when signing a two-season deal with the Big Bash League’s Perth Scorchers.

“I’ve been very strict with starting to track calories and look at that side of things and making sure that I’m getting the right amount of fuel for my body. Supplements, if that’s creatine or protein powder that’s been passed by the WACA, just any little edge that I can get in that aspect.”

And that’s only part of it. Beardman is mature enough to realise that having his body at its ripest is just some of the battle.

Mahli Beardman has signed a two-year deal with the Perth Scorchers. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

“But then also, I think there’s been a massive mental switch in my preparation and the way that I go about things,” he said.

“I’ve been working with psychologists to do visualisation techniques and sort of understanding the power of the mind and understanding the importance of what the mental side of cricket is, and that is mostly played between the ears.

“So I think that obviously there’s a lot of physical work done in cricket, and I’ve been super strict with making sure I’m in the gym three times a week in the pre-season. And making sure that I’m getting my running in and getting my kilometres in, and fuelling my body and trying to be in the best shape I can be, but then also making sure that my mind’s the best that it can be, and prepare the best way possible that I know.

“So I’ve been working with Jack Williams psych at the WACA a lot, and have been doing visualisation like I said but then also coping mechanisms and understanding when I do get hit back over my head for six, understanding that that’s completely normal, and going through rational processes, how to understand and cope with that.”

Mahli Beardman knows cricket is largely played between the ears. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Beardman has also moved away from surfing and spear fishing in dangerous locations after a couple of run-ins with sharks in the past.

There have been plenty of exciting prospects in Australian cricket over the years, however to be blooded with such little experience speaks to the belief placed in Beardman by national selectors.

Having been introduced at 15 to the legendary Dennis Lillee through a family friend, Beardman appreciates how fortunate he is to be able to call the Aussie pace icon a mentor.

“Most of times that I call him, he’s either on a rock fishing down south, or he’s in his garden, gardening somewhere, or doing something extreme. So that would catch most people off guard.

“But I think just what would catch most people off guard is he’s just genuinely one of the most grounded, humble, willing to help kind people you ever meet. I think DK is the sort of guy that I could call anytime, any day, and he’d make time to fit in and have a chat about cricket or not necessarily even about cricket.

“He’s just an unbelievable mentor in all aspects, making sure that I’m not just progressing as a cricketer, but that I’m a decent young man as well, and making sure that he’s like testing me and mentoring me in all aspects.

“And I think he’s not one of those people that is a frequent caller, or he’s always rocking up to my house as well. He uses his time very sparingly, but I think that’s what makes it so powerful as well.

“That’s what makes him such an unbelievable leader and mentor, I only need to have a chat to him once every couple of months, and I feel like I’ve been directed in the right way, and I have a very clear understanding of what I need to do in order to grow as a cricketer and also as a person.

“Having someone like that around is obviously such a massive privilege and honour, but it’s also just an unbelievable weapon to have in my corner too.”

Australian great Dennis Lillee has taken Beardman under his wing. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Even if Beardman features for Australia in white-ball cricket, a Test entrance seems a way off. Like so many quicks before him, the speedster has dealt with back troubles in the past, and remains on a short leash when it comes to bowling loads.

“I’ve always been pretty monitored in that aspect. I had a run where I was 16 and 17, where I had back issues unfortunately. So I think that’s always something that’s very present in the WACA management’s mind, and they’re very conscious of that.

“So I think it’ll be a very sparingly used thing, unfortunately, because I love red-ball, and I love the format and the contest between bat and ball that I don’t think you quite get in white-ball cricket.

“But yeah I think it would be quite closely monitored. I think the most I’ve ever bowled in a day is 14 (overs). I’ve bowled 14 a few times, and my body’s been fine with that, but I haven’t really gone much further past that.

“I think I’d be used in short, sharp bursts to try and hopefully bowl quick and unsettle people, which is what I think they would be using me as if there was any red-ball opportunities.”