Harper Sercombe
Hoppers Crossing’s hometown hero is back and is spinning a web around the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association.
Back in August it was announced that former Victorian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed would make his long awaited return to Hogans Road but no one could have pictured it would go as well as it has.
The 41-year-old has long travelled the world bamboozling batsmen, collecting more than 200 first class wickets, 172 top level T-20 wickets and even playing white ball cricket for Australia across his 11 year professional career.
Now, back to his roots in suburban cricket Ahmed said he feels right at home playing in the navy blue and white.
“I always wanted to finish at Hoppers Crossing, I had some great memories there, that’s where I started,” he said.
“Those couple of years after moving to Australia the club was an absolute powerhouse and a stepping stone for me to get into cricket.
“I don’t forget my roots, I know where I came from and I can proudly say that it’s my home club. I always wanted to come back, honestly, I got better offers money wise, but I wanted to play for Hoppers.
“Even though I didn’t know anyone in the team, they are young people from different generations. Fourteen years ago when I was there, most of them would have been in primary school… It makes me feel good as well, still running around with youngsters and trying to keep myself fit and up and running to try to perform well, so it’s helping me a lot.”
The people Ahmed remembers at the Cats are still there and although they may not be necessarily in their whites, they are still instrumental to the club’s operations and inviting him back home.
“It’s amazing to see some familiar faces, and they were keen [for me to come back] as well, so it’s ended up nicely,” he said.
Cricket was more than just a career for Ahmed and now it is more than just a pastime for the veteran. He said he uses the sport as a place to grow, a place to learn, to teach what he has learnt and a way to keep fit by doing something he loves. Not only is it all of these things for Ahmed, but also a welcome distraction and escape for devastation in his personal life.
“I had a tragedy at home and the last 10 months have been difficult,” he said.
“It isn’t about being a professional cricketer or what you have achieved, it’s about the game we play, it’s about going out and playing, whoever you play for, whoever you play with and just enjoy the moment and be grateful.
“There are going to be a lot of people who are wanting to play who may be younger or older, they might be injured, they might have family problems, job issues.
“But I’m lucky, I’m still healthy and I’m still playing cricket at this age.”
Ahmed is not just taking part for Hoppers Crossing but he has been a dominant force for the side, leading the association’s wicket tally with 31 wickets, eight more than the next best, at a staggering average of 6.68. While he said he enjoys playing the best cricket he can, that’s not what it’s about, for him, team wins and delivering success to his home club is what truly matters.
“You don’t take things for granted, I’ve had games where I’ve gone wicketless, I’ve had games that I’ve taken only one wicket, so it’s still not easy,” he said.
“Wickets depend on luck, an umpire might make a bad decision, you bowl a good ball and it just keeps missing, you get a knick and the catch gets dropped.
“The wickets mostly come from the bad balls, sometimes you bowl a half-tracker or a full bunger and you take a wicket.
“I still enjoy my cricket, I want to give it 100 per cent and to help the young kids. But on a personal side I want to play well as well, I don’t want to come and whinge about the standards or whatever it is. For me it’s completely different, I really want to enjoy it, I want to play well, I want to take wickets, not for a personal milestone, but if I’m helping us win.
Ahmed said a premiership with the Cats would be an amazing outcome.
“Winning the competition would be amazing for us, I think this is the third year for Hoppers in the Subbies (VSDCA) and it would be great for the club because it’s so multicultural,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of English guys, a couple of Aussies, a few Indians, Pakistanis, so it’s very multicultural and a true reflection of Australia.
“It would be great to help my club, that’s what I’m there for. But everyone has to play their part, it’s not just on me, it’s cricket, it’s a team game. Yet, it’s so individual, you win as a team and you have to perform as a team, but it’s individual in the sense that you get an opportunity to bowl and to bat and you have to perform.
“But that’s cricket, and we love it and it just makes me happy to go there and train and to play on Saturdays. I think Saturdays without cricket are going to be really hard.
“I don’t remember all the wickets or all the runs but what I do remember is the grand finals, when we were winning, I’ve got all the photos and the medals I still have at home. In 20 years time you don’t remember how you bowled, but you do remember the flags.”
As Ahmed prepares himself for life beyond playing the sport he loves so much, he said he is excited to share the learnings from his 20 year career with the young spinners of today, not just at Hoppers Crossing but throughout the state and country.
“It is most likely my last season, I might play here and there but I’m going to get more into coaching… I’ve just done my high performance coaching course with Cricket Australia,” he said.
“There’s a lot of franchise cricket around, but also maybe trying to help the young cricketers here in Melbourne and maybe run my own little academy… I don’t think there are any leg spinners in the world playing test cricket, so it would be an absolute pleasure to work with young spinners to really convince them and help them to play red ball cricket rather than just focusing on T20 cricket.
“I work a lot with Peter Hatzoglou and Doug Warren… which is an absolute pleasure… I’ve spent a lot of time with Tanveer Sangha, he’s played for Australia and performed really well, he’s a breath of fresh air for Australia, he’s very young but very mature and very talented.
“I spend a lot of time with those three spinners and they’ve been doing really well in professional cricket. So if I can help a few more young cricketers here in Melbourne and in the future they can play grade cricket or for their state or in the Big Bash would be amazing.
“It’s good to give back to cricket itself and give back to the game. Plus going back to the club as well, there are two or three young kids that are really, really good, they want to play at the next level. Hopefully they can play grade cricket in a year or two, and I can share my experience, hopefully they can learn a little bit. But it’s up to each individual, if they work hard and what they want to achieve in the future.”
Ahmed was again a standout for Hoppers Crossing over the weekend taking 3-11 as Yarraville broke the Cats’ five game win streak.
