John Hastings
by Ken Piesse
Picturesque Lindisfarne, just a few Gary Ablett torpedoes from Hobart is not only the venue for the Tasmania-Victoria second XI clash this week, but the base for Bushranger new boy John Hastings' comeback to cricket.
Hastings, 21, is returning to the game after sustaining ankle ligament damage during a seemingly innocuous practice drill in his first major session with the team at the Junction Oval in September.
"It was just a freak accident," he said. "I rolled my ankle on a soccer ball. It wasn't a cricket injury as such, but luckily enough I've been able to make a reasonably quick recovery."
The injury forced him to withdraw from Victoria's practice camp in Queensland and he has only just been able to resume club cricket, with his new team Footscray-Vic University.
"It has been a frustrating time but the medical staff and everyone around the team from Greg Shipperd down have been very understanding," he said.
"I really iced it up the first 72 hours and had my first bowl against St Kilda last weekend and again in Hobart for the second XI game.
"I'm really hoping to impress. With Andrew McDonald injuring his shoulder, there is an opportunity for an allrounder to step up."
Originally from the Hawkesbury area, an hour north of Sydney, Hastings says he was on "no guarantees" when he shifted south.
"It was an easy decision to make," he said.
"I'd had a couple of good seasons of first grade but I didn't see much room for me (at representative level) in Sydney with two good allrounders ahead of me in Moises Henriques and Grant Lambert."
He felt his opportunities even to land a second XI game or two were remote and having played a league season in Surrey coupled with his selection in the Victorian Emerging players tour of the U.K he had been looking to hit the new Melbourne season running.
A tall medium-pacer who also is a handy No.7 or No.8 batsman, Hastings can make the ball bounce from just short of a good length and at around 130 km/h has deceptive bounce.
"My bowling is my strength at the moment," he said, "but I'd like to become known as a genuine allrounder. I've still got a lot of work to do on my batting."
A first-grader in Sydney from the age of 16, Hastings took 35 wickets for Hawkesbury last summer. He was also a lead member of the club's Under 21 team which won back-to-back Sydney premierships in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Sport runs in his family. His mother Susan is a tri-athlete and this weekend is competing in the Port Macquarie half ironman contest.
Asked about his first impressions of Melbourne, Hastings said it was "more relaxed" down south and his house mate Gerard Denton had been showing him the sights.
"Everyone has been very accepting. There is a real feeling of togetherness about the squad," he said.
