da gbg bet： It would have been easy for frustration to set in for the man who has been nominated as Australia’s No. 1 spinner but Bryce McGain knows Australia’s all-seam attack is being determined by conditions and that all he needs is patience
da cassino online： Brydon Coverdale in Cape Town15-Mar-2009
Bryce McGain is the only member of the original touring party without a Test cap © Getty Images
Bryce McGain is used to waiting for his opportunities. This is a man who spent so long in the workforce before becoming a full-timeprofessional cricketer that he took not one but batches oflong-service leave. His banking career lasted 17 years so a couple ofmonths here or there doesn’t make a great difference to him.McGain turns 37 in less than a fortnight and for a player who is yetto wear the baggy green cap it’s a birthday that could cause a flutterof panic. Will the chance ever arrive? His first tour with Australiawas cut short in October when he was sent home from India with tendondamage in his armpit and on his second trip, to South Africa, he hasbeen overlooked for the first two Tests.The only member of the original touring party who now does not have abaggy green, McGain has been forced to watch on as debutants MarcusNorth, Phillip Hughes and Ben Hilfenhaus have thrived. It would havebeen easy for frustration to set in for the man who has been nominatedas Australia’s No. 1 spinner but he knows Australia’s all-seam attackis being determined by conditions and that all he needs is patience.”Of course I’d love to be playing – that’s what we all want to do andplay our role on the field – but if my role at the moment is runningdrinks around, that’s okay, I’m happy to do it at the moment,” McGainsaid. “As conditions change, the team make-up might change. Lookingforward it’s probably going to be hard to change a winningcombination, they’re doing so well.”But while McGain has accepted that he may complete his first full tourwithout playing a Test, the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch hasgiven anindication that a specialist spinner will be strongly consideredfor Thursday’s third Test in Cape Town. Hilditch’s comments came afterSimon Katich’s occasional wrist-spin picked up three key wickets inthe second innings of the win in Durban, where McGain could onlywonder what his own legbreaks could have achieved.”I’m rapt for him. I’m as excited as he is,” McGain said of Katich. “Iguess that’s the way I am. If I don’t get a chance, well, I don’t geta chance. I can’t control that. But I know that if I do get the chanceI’m going to grab it with both hands and do the very best I can. I’llbe mentally nice and clear in my mind what I need to do.”That has been the case for all the players, young and old, duringAustralia’s tour. They have each known their roles and done what wasasked of them and McGain said while many people outside the squad haddoubted Australia’s ability to win the series, the players had alwaysbelieved in themselves.”We haven’t really been following the press back home but weunderstand now that there were some murmurings that maybe we were theworst group to go away,” he said. “I know that there was a lot ofbelief in the group before we went and it’s just a good bunch ofcricketers. We’ve played against each other domestically for a longtime. We knew everyone had the talent to put it all together.”If McGain doesn’t make his debut at Newlands his next opportunitywould be on the Ashes tour, where he deserves to be a certainty in thetouring squad if not in the first Test. One of the biggest challengesof McGain’s new travelling lifestyle is spending long periods awayfrom his nine-year-old son Liam, who spends half his time living withhis mother and half with McGain.”I obviously miss him a lot, hanging out and all those things,” McGainsaid. “But with technology these days like Skype, we keep in touchpretty regularly. He loves that and he’s chatting away. It gives me agood lift when I do it, so I do it as often as I can. Most days, everyother day, we’re in touch and it’s good to hear his voice and hearwhat he’s doing day to day. It’s just simple stuff but it’s goodhaving a chat.”Liam will perhaps be the only person in Australia more excited thanhis father if a Test debut arises. But for now, McGain is happy to besurrounded by other success stories.”It’s fantastic to be involved,” he said. “There are a lot of worsethings to be doing than being 12th man for Australia. I’ve reallyloved it.”
