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Shaun Tait's potential?

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creamygoodness

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Far and away the most disappointing player of the last 20 years for me.

Could hit 160km/h and could generate huge hooping reverse swing. Consistently seemed to visibly scare the bejeesus out of batsmen.

Only problem was you couldn't trust him to bowl 6 consistent balls and/or lose the plot completely.

If he had've matured what could he have achieved in Test cricket?

Here's some of his best to chew on that.

 
If your looking for Shaun Tait's potential, you'll find that it went down here:

article-0-058F83AE000005DC-938_306x468.jpg


Sadly, had it all talent wise but mentally was just not up for it.

Imagine him at one end and Johnson at the other.
 

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creamygoodness said:
Far and away the most disappointing player of the last 20 years for me.

Could hit 160km/h and could generate huge hooping reverse swing. Consistently seemed to visibly scare the bejeesus out of batsmen.

Only problem was you couldn't trust him to bowl 6 consistent balls and/or lose the plot completely.

If he had've matured what could he have achieved in Test cricket?

Here's some of his best to chew on that.

Click to expand...


Watching him at the Perth test, he seemed to loose it against Ponting when asked to keep the over rate up. If I recall, he was dropped after the test and the wheels that were wobbling just fell off.
 
Taity wanted to play more Test cricket and Sheffield Shield. I know this for a fact as I had a long discussion with him one day. However, he received an offer from India to play the limited form of the game, an offer he really couldn't refuse. The money was outstanding, plus his (now) wife lived in India, and it gave him more time to be with her.

I can certainly understand the disappointment people have that he never played more in the baggy green, I feel that way myself. When he first turned out for our grade club as a raw teenager, I had dreams of him playing many Test matches for Australia, but it was just not to be. There's more to life than just playing cricket.

I've seen him bowl in grade cricket twice this season. He has bowled with good pace and line in several 7 over spells. At 31, he could possibly still do it, but it's not very likely with younger quicks ahead of him.
 
Adelaide Hawk said:
Taity wanted to play more Test cricket and Sheffield Shield. I know this for a fact as I had a long discussion with him one day. However, he received an offer from India to play the limited form of the game, an offer he really couldn't refuse. The money was outstanding, plus his (now) wife lived in India, and it gave him more time to be with her.

I can certainly understand the disappointment people have that he never played more in the baggy green, I feel that way myself. When he first turned out for our grade club as a raw teenager, I had dreams of him playing many Test matches for Australia, but it was just not to be. There's more to life than just playing cricket.

I've seen him bowl in grade cricket twice this season. He has bowled with good pace and line in several 7 over spells. At 31, he could possibly still do it, but it's not very likely with younger quicks ahead of him.
Click to expand...


what?
 
My favourite player growing up (Probably still is :P). Used to love going down to the adelaide oval for an ING Cup match when they used to get great crowds and was there when he got 8-43 against Tassie.
 
Milang_Panthers said:
My favourite player growing up (Probably still is :p). Used to love going down to the adelaide oval for an ING Cup match when they used to get great crowds and was there when he got 8-43 against Tassie.
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not a bad day out
 
Milang_Panthers said:
My favourite player growing up (Probably still is :p). Used to love going down to the adelaide oval for an ING Cup match when they used to get great crowds and was there when he got 8-43 against Tassie.
Click to expand...

Yes, that season he took 60+ (I think 64) Sheffield Shield wickets in the one season was very exciting. A long and successful Test career seemed assured. He had that inswinging Yorker going to full effect and was at times unplayable.
 

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Still remember him playing shield cricket at AO when he started.

Keeper was closer to the boundary than they were the stumps and was still taking the ball above their head.


Was scary.
 
At his best, he was unstoppable. How do you face somebody who can crank it up to 160 km/h at will with that sort of action? Not easily.

However, I believe that other factors severely limited his ability to become a Test-class player, especially when compared with Mitch Johnson (whom he was often compared to back in the day):

Batting - He was a rabbit, Johnson is a useful lower-order batsman
Fielding - Not nearly as good as Johnson's
Bowling - Neither have been models of consistency, but Johnson fares slightly better in this regard
Injury - Tait's action, while a weapon in itself because of its unorthodoxy, would have put a lot of strain on his body. Unlike Mitch, he simply could not overcome those early-year injuries. Depression also afflicted Tait. Having suffered myself, it is a debilitating illness and I imagine it would have left him wallowing in pits of despair - this mindset is not really voluntary and it stops you from doing what you really need to in order to move forward with things.
 
His best was absolutely unreal. But unfortunately it seems when he wasn't in the right mental state, cricket was a disaster for him. Durham signed him up in 2004 as the next big thing, played two county games and completely forgot how to bowl. Ponting was batting for Somerset at the time and recounts how he was hearing Tait say to his captain he just had absolutely no idea why his run up was screwed to the extent he bowled 21 no balls in twelve overs and went for 113. They gave him a second chance a few days later, but to no avail and after going for 63 off 6 the plug was pulled on his county stint. A bit embarrassing for the bloke who signed him up!

http://cricketarchive.com/Durham/Scorecards/80/80239.html
http://cricketarchive.com/Durham/Scorecards/80/80320.html

To his credit he worked on his game and was rewarded with a baggy green, a crucial role in a winning world cup and a lucrative IPL contract. There were obviously still some pretty bad low points, but he certainly matured and didn't stop working at trying to reduce the gap between his best and worst. Sadly by the time he seemed to reach that more confident mental state, the toll on his body became the limiting factor.
 
During that bumper Shield season was the time to pick him and I think people realise that now. He's never been as fit or consistently fast since.

The missed opportunity with Tait has actually changed how selectors view really fast bowlers: If someone is quick, you pick them now. Don't wait because it might not be there later on and most likely won't be. We might have only had 6-12 months of Tait at his best at international level but as it is we got next to none. Of course we had a fair attack at the time so easier said than done.

I reckon it's one of the reasons they chose Pat Cummins at 18 years old.
 
RonSon said:
Still remember him playing shield cricket at AO when he started.

Keeper was closer to the boundary than they were the stumps and was still taking the ball above their head.


Was scary.
Click to expand...

Scary is the word. One night at practice, I went around behind the nets to see what Taity looked like from a batsman's perspective as he was propelling his thunderbolts toward them. Bear in mind, there were 2 nets between us, and I was about 3 or 4 metres behind the batsman. I doubt if he ever got near the 160kph mark at practice sessions, but each time he let one go and it beat the batsman, I was flinching like you wouldn't believe. Man, he was sharp .... and scary.
 

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Drugs Are Bad Mackay? said:
During that bumper Shield season was the time to pick him and I think people realise that now. He's never been as fit or consistently fast since.

The missed opportunity with Tait has actually changed how selectors view really fast bowlers: If someone is quick, you pick them now. Don't wait because it might not be there later on and most likely won't be. We might have only had 6-12 months of Tait at his best at international level but as it is we got next to none. Of course we had a fair attack at the time so easier said than done.

I reckon it's one of the reasons they chose Pat Cummins at 18 years old.
Click to expand...



Me and a mate used to head into AO for shield cricket on a weeknight after work finished if the gates were open.

Think the spell I remember was against Tasmania.


But it was ridiculous.

I've never seen a keeper and slip cordon that far back from the batsman. Pitching a good length and the ball would just keep going up.
 
At his best Tait was fast, sure, but it's pretty hard to maintain speeds of 150+ km/h over a long test match. During most spells the speeds dipped to low - mid 140s as he got tired easily. Without that express pace he was nowhere near as effective.

He was downright unplayable in the shorter forms at times.

 
Sylvia Saint said:
At his best Tait was fast, sure, but it's pretty hard to maintain speeds of 150+ km/h over a long test match. During most spells the speeds dipped to low - mid 140s as he got tired easily. Without that express pace he was nowhere near as effective.

He was downright unplayable in the shorter forms at times.

Click to expand...


wow

I'm surprised that didn't crack the bone

ouch....right on the hip
 
Cleavy said:
he and Brad Williams arguably didn't make the most of their potential.
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Yeah he was more than sharp as well. An oft forgotten test cricketer, faded from the test arena to out of the domestic scene remarkably quickly.

Adelaide Hawk said:
Scary is the word. One night at practice, I went around behind the nets to see what Taity looked like from a batsman's perspective as he was propelling his thunderbolts toward them. Bear in mind, there were 2 nets between us, and I was about 3 or 4 metres behind the batsman. I doubt if he ever got near the 160kph mark at practice sessions, but each time he let one go and it beat the batsman, I was flinching like you wouldn't believe. Man, he was sharp .... and scary.
Click to expand...

I remember you posted a bit about Jeff Thomson, if you ever got to see him at such close range does Tait suffer at all in comparison in terms of pace?

Speaking to a few cricket fans I know who were fortunate enough to see both, they were adamant that Thomson was considerably faster. But they are the kind of 'everything was better in my day' blokes so I suspect they were exaggerating a bit.
 
Hellgood said:
I remember you posted a bit about Jeff Thomson, if you ever got to see him at such close range does Tait suffer at all in comparison in terms of pace?

Speaking to a few cricket fans I know who were fortunate enough to see both, they were adamant that Thomson was considerably faster. But they are the kind of 'everything was better in my day' blokes so I suspect they were exaggerating a bit.
Click to expand...

My old man reckons the reverse, that Tait is a lot quicker.

Taits ability to hit 150km plus I doubt we will see that again for another 20 years.
 

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