After making a significant adjustment in the off-season, Campbell Kellaway is struggling to find the consistency he is after as he prepares to play Bangladesh in Darwin on Thursday.
But it is a measure of the growing maturity of the 23-year-old, who has been flagged as a potential Australian opener, that he was willing to take a step into new territory.
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Before Victorian fans become too concerned about technique alterations, it is worth noting this change is away from the nets, with Kellaway leaving the family home for the first time to live in a share house.
And the frustration with consistency stems from the “mixed results” he is experiencing in the kitchen of the Port Melbourne apartment the right-hander has started sharing with a mate.
The occasional false stroke in the kitchen aside, the former Australian under-19 cricketer is raring to go as he bids to strengthen his domestic reputation for Victoria this season in the hope “the rest takes care of itself”.
“It’s been exciting and I guess we’re trying to learn to fend for ourselves now. I don’t have mum and dad holding my hand, so that’s been good fun,” Kellaway said.
“I’ve had a nice little break following the end of the Shield season (and) put the tools down until about a month and a half ago, and then I’ve just been back training in Melbourne with the boys with the Vic squad, which has been quite nice.
“It’s been a busy couple of years, just with a lot of cricket on, so it was nice to get fit in the gym and then, come August, I’m keen to get back out in the middle and get back to playing some cricket.”
Starc peppers Kellaway with brutal ball | 01:20
A candidate for higher honours?
Kellaway, who has made three centuries and 13 half-centuries in 44 first class matches, has been a regular visitor to Darwin in recent years with different squads and sides.
The opener, who will represent a Cricket Australia XI in a warm-up game for Bangladesh ahead of the two Test series beginning next week, has been sweating bullets in the heat, with the temperature about 20C warmer than Melbourne.
But after weeks training indoors at the Junction Oval, Kellaway said that aside from returning “home with a little tan”, it had been a joy to spend time in the middle on turf wickets this week as he gears up for a big summer ahead.
Kellaway, who made 82 for the Prime Minister’s XI in a clash against an England touring side in Canberra during last year’s Ashes, rates among the nation’s most promising cricketers at what shapes as a fascinating period for the Test team.
He demonstrated significant grit in last year’s Sheffield Shield season against a New South Wales attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott and Nathan Lyon at the SCG, which followed a century against Tasmania.
Kellaway notches 82 in PM XI contest | 00:54
His effort against England, which followed those strong knocks, prompted Victorian teammate and PM XI captain Peter Handscomb to declare that he considered Kellaway capable of “playing international cricket, absolutely”.
“There needs to be an opportunity and he needs to be making runs at the right time, but if he does get that opportunity, I think he’s got the game to excel at the next level,” he said.
Australian great Adam Gilchrist, who will head the Fox Cricket broadcast team again this summer, told foxsports.com.au in January he was “excited” by the potential of Kellaway.
But the Victorian opener, who features alongside talents including Sam Konstas and Kurtis Patterson in Darwin this week, played a straight bat when quizzed about might lie ahead this summer.
“Look, for me, if I’m making runs for Victoria at the top of the order and contributing to us winning games, then I’m happy,” he said.
“That’s my role for the Vics, to open the batting and try to get big scores which sets us up to win games of cricket. That’s always my main focus and hopefully we’ll have a Shield at some stage in the next one, two, three or four years. So that’s definitely the main focus and I guess the rest kind of takes care of itself.”
The building blocks
The pain of falling short in what proved a thrilling Sheffield Shield final against back-to-back champions South Australia in March still lingers for the Victorians.
But Kellaway, who followed a 66 against South Australia in the final round of the season with innings of 29 and 16 in the decider, is treating the experience as another learning point.
Aside from moving duties, he said the rare break from the crease gave him some time to reflect on the experiences of the last couple of seasons that have helped round his game.
“Definitely. I guess whenever you do get a period of time to put the feet up, it gives you a chance to look back at … how your season went,” he said.
“I’ve definitely learnt so much about my game as a player over the last 12 to 24 months from being exposed to different conditions and different challenges.
“Whether it’s opening the batting in Shield cricket (and) I was lucky enough to get over to India twice in the pre-season last year (and) played a club season in the UK the year before, so it is just trying to learn as a batter and as a player and hopefully that holds me in good stead for this season coming and time after that.”
Kellaway said his main sounding boards are Victorian coach Chris Rogers, a fellow left-hander who averaged 42.7 in 25 Tests for Australia, and the state’s batting coach Ben Rohrer, with the pair intent on challenging him to improve as an opener.
“I guess getting their thoughts on different situations and times when I’m challenged and times when I’ve done well … you’ll learn a lot about yourself as a player when you get thrown in the deep end at times, or when you do well,” he said.
“I guess (it is about) just gathering more knowledge on what makes me tick as a player and I guess that holds you in good stead when you get put in pressure situations in future.”
Chris Rogers backs Victorian stars | 12:48
The finishing school
“Bucky” Rogers and Rohrer aside, Kellaway said the strength of the Victorian squad added to his education, with several players boasting international experience.
Scott Boland is in Queensland training this week and will join the Australian team in Darwin for the first Test against Bangladesh next week, while Handscomb and former Australian opener Marcus Harris both have Test experience.
Kellaway said he and Geelong teenager Ollie Peake, who has been identified as a prospective Australian player, looked at the senior players when “the heat’s really on” and tried to model their development.
“I love trying to pick the brains of the older players and I guess guys like Ollie Peake and myself and Harry Dixon, we’re always trying to pick the brains of Pete and ‘Harry’ and Sammy Harper, who’s had a breakout year.
“I love talking to Pete Hanscomb because he’s played cricket in all different conditions … and knows his game pretty much inside out. He’s always got plenty of runs and I guess he’s always happy to share his experiences with us and we try to soak it all in.”
Australian great Allan Border told foxsports.com.au this week that it was important the nation’s leading domestic cricketers hit the ground running given the heavy schedule the country’s Test team is about to begin, saying doors will open.
While not speaking specifically to that prospect, Kellaway said “he had banked” the “invaluable” lessons that came with opening for Victoria and when touring India with Australia A so that if “opportunities (come) in the future, I’ll be ready to go.”
CA XI (14-player squad)
Campbell Kellaway (VIC/ Melbourne CC)
Campbell Thompson (SA/ East Torrens CC )
Corey Rocchiccioli (WA/ University Premier Cricket Club)
Hanno Jacobs (SA/ Sturt CC )
Jake Doran (TAS/ University of Tasmania CC)
Jerrssis Wadia (SA/ Tea Tree Gully CC )
Josh Philippe (NSW/ Western Suburbs CC )
Kurtis Patterson (NSW/ St George CC )
Sam Konstas (NSW / Sutherlands CC )
Teague Wyllie (TAS)
Tom Menzies (SA / Adelaide CC )
Tom Rogers (VIC / Ringwood CC)
Xavier Crone (VIC / Carlton CC)
Noah McFadyen (SA / Adelaide CC)
Border backs Weatherald to keep place | 01:03
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