Bryce McGain: Top Bloke

The only reason I have waited this long is because it seemed like a given. Nobody needs to point out the fact that "Nice Bryce" was a genuine top bloke. If John Howard were still playing cricket badly, he'd even go so far as to say he's a "ruddy good bloke". Because he really is.

Bryce has had one of the most unorthodox cricketing careers of any Aussie cricketer. He spent over a decade of his life as an IT worker at ANZ Bank, playing club cricket on the side, before, at the age of 35, he quit his job and began playing cricket professionally. He has an eight year old son who's leg spinning is dodgy, but Bryce is already working on that. He played club cricket for 15 years - that's 15 years - before finding a place in the Victorian side.

When he was in, he spent a good few years disappearing from the side. But Bryce, that Bryce, he didn't give up. Experience and skill were his two strengths, not to mention his superpowers obtained from wearing glasses, and Bryce McGain found himself thrashing NSW in the 2007 Pura Cup. The next year, he worked more wonders and took 38 wickets at 34.15. He was the Sheffield Shield spinner.

So in January 2009, Bryce stepped out on the pitch for the Shield and took a five wicket haul which had Australian selectors shooing him onto the national team. Bryce delivered and he was pointed towards the airport terminal on a plane heading to South Africa.

He missed the plane, of course. Management had a good hard talk with him about it, and he was on the way to South Africa, full of heady optimism and a handy tip from Michael Clarke telling him to sing the goddamn victory song or risk death at Katich's hands. When he debuted, Bryce McGain had the worst 5 days of his life. I know they were, because I felt the pain and horror of those days. If I'd had to live through such an extended nightmare, I would have killed myself on the 2nd day. Not Bryce, however. He stuck it out and enduring the horrors of an over zealous South African batting order. Even Ashwell Prince got stuck into him. Ashwell Prince gets stuck into nobody; he just hits and occupies the crease to gradually build up a score.

In the end, Bryce McGain's one Test match resulted in him now having one of the top five worst Test bowling performances in history. I won't specify how many runs he went for, and where he stands, because this post is to focus on the good things about him, this top bloke.

Bryce is still optimistic, although how he can be so is beyond me. He has said that he "certainly doesn't intend [for] it to be over after just one game". Shane Warne is also backing him, reciprocating Bryce's own statement of:

But it was a couple of days of bowling, that's all. It doesn't mean I can't bowl. As disappointing as it was, I haven't lost my confidence.

The truth has never been so blindingly obvious, but it remains to be seen whether the Australian selectors are willing to look past one loss and invest in supporting Australia's most successful [current] leg spinner. In the meantime, Bryce is settling for knowing that he is a bloody good top bloke.

These Happy Days are yours and mine, Happy Days.

Michael Hussey: Top Bloke

Because he is. This is the only place a cricketer will receive recognition for being a top bloke, without scrutiny of his batting average, bowling average or other statistics which only make the game less personable. Forget numbers, let's talk character.

Mike Hussey has plenty of character. He's nice to the point it's almost terrifying. I haven't seen, read or heard a single interview or quote from his mouth which is in any way similar to the vitriol that spews out of some other players' mouths (read: KP, "the old" Graeme Smith). He was also a key player in the 2006-07 Ashes series, helping Australia cleansweep the series 5-0 (I love mentioning that figure. 5-0. does it hurt to read that being English?). In 2006, he reached 1000 Test runs in 166 days, which is still the record.

Hussey is the entirely devoted batsman who spent the majority of his career playing domestically, amassing thousands of runs (over 15,000 to be exact) and tirelessly working to improve technique. He literally spent hours each day practising and practising, perfecting his play. When he debuted at 30 years of age, Michael Hussey was possibly the most devoted cricketer Australia had ever had.

But he's also a thinker. A big thinker, an obsessive thinker. He's spoken of a record book he used to keep, in which he documented his every match of every game and his every result in each. All his performances, his successes and failures, mapped out on paper. Not just a thinker, but a crazy, OCD one. Eventually this had to stop, though, and Hussey was able to break the habit as slightly bad form would begin to play at his mind to detrimental effect. Still, however, he has stated that he cannot seem to be able to escape the slump in form over the past year. And although he practises as much as ever, and trains himself to believe in himself as he walks to the crease, there is still something missing. Or something too much. A seed of doubt in his mind, overthinking the situation, creating problems where there are none.

Poor Mike. He's got the technique, used to be one of Australia's most reliable batsmen, and now, no matter what he does, nothing seems to be going right. It's a disappointment, but it's also a fact of life. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that Michael Hussey is a true top bloke. You can't help but want him to succeed. Except when Albie Morkel is bowling. Then it's kind of funny.

Irfan Pathan: Top Bloke

Every once in a while, you come across a cricketer who's generally (note, generally, not always) nice on the field and a nice person outside it. Meeting them is like the ray of sunshine in a normally dull world... Well, not quite so dramatic, but when you meet a cricketer who's a downright nice person, it sticks with you for a while.

Which is why I'm bringing into play the Top Bloke series. Based on past interactions with, or a general consensus in the blogging world, I will highlight those cricketers who are truly top blokes. And the women are included in here as well. Who says they can't be called blokes for convenience's sake? They may even outweigh the men, who knows.

The first in this series is the one and only Irfan Pathan. He's completely accommodating to fans, which is exactly what you want. Snooty glares and an uptight attitude does cricketers no favours, and in fact, probably just embarrasses the fan as well. That's why, when I had the good luck of meeting Irfan Pathan, I was blown away by how kind and humorous he was. I probably had about 2 whole minutes to glean this, which was long enough for me to realise that Irfan Pathan, the nice guy who jokes around and doesn't hesitate to take photos or sign autographs for what must be the umpteenth time, is a true top bloke.

He had this title under wraps from the first "Hello? How are you?"

Let's hope he gets his swing back.