There’s an old school edge to rising quick Mahli Beardman.
In a generation raised on coloured kits and cashed-up contracts, Beardman, 20, is still chasing cricket’s “ultimate” format.
He wants to play Test cricket and announce himself as the tearaway from the wild west capable of passing 150km/h.
“Red ball would definitely be the dream; a baggy green is what I have dreamt of since I was a kid,” he said.
“So I think at the moment I will try to perform for Western Australia, do the best I can, run in hard and push the gun and take wickets.
“Putting a baggy green on my head would be the ultimate, but it’s still very early doors, there’s still a lot of state cricket, grade cricket before that opportunity arises.”
Beardman spends hours watching his back foot land on the popping crease because, he says, it’s one of the ways he can limit back stress and continue to “push the gun”.
When Beardman was in Australia’s One-Day International squad last year, he was closely watching Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood’s seam and field positions.
Beardman idolised “Hoff and Starcy” growing up and says the priceless net sessions in England only fuelled his appetite for international cricket.
He is the closest he’s ever been to an international debut after being added to the Twenty20 squad for the back end of the series against India.
“I am super hungry to play as much cricket as I can, especially if I can try and announce myself on the international stage,” Beardman said.
“That’s something I dream of and something I have been working quite hard towards for the last little while.
“Similar to the ODI series, I am just going to try and soak up as much as I can (because) there’s still a lot of experience in that group.
“I just went (into the ODI squad) and tried to be as much of a sponge as I could be and soak up as much as info, asking as many questions as I could without being annoying.
“I did a lot of watching, I think it was amazing to be able to stand behind ‘Starcy’ at training and see how he goes about it.
“How he uses the crease, how he’s holding the ball, his thinking and field settings – all of those things you don’t get to see on TV.”
Beardman grew up in Cowaramup, in the southwestern corner of Western Australia.
He was 14 when he caught the attention of cricket legend Dennis Lillee after “peppering” a family friend’s bin down a gravel road.
Beardman was able to get under Lillee’s wing and still uses the champion quick as a sounding board.
“It’s such a blessing to have someone of his calibre and knowledge in my corner, so I try and use him and pick his brain as much as possible,” Beardman said.
“A technical point of view would be the most common check in. I’ll ask if something is not quite feeling right, just battling little technical things.
“Him and (WA bowling coach) Tim MacDonald have been amazing and they work together, I am very lucky that they’re both on a similar page.
“I normally just check in with ‘DK’ and then go into the WACA and work with ‘Macca’ on those technical things.”
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There’s an old school edge to rising quick Mahli Beardman.
In a generation raised on coloured kits and cashed-up contracts, Beardman, 20, is still chasing cricket’s “ultimate” format.
He wants to play Test cricket and announce himself as the tearaway from the wild west capable of passing 150km/h.
“Red ball would definitely be the dream; a baggy green is what I have dreamt of since I was a kid,” he said.
“So I think at the moment I will try to perform for Western Australia, do the best I can, run in hard and push the gun and take wickets.
“Putting a baggy green on my head would be the ultimate, but it’s still very early doors, there’s still a lot of state cricket, grade cricket before that opportunity arises.”
Beardman spends hours watching his back foot land on the popping crease because, he says, it’s one of the ways he can limit back stress and continue to “push the gun”.
When Beardman was in Australia’s One-Day International squad last year, he was closely watching Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood’s seam and field positions.
Beardman idolised “Hoff and Starcy” growing up and says the priceless net sessions in England only fuelled his appetite for international cricket.
He is the closest he’s ever been to an international debut after being added to the Twenty20 squad for the back end of the series against India.
“I am super hungry to play as much cricket as I can, especially if I can try and announce myself on the international stage,” Beardman said.
“That’s something I dream of and something I have been working quite hard towards for the last little while.
“Similar to the ODI series, I am just going to try and soak up as much as I can (because) there’s still a lot of experience in that group.
“I just went (into the ODI squad) and tried to be as much of a sponge as I could be and soak up as much as info, asking as many questions as I could without being annoying.
“I did a lot of watching, I think it was amazing to be able to stand behind ‘Starcy’ at training and see how he goes about it.
“How he uses the crease, how he’s holding the ball, his thinking and field settings – all of those things you don’t get to see on TV.”
Beardman grew up in Cowaramup, in the southwestern corner of Western Australia.
He was 14 when he caught the attention of cricket legend Dennis Lillee after “peppering” a family friend’s bin down a gravel road.
Beardman was able to get under Lillee’s wing and still uses the champion quick as a sounding board.
“It’s such a blessing to have someone of his calibre and knowledge in my corner, so I try and use him and pick his brain as much as possible,” Beardman said.
“A technical point of view would be the most common check in. I’ll ask if something is not quite feeling right, just battling little technical things.
“Him and (WA bowling coach) Tim MacDonald have been amazing and they work together, I am very lucky that they’re both on a similar page.
“I normally just check in with ‘DK’ and then go into the WACA and work with ‘Macca’ on those technical things.”