Staff reporters | April 08, 2008
THE Australian's Stuart Honeysett has won the Print Media Award for coverage of the NSW Blues Pura Cup cricket team.
Honeysett, who has been a sport journalist with The Australian for more than 10 years, interviewed Simon Katich after his historic innings of 306 against Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground last year.
It was the first triple century at the famous ground since Donald Bradman's 452 in 1930 -- also against Queensland. The article was published in The Weekend Australian on November 3.
The award was presented at the annual Steve Waugh Medal dinner last night.
The article is reprinted in full below:
FIRING KATICH REPLACES RAGE WITH RUNS
By: Stuart Honeysett
SIMON KATICH missed the call and cursed his luck.
The NSW captain was in England for a stint with county side Derbyshire and while his mobile phone had global roaming, he couldn't access any messages.
Bad enough at the best of times but when you miss a call from Australia's chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, it's fair to say a degree of worry creeps in.
Tales are rife among the cricketing fraternity of how Hilditch rarely rings with good news. If anything, he is the harbinger of doom. It only took a call back for Katich to find out this call was no different.
Katich was no longer considered among the 25 best players in the country. Cricket Australia was ending his contract, worth a minimum $140,000 a season.
Katich had a feeling his days were numbered on the one-day circuit but he still felt he was holding his own in the longer form of the game. And his Pura Cup figures for NSW last summer seemed to back him.
Katich played seven games, scored 711 runs at an average of 64.63 with a top score of 205 not out. His batting average was the sixth best in the nation.
The five players in front of him -- Brad Hodge, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Chris Rogers -- all have Cricket Australia contracts. There were just as many batsmen below him who also did.
"I was disappointed because I felt my four-day form with NSW last year was excellent," Katich said this week. "I just thought I'd get back to playing good cricket in England and for NSW and hopefully prove them wrong."
Katich didn't have to wait long to start. The very next day he went out to bat for Derbyshire and made an unbeaten 220. At a time when his confidence was being tested and his character was being questioned, the genial left-handed batsman showed he would be up for the challenge.
"From my point of view I just went out to play cricket as normal," Katich said. "I've been in that situation before where I've found out I haven't been selected or something like that so I've realised the most important thing to do is to go away and work hard and try and improve and make heaps of runs.
"The main thing is I'm enjoying my cricket and I haven't let anything else affect me. I think that's crucial because you can easily have a bad attitude and then that affects your performance."
Katich acknowledges that approach always hasn't been the case for him. In fact, following a disastrous Ashes tour of England in 2005 the normally affable left-handed batsman turned nasty.
Things deteriorated further after he failed in the Super Test series between Australia and the Rest of the World in October that year and it wasn't long before Katich was snapping at any journalist brave enough to question his place in the team.
The media was finally spared any more vitriol after Katich scored a duck in the first Test against the West Indies at the Gabba in November, 2005, and he was dropped for the summer.
"I know it wasn't fair on you guys and at the time I felt everyone was coming down on top of me," Katich said.
"There was a period where I know I was copping a lot of criticism and when you're not performing that's fair enough too. I probably should have realised that a bit more.
"I didn't handle it as well as I could have. I've learned from that and will hopefully deal with it much better."
Katich credits NSW for helping turn around his attitude. Part of that has to do with the faith the Blues showed in him after signing him to a five-year contract.
With his long-term future -- and more importantly -- frame of mind sorted out, Katich set about to do what any batsman does best: score runs and lots of them.
Enter the second round of this season's Pura Cup. NSW hosted Queensland at the SCG on a pitch that was hard work for the bowlers and a pleasure for any man wielding the willow.
Katich entered the fray at 1-39 with the Blues still a long way in arrears after Queensland made 467 in its first innings. When Test players Phil Jaques and Michael Clarke departed, the score was 3-119 and Katich was under plenty of pressure to steer the Blues out of danger.
He showed plenty of patience to reach his 100 to ensure the Blues avoided the follow on. What followed after that was remarkable.
Katich brought up his double century in only 75 balls. His triple ton took only another 67 deliveries.
All the shots were there. The cuts. The pulls. The drives. Queensland had no answer.
By the time he was eventually caught at long on, he had scored 306, hit 30 boundaries and nine sixes. It was the first triple century at the SCG since the incomparable Don Bradman smacked 452 not out against Queensland in 1930.
Katich wasn't sure how to handle the accolades when the knock was put into perspective for him after the game. He didn't keep a momento of the innings either. No bails. No balls. No stumps. He claimed the memories of his team-mates' reaction when he re-entered the dressing room would suffice.
He went home to his wife Georgina and the pair celebrated with a home-cooked dinner and mini bottle of champagne. Apart from that it was business as usual as there was still another day to go of the game and the Blues were still a chance for outright points.
It took a function at the SCG on Wednesday night -- a Bradman Foundation gala dinner -- for Katich to finally get a grip on his place in the history books.
"The only way I can really describe it is I'm flattered but 'The Don' was the greatest and the best," Katich said. "I was just trying my best. It's a one-off for me in terms of making a triple hundred. 'The Don' probably made 20 triple hundreds so there's a bit of a difference."
Given Katich is 32, he knows there is a long way to go before his career is over. While he would like to win his CA contract back, it doesn't consume him. Instead he is focused on NSW and trying to win silverware this season.
As for how Hilditch finished, Katich recalled that the selector offered some encouragement.
"He said, 'You're not out of the equation forever. It's just a matter like anyone else of making runs and putting your name up there and you're a chance'," Katich said.
Based on his last knock, it's fair to say Katich is holding up his end of the bargain.