CHENNAI: Nathan Ellis still pinches himself every time he puts on the Australian jersey. In what has been a nascent international career — the pacer made his T20I debut in 2021 and ODI debut in 2022 — he hadn’t had the opportunity to be a regular in the playing XI.
In fact, Ellis, who took 2/13 including the wicket of Virat Kohli against India in the second ODI, was not even a part of the squad originally. He came in as a replacement for the injured Jhye Richardson, and with Pat Cummins not returning for the white-ball leg of the tour, his dream came true.
“I am just stoked to be here,” Ellis said on Tuesday. “Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Josh (Hazlewood) and Pat… all the guys in the squad, it is helping my game and it is helping me as a cricketer and as a person. So, having blokes like that around the squad and being able to have coffee with in the morning or dinner within the evening is huge.”
While Ellis is having the time of his life with the Australian team in India, it was not the same as four years ago. In late 2019, Ellis, a club cricketer then, was having a hard time making ends meet. Having dominated the NSW Premier Cricket for four years, Ellis moved to Hobart in 2017 looking to make a name for himself.
For the next two years, he would struggle to even fill fuel for his car, worked as a labourer on construction sites, air-conditioner installer and so on until he got a job as a teacher’s aide at St Virgil’s College. However, he was yet to stamp his authority on the cricket field and was contemplating going back to Sydney when then-Tasmania coach Adam Griffith asked him to join the pre-season squad.
“The first two years were pretty tough to get enough money to pay rent and put a tank of fuel in the car. I was like, ‘I’ve come down here to have a crack (at cricket), I’m not going to prioritise work. It helped me grow up really fast. It’s been a blessing in disguise, in a way, helping to mature and grow up. I was doing anything I could really to pay rent and get by,” he had told cricket.com.au at that time.
Things would take a turn for good in the next few months; a Big Bash League debut for Hobart Hurricanes, List-A and First-class debuts for Tasmania followed. So much so that Ellis dominated the 2019-20 BBL, finishing as one of the most efficient death-overs bowlers (12 wickets in 15 games). Another 20-wicket season with the Hurricanes meant he earned a national cap when Australia toured Bangladesh in 2021.
From thereon, Ellis has constantly pushed for a spot in the squad and came close to making the T20 World Cup squad last year. He was not just an unheralded tearaway quick, but he also had the skills to be effective in different phases of the game. That he is bowling alongside Mitchell Starc, someone who has been a part of his journey from NSW has only helped.
“Personally, he is someone I looked up to for a lot of time. He presented me with my first Australia cap too. Even up to the other day, speaking to him pre-game and post-game. He is a calming influence; he is also someone who has been there and done almost everything the game has to offer, whether it is the ups or down,” Ellis said on Tuesday.