Rarely we come across a sportsperson who is equally competent in two mainstream sports cricket and football and have the ability to play at the highest level in both the sports. AB de Villiers is one such cricketer who was equally competent in all major sports as a youngster but later decided to pursue his career in cricket.
There are many players who had successfully made the transition to football from cricket and among them, there is a young cricketer Alex Keath who will be making his debut as a category B rookie and replace Jake Lever who is suffering from a hamstring injury.
“He’s earned it. He’s performed really well at SANFL level,” coach Don Pyke Pyke said of Keath on Thursday. His debut will mark a remarkable journey for the youngster who was a potential star in both cricket and Australian Football League (AFL) and had the ability to reach the highest level in both the sports.
Way back in 2009, the multi talented professional signed a footy deal with Gold Coast as their final eligible 17-year-old but within a short span of time, he decided to make a career in cricket when the senior Victorian Bushrangers team offered him a three-year contract. He conceded that it was a decision too hard to ignore.
“I get asked if it was a difficult decision (to choose cricket over football), but I was pretty lucky to have the opportunity to receive a professional cricket position at the Victorian Bushrangers,” Keath was quoted as saying to the Crows Website ahead of his first SANFL game. “I was rapt once I got that chance. From there, I wanted to try and give it my all,” he further added.
Keath went on to play 7 first class games for the Bushrangers and scored a brilliant 45 with the bat on debut against a world-class England bowling attack. He also featured in a handful of Big Bash games for the Melbourne Stars under the captaincy of legendary Shane Warne. In 2010 Keath was part of the U-19 Australian world cup winning squad which boasted of current international stars Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh.
He then carried the drinks during the Boxing day Test between India and Australia in 2011. Despite making his cricketing dreams come true, Keath’s footy dream still lingered and after playing cricket at a professional level for many years he decided to move to football.
Keath joined the Crows as a category B rookie in 2015 but hasn’t been registered to any club over the past 3 years or so. So as and when the 2016 season began Keath totally shifted his focus to football and made his debut for Adelaide’s SANFL team against Glenelg in April.
“He’s been doing most of the training and is enjoying getting back into footy and being around the footy club, which he hasn’t had for a long time,” Crows assistant Scott Camporeale had told foxfooty.com.au in April 2016.
“He has a good character and he’s fitted in really well. He’s played sport at a high level even with his cricket. He understands what it takes. His skill, decision making and game sense is at a pretty good level,” the assistant coach added. The left footer played well at the SANFL level battling a hamstring injury and went on to appear in 13 games. He netted two crucial goals in the semi-final victory over Glenelg.
It has been a thoroughly entertaining and a roller coaster ride for Keath who will be raring to go on Friday to make a solid impression.