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Today's guest had almost 20 years of experience playing cricket before he retired. Several of those years representing Australia on the world stage that brought him a lot of fame, publicity and media attention.
In 2001 he debut for Australia in a One Day International match against the West Indies & was awarded a Cricket Australia contract. He went on to be named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the year in 2001.
He made his test debut for Australia on the 4th of December 2003 against India as a replacement for Glen McGrath.
Finishing up his career with 174 ODI wickets with an average of 24.36 and proved to be a vital member of the Australian One Day International side during his career.
With a combination of accuracy, swing and cutters, he guest established himself as one of the most effective limited overs bowlers in the world.
On 28 January 2011 he announced his retirement from the game due to a chronic knee injury. Like most other sporting heroes he had to eventually face transitioning from the glamorous public sporting life to everyday living. We’re going to talk to him today about how he made that transition and overcame the inevitable challenges that every athlete faces at this time in their lives.
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Career statistics
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Competition
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Test
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ODI
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T20I
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List A
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Matches
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5
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116
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19
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201
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Runs scored
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70
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198
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15
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373
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Batting average
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17.50
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11.64
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5.00
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9.09
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100s/50s
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0/0
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0/0
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0/0
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0/0
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Top score
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37
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21*
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4*
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21*
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Balls bowled
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1,110
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5,759
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377
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10,105
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Wickets
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12
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174
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19
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278
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Bowling average
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42.08
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24.36
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23.05
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26.39
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5 wickets in innings
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0
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2
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0
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3
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10 wickets in match
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0
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n/a
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0
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n/a
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Best bowling
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4/48
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5/47
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3/11
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5/38
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Nathan Bracken - Podcast Interview - Notes
- The structure & regimented schedule was gone after he retired. Nathan had 6 months in advance planned out for him by Cricket Australian & the ODI Team
- You have to do what's right for you. Be true to yourself
- When he was looking for a job after his career his profile got him in the door to a lot of jobs but he didn't have the experience of knowledge to do the job so no one wanted to hire him
- Cricket Australia never had a set up to support or help Cricket players transition. That was more done at the state level but nathan was never really playing at the state level so that made his transition harder
- Because of the salaries of state based players a log of the good cricketers were getting poached to play AFL
- The IPL & other 20/20 competitions have helped keep cricketers in the game with more income available for more players not just the top line players
- The transition was so hard because he had to go from something that was so easy & comfortable for him to do & that was train & play cricket. Everything was done for you. Its all the little things you don’t think about & once you retire you have to do everything which was a challenge
- He was lucky to have his wife & a strong family unit to help him get through the transition more smoothly
- He did face depression & hard times as it wasn't easy.
- Finding the opportunities & making the most of your opportunities was key to getting through the tough transition
- He had no contact from Cricket Australia or Cricket NSW for 7 or 8 years & still doesn't receive any support at all from 2 organisations where he gave a good chunk of his life to
- Once you retire you find your real mate. As only the mates that matter support you through the transition
- Hayley, Nathan's wife was key to getting him through his transition giving his some guidance & honest opinion when needed
- Too keep his finger in the cricket circles Nathan is the bowling coach at East CC where he coaches along side of Michael Beven & Greg Mathews
- He has been coaching for the past 7 to 8 years at Easts
- After he retired he found he was 31 years old competing for jobs up against 18 & 19 year old kids
- He had to learn what to do in business to succeed. But what he found in business is that what made him successful as a cricketer is what it takes to succeed in business. Sport & business have so many similarities
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He learnt that YOU ARE NO LONGER THE BIG FISH when you retire. Your just a little fish finding your way in the world
Nathan Bracken’s Company - http://www.nathanbracken.com/
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbracken/
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