Perseverance pays for Steve O’Keefe and Peter Nevill

It wasn’t long ago when two distraught Aussie cricketers, Steve O’Keefe and Peter Nevill, sat at a bar in Thailand to contemplate their career as opportunities for the national side were hard to come by despite their sterling efforts on the domestic circuit. The two, who share special chemistry, decided to give another shot and now they are considered central to Australia’s fortunes in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

Nevill has already established himself as the best wicket-keeper in Australia’s Test side, while O’Keefe is no. 2 in the pecking order for spinners. The duo are at MRF Pace Foundation to train ahead of the Lanka tour.

“It’s quite funny to recall what had happened a few years ago. We have certainly come a long way,” said the left-arm spinner O’Keefe, who has played two Tests for Australia.

“Peter always had the talent. And he is enjoying the fruits of it now. My journey has been a little bit different. I have to work harder and take a lot of wickets to earn the right to be here. Some years down the line, when we look back, we would definitely be thinking that how lucky we were!” added the 31-year-old O’Keefe who considers Neville as his role model for the way the wicket-keeper batsman prepares meticulously.

O’Keefe said Australia’s veteran spinner Brad Hogg is the ‘Benjamin Button’ of cricket for defying his age. “Hogg is one of a kind. At 45, he is still getting around. He is an inspiration for many. The one thing that I learn from watching him is that how he keeps learning at this stage of his career,” added O’Keefe.