Sorrow and triumph: How the young opener faced his toughest test
Few cricketers have had more difficult first-class debuts than Ryan Hackney.
Neglected to duck a 12-ball in the first half, the young NSW opener only better scored by one run in the second.
But that return wasn’t what made that week in February so difficult.
After banging on the Blues’ door of selection over the previous four seasons with 3,600 Premier Cricket and a NSW Second XI running nearly 40, places have finally opened due to a finger injury to captain Kurtis Patterson.
So the boy from the Blue Mountains should have enjoyed the greatest achievement of his sports career.
But a week before the game against Queensland at Gabba, where he received his No.758 Baggy Blue hat, Hackney received news the 22-year-old shouldn’t have heard.
His father, Peter, suffered a heart attack and died suddenly at the age of 53.
For Hackney, the decision to play was a simple one.
“I know that’s what he wants me to do,” the 23-year-old told cricket.com.au. “Just being able to play for him, the decision was quite easy.
“That’s the least I can do for his memory and everything he gave me.”
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Peter John Hackney is not a cricketer. But that didn’t stop him from being his eldest son’s number one supporter.
Not only in cricket but in life, Peter is the first person Ryan will turn to with any questions or problems he needs to solve.
It was neighbors across the street who brought Ryan into the game as a child, it was Peter who built him a synthetic turf net in the backyard of their Springwood home in the western Sydney suburbs as his son’s cricket skills developed.
“He literally had a lump on his right shoulder from throwing that many balls at me when I was a kid,” Hackney recalled. “Dad was there all the way – he was a pretty big part of my career.”
Peter, a cycling and running enthusiast who died in February, instilled in his son a high work ethic and desire to compete.
“He ran ultra-marathons and marathons,” Hackney said. “He never really got into cricket… I remember as a kid he played a bit in the park but not competitively.
“He’s still a very competitive person … he gets his competitive results when he cycles and runs.”
After enrolling at a local cricket club in Springwood as a 10-year-old, Hackney followed a relatively standard path to the top tier through junior representative cricket and then to Premier Cricket with nearby west Sydney club Penrith.
When he tried bowling as a junior when he first picked up the game, Hackney quickly decided to open the scoring.
“For as long as I can remember,” he said, “I just opened it.”
At the start of last season came the biggest decision of Hackney’s career, as he made the call to move east from Penrith Cricket Club – a place he has called home since 2009-10 and where he has a lifelong friend – to Parramatta.
Peter is there again to give his support.
“Dad was a big factor behind the move too…not only in cricket but in life, he was the first person I went to,” Hackney said.
“It was a pretty tough thing to do… I have a lot of friends (at Penrith), so I miss playing with them… but I want to be in the environment to improve my cricket, and win the cricket game too.
“I had the most consistent season I’ve had and how the season ended, by getting that opportunity (for NSW), I think moving on was a big factor in that.”
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In hindsight, Hackney felt the first few days after his father’s death were easier than they are now. He remembers it as a week of “whirlwinds,” emotions largely eclipsed by feelings of numbness and shock.
Four days after the excitement of securing a tense two-wicket win with the Blues on his debut, Hackney delivered a speech at his father’s funeral in front of mourning family and friends.
“The pain now is probably worse than when I played that debut game because the numbness and shock is gone,” he said from Ireland, where he has spent the last four months playing with Malahide, north of Dublin.
It is #SheffieldShield win, away at Gabba. And, THIS is why we play. The captain brought his bat, Bax, biiiiig H & Tram brought us home – and this Ryan Hackney absolute legend in his debut. One to remember @CricketNSWBlues ️ pic.twitter.com/iNv6V5Mh3n
— Trent Copeland (@copes9) February 11, 2022
“It leaves a huge void, but I’ve been lucky in the last four or five months I’ve had a pretty good team around me to be able to help with that.
“NSW cricket was really good; they talked me through every scenario – whether I wanted to play or not – but I was always strong enough to play because I really believed that was what Dad wanted me to do.”
Hackney, who has not played the minimum number of first-class matches required to qualify for a British professional sportsman visa, had not been outside Australia until his stint in Ireland this winter and has used it as an opportunity to experience something different. European culture while also recharging its batteries ahead of another busy summer schedule.
He will return to Sydney sometime in late August for a test match with NSW, knowing that an early-season run will be key to adding to his three premier class games.
After watching his NSW Second XI teammate Hayden Kerr skyrocket from class cricketer to Big Bash star and into the IPL within four months, he knows how quickly things can change.
And while he admits younger versions of himself will get caught up in any non-selection, Hackney’s focus now is on “controlling what I can”.
“(Kerr) took his chances really well after years of hard work,” he said. “He’s done really well for the Blues, he’s done really well for Sydney University every time he plays class cricket.
“Hopefully I can do something similar … and take my chance when it comes.
“That’s what got me good benefit last year – just focus on what I can control and do well.
“For me personally, it’s just about playing as much cricket as possible, putting myself in different conditions, facing different challenges and being able to overcome them.”
Hackney also knows, that nothing is bigger than what he is in right now, and the way he handles it is sure to make his father proud.
#Sorrow #triumph #young #opener #faced #toughest #test
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