Michael Neser is turning into an Ashes hero for Australia after admitting he started the summer unsure if he would ever play Test cricket again.
Neser, 35, top-scored with a vital 35 from 49 balls when Australia were bowled out for just 152 on day one at the MCG. He then took 4 for 45 with the ball, nicking off Jacob Bethell, Joe Root and Ben Stokes to tear the heart and soul out of England as they were bowled out for just 110 on a stunning 20-wicket opening day.
He had started the summer outside of Test calculations coming off a serious hamstring injury last year and was then not picked in Australia’s initial 15-man squad for the first Test in Perth, but was called in when Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott suffered injuries.
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He earned a recall for the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, where he took a maiden Test five-wicket haul on his home ground. However, he was squeezed out for the returning Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon in Adelaide.
But with both men injured, he earned his fourth Test cap and his first red-ball Test at the MCG and was in shock after starring in front of a record crowd of 94,199.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be playing for Australia again and to be in the position I am now, I’m very privileged,” Neser said. “It’s unreal. I dreamt of this as a kid. Every Boxing Day I would wake up early, and me and my brother would play back out at cricket for hours and come back in and watch cricket. The whole day just is cricket for us and to be part of it, it’s a dream come true. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Neser’s Sheffield Shield experience proved invaluable as the surface played very similarly to domestic seam-friendly MCG pitches in recent times. Neser’s experience for Queensland and for Australia A in the last two years saw him take an aggressive approach with the bat and a patient one with the ball.
“The ball definitely nipped around a bit there with the new rock,” Neser said. “So it was just a matter of trying to find ways to put pressure back on their bowlers, and knowing that when we bowled, we had to just be patient and let the wicket do the work.”
