John Hastings

John Wayne Hastings was born into a sports-savvy family in Penrith, New South Wales and took up rugby as a youngster. With a colossally-built frame at almost two meters tall (and, quite fittingly, with the name John Wayne), his raw athletic talents were immediately identified and he was signed by the National Rugby League.

However, he realized that his true passion lay in the sport in cricket, and due to the tough competition in New South Wales, moved to Victoria to pursue his cricketing ambitions. After his selection into the Victoria One-Day side in 2007/08, he was entrusted with death-bowling on debut, and managed to pick up 3 wickets in 6 balls, delivering a performance beyond his years and wasting no time in grabbing hold of his opportunity.

Hastings' bulky build did come with its drawbacks and was rather difficult to maintain. He had his troubles with injuries, and managed only three first-class games in the 2008/09 season. He did perform whenever he wasn't held back by injury concerns, picking up 16 wickets in these 3 games including a 5-wicket haul against a notoriously stoic New South Wales line-up.

Finally, in the 2009/10 season, with his fitness at its peak, he had a golden run in the domestic circuit, topping the run-charts in all forms of the game for Victoria. He took 36 wickets in the Sheffield Shield and surprised everyone after consistent outings with the bat as well, as he scored 446 runs at an impressive average of 37. He went on to sweep all the accolades and awards for his purple patch, including the Bradman Young cricketer of the year 2010.

Consequently, he was selected in the short ODI series against India in late 2010, when the Australian camp lost a plethora of their premier pace bowlers to injury. Hastings debuted in Vizag and picked up two wickets for 44 runs, including the wickets of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the same over. After consistently admirable performances, Hastings earned his ticket to the Indian subcontinent to play the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Injuries continued to hamper his cricket, as he had a career-threatening shoulder injury that ruled him out of the 2011/12 season. However, he made a strong comeback in the 2013/14 season of the Sheffield Shield and took 27 wickets at 24.51. Finally, the selectors had taken notice he got his hands on the most desirable possession of them all – the Baggy Green. Injuries to Hilfenhaus and Siddle meant that he earned a spot in the side against South Africa for the Perth Test. He only managed to take the wicket of AB de Villiers int he first innings and conceded 102 runs in the seconds innings in 19 overs. Nevertheless, his efforts with the bat were commendable in a losing cause, as he scored a face-saving 32 in the first innings, having come in at 100/7 and departed after getting Australia to 162. He was subsequently axed from the XI in the aftermath of the loss and never played a Test again.

Hastings continued to excel as he succeeded his prolific Sheffield season with another with another exemplary summer, taking 27 wickets at an average of 25.00 in 2014/15. Australia still had no place for him in the national side, but he was signed by Durham and looked at it as an opportunity to enhance his adaptability to the Dukes ball and English conditions. Hastings persevered and continued to perform in England, and was consequently called up to the Australian side (once again, as an injury replacement) to play the ODI series against Enlgand. Finally, he clawed his way back into the playing XI and added two more to his tally of ODI caps.

The big man from New South Wales found his calling in franchise-based T20 cricket and remains in high demand for his cunning variations and his penchant of bowling yorkers at will. He has had T20 stints with two IPL franchises – the disbanded Kochi Tuskers Kerelas in 2011 and the Chennai Super Kings in 2014. He was signed by the Melbourne stars in the Big Bash league for the 2012/13 season and continues to be a consistent performer for the franchise. He remains the leading wicket-taker for the stars and famously claimed his best figures of 4/29 in the Melbourne-derby in front of a capacity crowd of more than 80,000 people at the MCG in BBL05. He has taken over the mantle of leadership from David Hussey and will be the captain of the Melbourne Stars in the 2017/18 season of the BBL.

Hastings took everyone by surprise when he announced his retirement in late 2017, citing the reason that the string of injuries, especially those to his bowling shoulder, has taken its toll. Hastings continues to play in lucrative T20 leagues around the world, and is one of the first entries on the team sheet for the Melbourne Stars, being their specialist death bowler.

By Rishi Roy

As of December 2017