Book Read Free

My Family's Keeper

Page 36

by Brad Haddin


  M Matches

  Inn Number of innings

  NO Not out

  HS Highest score

  0s Ducks

  Avg Average

  Stk-Rt Strike rate

  Ct Catches taken while fielding/keeping wicket

  St Stumpings made while keeping wicket

  FIRST-CLASS CAREER

  Debut 1999–2000 New South Wales vs Queensland, Brisbane

  BY SERIES

  BY OPPONENT

  BY CAPTAINCY

  BY INNINGS

  BY VENUE

  BY BATTING POSITION

  BY TEAM

  HIGHEST SCORES

  HOW DISMISSED WHEN BATTING

  TEST CAREER

  Debut 2007–08 vs West Indies, Kingston

  BY SERIES

  BY OPPONENT

  BY INNINGS

  BY VENUE

  BY BATTING POSITION

  HOW DIMISSED WHEN BATTING

  PLAYER OF THE MATCH AWARDS

  SHEFFIELD SHIELD CAREER

  Debut 1999–2000 New South Wales vs Queensland, Brisbane

  BY SEASON

  BY OPPONENT

  BY CAPTAINCY

  BY INNINGS

  BY VENUE

  BY BATTING PSITION

  HOW DIMMISED WHEN BATTING

  INTERNATIONAL LIMITED-OVERS CAREER

  Debut 2000–01 vs Zimbabwe, Hobart

  BY OPPONENT

  BY INNINGS

  BY VENUE

  BY BATTING POSITION

  HOW DISMISSED WHEN BATTING

  HIGHEST SCORES

  PLAYER OF THE MATCH AWARDS

  DOMESTIC LIMITED-OVERS CAREER

  Debut 1997–98 Australian Capital Territory vs South Australia, Canberra

  BY SEASON

  BY OPPONENT

  BY CAPTAINCY

  BY INNINGS

  BY VENUE

  BY TEAM

  BY BATTING POSITION

  HOW DISMISSED WHEN BATTING

  HIGHEST SCORES

  INTERNATIONAL TWENTY20 CAREER

  Debut 2005–06 vs South Africa, Brisbane

  BY OPPONENT

  BY INNINGS

  BY CAPTAINCY

  BY VENUE

  BY BATTING POSITION

  HOW DISMISSED WHEN BATTING

  HIGHEST SCORE

  BIG BASH TWENTY20 CAREER

  Debut 2011–12 Sydney Sixers vs Brisbane Heat, Sydney

  BY SEASON

  BY OPPONENT

  BY INNINGS

  BY CAPTAINCY

  BY VENUE

  BY BATTING POSITION

  HOW DISMISSED WHEN BATTING

  HIGHEST SCORE

  COMPARISONS

  MOST DISMISSALS IN TESTS

  MOST DISMISSALS IN A TEST SERIES

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  KARINA AND I ARE keenly aware that not all families have been as fortunate as ours; that made us initially reluctant to share our journey. Having done so, we hope that our story strikes a chord.

  My good friend Peter Lovitt bore the brunt of the media requests when Mia was first diagnosed and, with the help of my management, Neil Maxwell, Dominic Thornely and Judie Andersen, and my literary agent Jane Burridge, led me to the book world and helped me navigate it to create something that I can be very proud of. My gratitude also goes to the supportive HarperCollins team, especially Helen Littleton, Scott Forbes, Darren Kelly and James Kellow, who were wonderful in encouraging me to share my story in my own way.

  My exceptional writer, Hazel Flynn, captured the nature of my childhood and the legacy I left when I retired from the game 38 years later, in part by poring over scrapbooks full of newspaper articles my mum collected and the diaries and photo albums Karina created of Mia’s journey. This book could not have been written without her dedication and hard work.

  I’ve learned so much over the years from coaches Steve Rixon and Trevor Bayliss, and continue to do so. They have become valued friends as well as mentors.

  I like working with people I admire and trust, and I like accountability. When cancer enters your life these things take on a much deeper meaning. No professional anxiety, including walking out to bat at the MCG on Boxing Day, can be compared to the fear induced by hearing the words ‘your child has cancer’ and knowing you can’t change the situation. Luckily, when it happened to us we found ourselves surrounded by people who genuinely cared for Mia and our family. We can’t thank Dr Prakash and the staff at the Cabarita Family Practice and the doctors, nurses and staff at Westmead Children’s Hospital enough for the expert care and support they provide. They give every child the best possible chance of a positive outcome, and their opinions and insights continue to give us great comfort (and help me sleep at night).

  I’m not sure I will ever be able to fully express my gratitude to Karina’s parents, Marg and Phil, for the gift they gave Karina and me when we needed it most. They sat beside Mia’s hospital bed, raised a newborn baby and chased a toddler around without hesitation. As for Danielle, we still couldn’t live without her skills in the technology department. Zachary, Mia and Hugo are the luckiest kids in the world to have the Castle family in their lives.

  Peter and Michelle Comerford have been part of my life from the very start and, together with their daughters, Emily and Olivia, have followed my career through its ups and downs and offered continuous support, as have Mia’s godparents, Paul and Sarah Byrom.

  My grandparents, Mar and Pa and Nanny and Poppy, were my biggest fans, always insisting it wasn’t my fault if I dropped a catch or played a silly shot, and I’m forever grateful for their belief in me.

  My brothers, Mike and Chris, are the two best friends I could ever have. They have been there and enjoyed all the highs and the lows and given me unwavering support. I’m looking forward to being able to spend more quality time with Mike and Amy and my three nieces Molly, Georgia and Jemima, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Chris and Jenna. We have a strong bond that will never be broken.

  My love and thanks to my wife, Karina, who has supported me and celebrated with me when times have been good and showed the most extraordinary strength of character when they were anything but, living the truth of our marriage vows. Together we have created the most amazing little family and my children, Zac, Mia and Hugo, are the source of my greatest inspiration and happiness.

  Last but not least, I owe Mum and Dad everything. They spent endless hours driving me to training sessions, trial matches and games, and sitting in the stands watching me, come rain or shine. They have given me unconditional love and support my whole life and were the rock I could lean on when things seemed at their worst. It is from them I learned my most valuable lesson in life—that family comes first.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  The 400th player to don the Baggy Green, Brad Haddin represented Australia in all forms of international cricket. He was a member of the Australian World Cup-winning squad in 2015. Haddin also led the Sydney Sixers through the first four seasons of the Big Bash League. Karina Haddin is a qualified radiographer who is passionate about raising awareness and vital funds for research into neuroblastoma. As part of the 2014 Run2Cure Neuroblastoma fundraiser, the Haddins’ Team Mia raised $30,000 and with the support of the NSW cricket team the overall total raised for neuroblastoma research reached $220,000.

  COPYRIGHT

  HarperCollinsPublishers

  First published in Australia in 2016

  by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited

  ABN 36 009 913 517

  harpercollins.com.au

  Text copyright © Haddin Investments Pty Ltd 2016

  The right of Brad Haddin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, wi
thout the prior written permission of the publisher.

  HarperCollinsPublishers

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

  Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand

  A 53, Sector 57, Noida, UP, India

  1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF, United Kingdom

  2 Bloor Street East, 20th floor, Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8, Canada

  195 Broadway, New York NY 10007, USA

  ISBN: 978 1 4607 5249 4 (hardback)

  ISBN: 978 1 4607 0732 6 (ebook)

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

  Haddin, Brad, author.

  My family’s keeper / Brad Haddin.

  Haddin, Brad.

  Cricket players—Australia—Biography.

  796.358092

  Cover design by HarperCollins Design Studio

  Cover images by Phil Hillyard / Newspix

 

 

 


‹ Prev