Retiring West Australian quick Jason Behrendorff’s advice for State’s crop of young fast bowlers

Retired West Australian great Jason Behrendorff says his phone will always stay on for fast bowlers battling back injuries, as he did during a glittering, but interrupted, domestic career. Behrendorff called stumps on his one-day and four-day career earlier this week, ending a 16-year tie to WA cricket. The 34-year-old — who will continue to play in Twenty20 tournaments, including for Melbourne Renegades — has already dipped his toes into broadcasting, but also told The West Australian he wouldn’t rule out coaching. The left-arm paceman battled serious back injuries in the early part of his career and hasn’t played a first-class match since 2017. He had radical back surgery in 2019 that launched the final years of his career, where he became one of the Big Bash League’s best players, represented Australia in two formats and won a bevy of titles. Tearaway paceman Lance Morris has battled back issues and has been closely managed by Cricket Australia staff under a strict program. All-rounder Aaron Hardie — who is in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad — has also been on a tight leash, while Jhye Richardson has had shoulder surgery in a bid to end his own run of injuries. Test regular Cam Green is on the comeback trail from back surgery. There had been growing frustration in WA cricket this season around the in-and-out nature of management plans for their young seamers. “I know guys are frustrated at various times with the injuries or management and things like that, but the thing that I’ve learnt in the period of time and the thing I am trying to tell other guys is ‘control what you can control’,” Behrendorff told The West Australian. “It is very hard at times, so try not to worry about the external noise and all the other things that are going on, because there is so much of it and you chew up so much mental energy trying to shut that noise out sometimes.” Behrendorff said he had built a close relationship with WA’s fleet of young fast bowlers, which also includes teenager Mahli Beardman and breakout fast bowler Bryce Jackson, and said his shift away from the State program won’t change that. “We do speak quite a lot and my phone is always on and I’m always chatting to the guys, which is nice,” he said. “It’s something I would like to continue. We have built relationships over however many years and I have said to the guys ‘just because I’m not here now doesn’t mean you can’t call me or we can’t chat and catch up and talk about whatever you want to talk about’ because I actually really enjoy that side of it. “Not necessarily a mentor-type role, but just a sounding board or whatever it might be. “Sometimes I know myself, you just need to chat to someone and say something out loud as opposed to thinking about it.”