Fitness is the thing

"Modern guys are closer to athletes than we were." David Boon drinks to the past and future of the Ashes

Interview by Edward Craig

How do you look back on your Ashes experiences?
All the memories are good. When I first started playing, England had a very good team and we weren't that flash, then the wheel turned. The first couple of Ashes series I played in 1985 and 1986-87 were a great learning experience but they were disappointing. We lost those series convincingly. We took all that experience and desire, continually worked towards improving. I think the contest between Australia and England is one of the most endearing contests between any countries.

Did you mind seeing your compatriot Rod Marsh coming over to help England by setting up their academy?
I suppose deep down you might think `What the hell's he doing?' But for a period the gap between Australia and the rest of the world was too big. The game is bigger than anything. If we have someone like Rod Marsh who is in a position to help set up the English academy and bring forward players, then that is only good for world cricket - as long as he doesn't produce players who are going to beat us! The game will die if world cricket does not remain strong. When a gap between one nation and the rest becomes too great there's no competition and the game is going to fall over.

How do you rate England?
I stopped playing county cricket in 1999, so it's difficult to say, but I look seriously at English cricket in my role as Australian selector now. This Ashes has a genuine chance of being fantastic. English cricket has started to believe in itself. Harmison is key. If he can regain that confidence, he's going to hurry a few of our blokes. Flintoff has grown into a fantastic cricketer, then with Trescothick and the secure leadership they've had since Nasser retired ... They're going forward.

What was your experience of Steve Harmison when you played at Durham?
He was a young kid who had played some age-group cricket for England but had moved away from the game because he didn't like travelling. Somebody introduced him, I watched him bowl a few balls and said: "Do you think you can get fit in three weeks because you're playing in the first team." And away he went - he has never looked back. I think he's a fantastic competitor - he's got the heart of a lion. I enjoyed playing with him - the only difficulty I had was understanding him when he got excited.

Would you have coped with modern players' more athletic culture?
I think everybody adjusts. Before I retired from Tests in 1996 things were moving forward; it was different to when I started in 1984. The young blokes coming in, Michael Slater, Michael Bevan and Damien Fleming, had a different upbringing. Fitness and health dominated their schooling and they brought that into the team. Us older blokes realised that if we wanted to keep playing we were going to have to keep up.

Shane Warne may have a say in the outcome of the Ashes. Do you remember his debut?
He was a young legspinner that had come into the team but hadn't played much first-class cricket. He obviously had an enormous talent, so the selectors were taking a punt. He was not exactly an athlete, he was a little plump, very blond and nervous. He was playing against an Indian team that had grown up on legspin. Ravi Shastri played him exceptionally well [Shastri made 206]; he had an inglorious start to his Test career and had a long way to come back. He learned from that, learned how to bowl to players who were adept at playing spin. He had a lot of confidence in his ability and fitted in well. I fielded at bat-pad and you could hear his fingers snap and the ball coming down.

Do you miss not being involved as a player?
I haven't played in a match for a couple of years now. I am getting too old for it. I do miss it - I think every player is going to miss it. Your brain is probably OK but physically you can't keep up. The acceptance of that is hard - I don't believe you ever get over it, it is in your blood. Occasionally, if I need a break from work, I will go to the nets and have a hit - see how things are going. Sometimes I hit them OK and think: "I can still play this game." But then there are other things that go with playing, other than just standing at the crease and hitting a ball from a bowling machine when you know exactly where it is coming.

How has cricket changed through your career and subsequently?
I don't think the game in its basics has changed at all. I am a fan of Twenty20. But the traditional form we know as Test cricket is still there. I would hate to see that superseded. It is the ultimate challenge. I think the Australian cricket team in the last few years has made it more positive with a `we-will-win' approach. When I first played Tests, we tried to survive because we were not confident of winning. We worked hard but modern guys are closer to athletes than we were: we were fit for cricket only.

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