Leap of faith: Goodwin turns focus to a new mission

When Western Australia's elite male cricketers assembled for the first day of pre-season this month, a fresh-faced teenager stood on the periphery of the group, his presence the consequence of a potentially life-altering decision.

As Jayden Goodwin took the first tentative steps back into what he has viewed as a dream career since childhood, he knew that in a world without the coronavirus pandemic, he would have been 9,000 kilometres away in Zimbabwe, spreading the word of God.

Twelve months earlier, Goodwin had walked away from his two-year rookie contract with WA after one summer to fulfil his Mormon mission – a voluntary two-year stint of community and personal service 18-year-old males are expected to fulfil while they deepen their faith and look to recruit new members to the church.

It was a decision he wrestled with at length, as the dual passions in his life came into unavoidable conflict.

"I had uncles that did (the mission); they go away and serve God and help others, and just give to the community," the 19-year-old tells cricket.com.au. "I just really wanted to do that. I saw it as a great blessing.

"But when I got the contract (with WA), because it was my dream job, it was the hardest decision I ever had to make.

"It's a weird thing to think about, to give up everything – and having a contract was everything to me – to go and do something to show your love for God and teach others about Christ."

* * *

It was Western Australia head coach Adam Voges who put the two-year rookie contract in front of a then 17-year-old Goodwin in 2019. A year later Goodwin told Voges his religion had taken precedence in his life, and he was walking away from cricket after just one summer as a professional.

It was an extraordinary leap of faith. At the time, Goodwin didn't know if he'd be able to return to cricket – there'd be no time for nets sessions on his mission – and expected the WACA to tear up the final year of his rookie contract.

But Voges was evidently looking both to the past and the future. Almost 19 years earlier, the 20-Test rep had made his own first-class debut alongside Jayden's father, Murray Goodwin, a legendary batsman for both Zimbabwe and Sussex, and once upon a time the WA record-holder for the most runs in a Sheffield Shield season.

Murray had emigrated to Perth from Zimbabwe as a 13-year-old before going on to play 90 times for his country of birth, while his consistent run-scoring feats with Sussex (including his famous 335no to help them to their first County Championship title in 2003) ensured his family swapped hemispheres seasonally.

By the time Jayden experienced his first full winter as a 15-year-old, he had already been recognised as a prodigiously talented left-hander capable of following in his father's footsteps. And just 12 months later, he turned heads as WA captain at the 2018 U17 National Championships when he hit a startling 476 runs at 95.20 from the top of the order.

Image Id: C5928246941F4B0994BE13B78C9462AB Image Caption: Jayden Goodwin on his way to a century in the U17s in October 2018 // CA

"When he was younger, I used to think he was a left-handed version of me, but not so much now, he's become his own player," says Murray.

"Technically he's sound, but where he excels is how he absorbs pressure. He had three years in the U19s and he played situations really well, he absorbs pressure really well.

"I certainly think he will be better than me."

Jayden's rise to the senior state squad was deemed by many to be inevitable, and when he was handed his first rookie contract in 2019, it seemed so. Yet the pull of his faith, which stems from his mother Tarsha's side of the family, was strong.

"About six or seven months before I could leave for the mission, I was thinking, Nup, I don't want to go," he remembers. "I had a contract, I had everything I wanted – I was playing cricket and getting paid for it.

"But I just knew going into it that (the mission) was what I needed to do to fulfil something in my life."

Image Id: EA96F610EC5347F69583A14590B08EE6 Image Caption: Murray Goodwin leaves the ground, accompanied by sons Jayden and Ashton, after his final game for Sussex in 2012 // Getty

Murray, the only member of his family who is not a fully-fledged follower of the Mormon faith, watched on as his son vacillated over the decision.

But despite their differing belief systems, father and son were aligned as Jayden made his choice.

"What I've done is open my mind up," Murray says. "The only way our family could stay together is if I was flexible on (the family's religious views). I believe, but I'm just not ready to join the church and get baptised and all that.

"Honestly, hand on heart, I did not try and talk Jayden out of it at all. For him to give up two years of his cricket career to go and serve people was amazing, but I couldn't have done it.

"I said to him, 'If this is what you want to do, follow your dream. If you're good enough, and you work hard enough when you come back, I believe you'll still make it'.

"I started (playing professionally) at 21, and after his two years he'd still be 20. I thought if he did well enough in grade cricket, he could still make the WA side at 21."

Ultimately, that decision would be out of their hands.

* * *

The goal of a Mormon mission, apart from the recruitment aspect, is to teach life skills like resilience, communication and leadership, all within strict 'mission standards' that must be followed.

They dictate a meagre existence without any mod-cons; only church-approved news and media is allowed, tea, coffee and alcohol are all banned, while behaviour, dress codes, contact with family members and the daily schedule are all dictated. Even the shared living arrangements are designed to uphold the church's strict requirement for chastity.

It was into this world that Jayden walked willingly when he left his dream cricket career last year, halfway through his two-year deal with WA.

"It's not flash, living on the bare minimum," he says. "You don't have TV, no technology, no social media, all the usual things you could do on your phone you couldn't because they give you a phone that's restricted so you don't get distracted.

"You just get the essentials so you can be effective in finding people to help, but not waste time.

"What you do is go around and teach about Jesus Christ and just help people and offer service.

"It was a big life change. Every single day I was doing this."

Image Id: 8CAFD28655CD46A18A295D3EF9FA3BCF Image Caption: The Goodwin family as Jayden left for his mission // Facebook

Then unforeseeable circumstances changed the script once again. As the COVID-19 pandemic ground international travel to a halt and Australia closed its borders, the church's plans for Jayden to serve in his father's homeland were scuppered, and he was instead stationed just two hours away from his Bunbury home, in the suburbs of Perth.

The subsequent experience was misaligned with what he had hoped it would be, as well as from the stories his uncles had told him about giving to communities in need.

It left him with another monumental decision, or in a way, no decision at all. With the planet still being ravaged by the pandemic and no prospect of travel to Zimbabwe in the near future, Jayden felt his only option was to cut his mission short and return to cricket.

"COVID was stuffing it up, (and his experience in Perth) wasn't really fulfilling all the things I wanted to.

"I knew I'd come back to cricket, and it wasn't working out the way I wanted it to."

With Voges and co having clearly deemed his potential worth pursuing, Goodwin's unfinished rookie contract had been kept open, and his return to training ahead of the full group's assembly this week was a homecoming of sorts.

Murray notes marked changes in his son's character upon his return; he is a more confident communicator, a more resilient character and a more self-sufficient young man.

Now Jayden, who also bowls part-time leg-spin, is planning on putting those traits and others into practice as he resumes a cricketing journey that has long been his destiny.

"I was always worried – two years (away from the game), you might never get that skill back again," he says.

"But as long as I worked hard, I just had this belief I would be OK."

Editing by Adam Burnett and Martin Smith