Patience pays off as Kuhnemann hits fast-forward

Matt Kuhnemann has long understood the need to be patient.

In his first three seasons with Queensland, the left-arm orthodox spinner played just four games of first XI cricket for the Bulls and remained on the rookie list while a handful of younger players were promoted to the senior squad ahead of him.

It took almost five years after signing his first deal for Kuhnemann to finally make his first-class debut, claiming Australia's Test skipper as his maiden wicket, before he was dropped again barely a month later.

Even in life outside cricket, Kuhnemann has had to remain patient; with sport taking up most of his time, he laughs that he's into his eighth year of a university degree that would take only two-and-a-half if he was studying full-time.

But as he showed during his match-winning performance against Tasmania last month that came from more than 70 overs of bowling over three days of cricket, the 25-year-old is proof that good things come to those who wait.

"Everything has unfolded in my favour," he tells cricket.com.au after his match haul of 10-167 against the Tigers in Townsville, the best Shield figures by a Queensland spinner in more than four decades.

"You want to play as many games as you can in your career … and with 'Sweppo' (Bulls leg-spinner Mitch Swepson) going well, I always thought it was a matter of time before he would have higher honours.

"I always had that goal that I was going to play for the Bulls. And now that Sweppo is playing some good cricket and playing for Australia consistently, (that) will help my case."

Having enjoyed a rapid rise through the country's pathway system as a teenager, Kuhnemann's career appeared to be on the right path when in 2016, before his 20th birthday, he earned his first professional contract, the same year that a young opening batsman named Marnus Labuschagne first appeared on Queensland's list.

But having been an Under-19 representative for Queensland (where he played with Matt Renshaw and Ben McDermott) and Australia (alongside Jhye Richardson), Kuhnemann hit a roadblock while his contemporaries surged ahead.

For most of his early 20s, all he could do was wait patiently as Queensland selectors favoured Swepson, another product of the pathway system who was already in the sights of national selectors.

Despite the lack of game time, Kuhnemann persisted enough to be upgraded to a full contract in 2019. And when Swepson's continued improvement earned him an extended run in the national set-up last summer, combined with a neck injury in the second half of the Shield season, Kuhnemann's chance finally came.

Having finally made his first-class debut last February, Kuhnemann has played more games for the Bulls in the past year than he had in the previous five, and he looks set for an extended run in the side this season given Swepson is expected to be a part of Australia's plans for the Ashes and next year's Test tours of Asia.

Having spent so long on pause, Kuhnemann's career is suddenly in fast forward.

As part of an inexperienced bowling line-up against Tasmania last month, he found himself leading the attack and took five wickets in each innings to double his career tally in just a single game.

"I knew I was going to bowl heaps of overs, so I just had to stay patient," he said, having returned the best figures by a Queensland spinner since Trevor Hohns took 11 wickets in a match against NSW in 1979.

"It was hot and it was dry, it was a wicket that suited me, so I knew I had to step up.

"I've been fortunate enough to play in the one-dayers in the past few years and that definitely helped leading up to Shield cricket.

"The culture we have with our players and coaching staff, it just makes you feel comfortable when you come into the team."

Best figures by a Queensland spinner in the Sheffield Shield

11-116 Trevor Hohns v NSW, Syd, 1979

11-184 Malcolm Francke v SA, Ade, 1973

11-218 Brian Flynn v SA, Bris, 1953

11-240 Brian Flynn v NSW, Bris, 1953

10-160 Mick Raymer v WA, Bris, 1948

10-167 Matt Kuhnemann v Tas, Tville, 2021

10-171 Mitch Swepson v NSW, Ade, 2020

Kuhnemann also credits some one-on-one sessions with Test spinner and NSW rival Nathan Lyon last summer as having helped move his game forward, while he says Bulls skipper Usman Khawaja is the calming influence he needs on the field.

As has been the case for the past five years, Swepson's fate over the next 12 months will ultimately determine how much senior cricket Kuhnemann plays.

A Test tour of Pakistan scheduled for the second half of this Shield season and one to India for the first half of the next bodes well for the finger spinner, but experience tells him to not take anything for granted.

"Because of COVID and the nature of sport at the moment, I don't want to look too far ahead," he says.

"It's good for me that Sweppo is (getting) higher honours. And I hope he keeps doing that because it gives me a chance to keep playing more games.

"(We) have a good relationship; even in the nets, he gave me some good tips.

"So when the time came, I was ready for it."