Jolly Rogers goes back to school for Big Bash boost

Tom Rogers jokes that as he bowled alone in the indoor nets at North Hobart Cricket Club last winter, he couldn't help but think of Shooter McGavin in the 1996 cult-classic movie, Happy Gilmore.

Like McGavin, who took himself into the woods and away from prying eyes to attempt Gilmore's trademark golf swing, Rogers was looking to re-invent himself behind closed doors in a bid to salvage a sporting dream that was seemingly slipping away.

And like McGavin, whose wild swings connected with nothing but fresh air, Rogers' initial attempts at learning some new skills weren't overly successful.

"There were a few triple bouncers and a few that went into the side of the net," he says with a laugh.

"But over the course of the next few months, I started to be a little more consistent."

Having been axed by Tasmania in June and unsigned at Big Bash level, Rogers found himself without a professional contract for the first time in four years, despite holding one of the lowest bowling averages in the history of the Sheffield Shield.

As he weighed up his future in the game with the immediate need to earn a living wage again, the 27-year-old was forced to recommence the dual role he had begun in his early twenties – professional high-school teacher and aspiring amateur cricketer.

"I got my teacher's registration for Tasmania and went back into teaching," he says. "And then I had a look … (at) my own game and where I could improve my white-ball (cricket).

"I got to Big Bash level with my pace, a little bit of swing and one or two variations but I probably got found out outside of the Powerplay and got a fair bit of tap.

"I needed to increase my consistency and accuracy through the middle and at the death, and probably add a couple of variations for them to be effective. And hopefully (that would) make the strengths I already had a little more effective as well.

"Fortunately, (Tasmania) didn't close the door completely. They still allowed me to come in in the off-season and bowl at the boys when it fit with my teaching schedule.

"I was fortunate enough to roll into Bellerive and bowl against international batters ... and then as soon as I was done, I would have a shower and go straight back to the classroom."

In addition to bowling to the likes of Matthew Wade, Tim Paine and Ben McDermott whenever his teaching schedule allowed, Rogers put in extra sessions alone at the indoor nets of his club side, developing and practicing the white-ball skills he'd been unable to execute in previous seasons.

He did so with no promise that he would ever play professionally again. Despite a stunning maiden season for Tasmania in 2017-18 and a Shield record of 46 wickets at an average of just 21, some untimely injuries and the rise of Nathan Ellis and Riley Meredith to complement a pace attack led by Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle had seen Rogers fall out of favour.

Despite a solid grounding away from the game, he concedes keeping his sporting dream alive as he re-entered the real world was a daunting prospect.

"I'm really fortunate to come from a family that's really pushed the educational side of things as well as the sporting endeavours," he says.

"Because when it does come to that time … when you get that feeling that your contract is up, fortunately I'm able to go back to a reasonably stable career in teaching and be able to earn a decent wage relatively quickly. I'm quite lucky in that sense.

"But at times it can be quite tough to manage the workload and prioritise certain things. From a training side of things, you've got your skills (work), you've got your gym and you've got your running. And then when you're working full time, it's like 'Well, what should I really prioritise here?'."

Rogers' fitness suffered slightly during the winter as he essentially juggled two professions at once, but the long hours alone in the nets bore fruit just as the school year came to a close.

Having been signed just weeks before the new KFC BBL season as Hobart's 17th of 18 players, he has played eight of their nine games so far due to injuries to Meredith and Joel Paris as well Scott Boland's Test call-up, with his 14 wickets putting him among the leading bowlers in the competition.

And in a testament to the new skills developed during those solo net sessions in the winter, he also has the second-best economy rate of all bowlers this season in the difficult death and Power Surge overs (minimum of 30 balls).

Despite out-performing some of the best batters in the country over the past month, Rogers is expecting to head back to the classroom when the new school year begins – and the Big Bash ends – at the end of the month.

But he concedes turning his good T20 form into a recall to Tasmania's Shield side for the second half of the season, which would scupper his plans to return to work, is not out of the question.

"Obviously those thoughts peter away in the back of your mind," he says. "You hope for the best.

"It'd be a very good problem to have ... but I'm very much understanding that it's only been about seven games in the Big Bash and there's always someone very capable of taking you to the cleaners.

"But hopefully I keep putting some performances on the board and see what comes in the next few months."