Grief and triumph: How young opener faced his toughest test

Few cricketers have had a tougher first-class debut than Ryan Hackney.

Dismissed for a 12-ball duck in his first innings, the young NSW opener only bettered that score by one run in the second.

Yet those returns weren't what made that week in February so difficult.

Having banged on the door of Blues selection over the previous four seasons with 3,600 Premier Cricket and NSW Second XI runs at almost 40, a spot had finally opened up due to a finger injury to skipper Kurtis Patterson.

Image Id: 640E2EC980B745C0AF458D72A832CBEE Image Caption: Hackney walks off the Gabba after being dismissed in his first Sheffield Shield innings // Getty

And so the boy from the Blue Mountains should have been revelling in the biggest achievement of his sporting career.

But a week before the match against Queensland at the Gabba, where he received Baggy Blue cap No.758, Hackney received news that no 22-year-old should have to hear.

His dad, Peter, had suffered a heart attack and passed away suddenly, aged just 53.

For Hackney though, the decision to play was a simple one.

"I know that's what he would want me to do," the now 23-year-old tells cricket.com.au. "Just being able to play for him, that decision was fairly easy.

"It was the least I could do for his memory and everything he gave me."

***

Peter John Hackney wasn't a cricketer. But that didn't stop him from being his eldest son's number one supporter.

Not only in cricket but in life, Peter was the first person Ryan would go to with a question or problem that he needed help solving.

While it was the neighbours across the road who got Ryan into the game as a kid, it was Peter who built him a synthetic grass net in the backyard of their Springwood home on the fringe of western Sydney as his son's cricketing ability blossomed.

Image Id: 64E0CC7BA3A5405A8208278EF1228664 Image Caption: Ryan Hackney with his dad Peter // Supplied

"He actually had a lump on his right shoulder from throwing me that many balls when I was a kid," Hackney recalls. "Dad was there the whole way – he was a pretty big part of my career."

Peter, a cycling and running enthusiast right until his passing in February, instilled in his son a fierce work ethic and desire to compete.

"He ran ultra-marathons and marathons," Hackney says. "He never really got into cricket … I can remember as a kid he played a little bit in the park but not competitively.

"He was still a very competitive person … he got his competitive output when he cycled and ran."

Having signed up at the local cricket club in Springwood as a 10-year-old, Hackney followed a relatively standard path to the top level through junior representative cricket and then on to Premier Cricket with nearby western Sydney club Penrith.

While he dabbled in bowling as a junior when he first picked up the game, Hackney quickly settled on opening the batting.

"As long as I can remember," he says, "I've just opened."

At the beginning of last season came the biggest decision of Hackney's career, as he made the call to move east from Penrith Cricket Club – a place he had called home since 2009-10 and where he had lifelong friends – to Parramatta.

Peter was again there to lend his support.

Image Id: 5EAC94BFD6C44C2A9CA75E1A41B17334 Image Caption: Ryan Hackney celebrates a premiership with his dad Peter // Supplied

"Dad was a big factor behind the move too … not just in cricket but in life, he was the first person I'd go to," Hackney says.

"It was a pretty hard thing to do … I have got a lot of mates (at Penrith), so I miss playing with them … but I wanted to be in an environment to better my cricket, and win games of cricket as well.

"I had the most consistent season I've had and how the season ended, with getting that opportunity (for NSW), I think moving was a big factor in that."

***

In hindsight, Hackney feels those first few days after his dad's passing were easier than it is now. He remembers it as a "whirlwind" week, the emotions largely overridden by a feeling of numbness and shock.

Four days after the thrill of securing a tense two-wicket win with the Blues on debut, Hackney was delivering a eulogy at his dad's funeral in front of mourning family and friends.

"The pain of it now is probably worse than when I played that debut game because the numbness and the shock wears off," he says from Ireland, where he has spent the past four months playing with Malahide, in the north of Dublin.

"It's left a massive void, but I'm (also) lucky the last four or five months I've had a pretty good team around me to be able to help out with that.

"Cricket NSW were really good; they talked me through each scenario – whether I wanted to play or not – but I was always pretty strong on playing because I really believe that's what Dad would have wanted me to do."

Hackney, who hasn't yet played the minimum number of first-class matches required to qualify for the UK's professional sportsperson visa, hadn't been outside Australia until his stint in Ireland this winter and has used it as an opportunity to experience the different cultures of Europe while also recharging his batteries ahead of another hectic summer schedule.

He will return to Sydney around the end of August for trial games with NSW, knowing that early-season runs will be the key to adding to his three first-class matches.

Having watched NSW Second XI teammate Hayden Kerr's meteoric rise from grade cricketer to Big Bash star and IPL ring-in across the space of four months, he knows how quickly things can turn.

And while he admits a younger version of himself would have got caught up in every non-selection, Hackney's focus now is to "control what I can".

"(Kerr has) taken his opportunities really well after years of hard work," he says. "He did really well for the Blues, he's done really well for Sydney University whenever he played grade cricket.

"Hopefully I can do a similar thing … and take my opportunities when they come.

Image Id: C40BDBEBFF9E49D8BF2844DB7AB23619 Image Caption: Hackney at the crease for NSW in his second Sheffield Shield match // Getty

"That's what put me in good stead last year – just focusing on what I can control and doing that well.

"For me personally, it's just about playing as much cricket as possible, putting myself in different conditions, facing different challenges and being able to overcome them."

Hackney knows too, that there are none bigger than that which he's confronting right now, and the way he is handling it would doubtless make his dad proud.