The 'job interview' that sparked Turner's leadership journey

Ashton Turner walked into WA Cricket's headquarters one winter's day five-and-a-half years ago and waiting for him was the organisation's CEO Christina Matthews, head coach Justin Langer, chair Ken Michael and psychologist Matt Burgin.

WA great Adam Voges had just retired, and Turner and Mitch Marsh had been shortlisted to replace him as the state's captain.

They were big shoes to fill. Voges holds the state record for the most matches as captain (97 across the Sheffield Shield and Marsh One-Day Cup), leading WA to a 50-over title and two Shield finals during a five-year tenure that also yielded two KFC BBL championships as Perth Scorchers skipper.

"Essentially, it was a job interview," Turner recalls on cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast.

While quipping he "clearly didn't do that well" as ultimately Marsh got the nod, for Turner the seed was sown.

He'd captained teams in the past, including a Cricket Australia XI and the Australian Under-19s, but being asked to present to the top echelon of WA cricket had sparked something else.

Image Id: CC546EF6A393497CAD9A3751A580C85E Image Caption: Turner playing for Australia at the 2012 Under-19 World Cup // Getty

"The actual act of sitting down, having to write down your thoughts on leadership, your thoughts on how you are going to manage a group of people and then being able to articulate that to other people in a group, that's an amazing skill and a great learning opportunity," the 30-year-old says.

"Up until that point in my career, I'd probably never been asked to do anything like that."

It was a process that helped transform Turner into a student of leadership. He's now read countless books on it, studied other great leaders, and gets asked to present to other groups on the topic.

And while he's always reflecting on his own style, it's helped the hard-hitting right-hander build a reputation as one of the great captains in Australian cricket, so much so that retired T20 skipper Aaron Finch flagged him as a potential replacement despite Turner not currently being in the side.

"Leadership can be really natural for a lot of people, but how can you channel the natural instincts that you have in the right direction?," Turner says.

"How can you use the skills that you've acquired over a long period of time at the right time, and have an impact on other people?

"So I guess that lesson of me writing down my thoughts, being really clear on what I stood for, what I believed was important – that's held me in good stead.

"And so as I evolve and get older and get asked to present or speak to groups of people, it's always a great reflective piece for me to write down my thoughts to prepare and then articulate, and it's probably something in professional sport that we don't do a lot, and we probably don't do enough.

"There's something therapeutic about it … it's like studying for an exam that prepares us for situations that we're going to be in and I've certainly grown and learned a lot from that process."

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While he captained Western Australia at Under-17 level, Turner believes he's in the camp of having "learned to be a leader".

Image Id: D7DB9978E7B24F49A2C539619F91A25F Image Caption: Turner and Voges hold the BBL|12 trophy aloft // Getty

But having led the Perth Scorchers to back-to-back BBL titles, including match defining knocks in both finals, and being on the verge of capturing a third Marsh Cup title as captain when they face South Australia at the WACA this Wednesday, there can be no doubting Turner's qualities.

"It's definitely a role that I've evolved into; we're never the finished product," he says.

"If you'd seen me as a 16-year-old, would you necessarily point at me and say 'he's going to be a leader?' Probably not. 

"And I don't think I was a great leader as a junior, but no doubt I'm better in this role now than I was when I was younger and that's really exciting for me because that means that we can't pigeonhole anyone into a certain role and anyone that we're able to come across and work with has potential beyond what they're naturally given at birth."

So if the call does come to be the nation's next T20 international captain, Turner says he's "as confident in my leadership skills now as I've ever been".

"Right at the moment I'm in an amazing place where I'm playing in successful teams, I feel like I'm playing well personally and I'm just enjoying that success.

"Whatever team I'm representing in the future, I'll continue to try and play my role to score as many runs and help those teams be as successful as they can possibly be.

"And if one day that means I'm back in the Australian team, then I think that's everyone's dream who is playing domestic cricket in Australia. I'm certainly no different from all of the other guys who say they have aspirations to play international cricket again."

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Should the off-spinning allrounder find a way back into the Australia setup – as he did with WA's Sheffield Shield squad last week after more than two years out of the red-ball format – it would be vindication for a "sturdier" procedure on his troublesome right shoulder that, coupled with the returns of David Warner and Steve Smith, was part of his omission from the 2019 ODI World Cup.

Having conceded that bowling and throwing were behind him when he walked into a hospital in Sydney in 2019 for his fourth shoulder reconstruction, Turner was hoping just to get the joint to a place that would enable him to continue to play the game he loved and contribute as a batter.

Image Id: DB62BC431ED64319828511640E0A366B Image Caption: Turner throws as sub fielder during WA’s Shield victory over Tasmania last week // Getty

The Latarjet procedure – common among footballers and rugby players to increase shoulder stability but rare for cricketers due to the range of shoulder motion required to play the sport – involved relocating bone to try and stop it from dislocating.

"After having three unsuccessful operations, this was the last roll of the dice," says Turner.

"Essentially, for my right shoulder dislocate, I need to snap bone. And that sounds good and it's a really good operation for some elite athletes, but for cricketers that hadn't been tried before and the risk is that you reduce your range of motion.

"But the upside was going to be that I'll be able to play cricket and my shoulder wouldn't keep dislocating. That was the risk that I took, it felt like at that time I didn't really have another option."

Turner feels it's a bonus now that he's been able to bowl more overs this summer than what he has since 2016-17, which included a haul of 4-41 in the second XI match prior to his recall to WA's 13-player Shield squad last Tuesday.

"I certainly never expected to be able to contribute as much with the ball or in the field as I'm able to at the moment," says Turner.

"Like my red-ball cricket, when I didn't necessarily expect more opportunities, my bowling was really similar.

"To be able to bowl, it's just fun more than anything. I've got that freedom that if it doesn't go well, I didn't expect to be bowling, and if it goes well and I'm contributing to wins, then it's an absolute bonus."

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Despite all his on-field achievements, where if successful against the Redbacks in Wednesday's Marsh Cup final he will become their most decorated one-day captain, perhaps Turner's greatest legacy on WA cricket will be inspiring the state's next generation of leaders.

"I've been fortunate that I've been around some amazing leaders, and I've been able to see the influence that they can have on the outcome of games and series, but also how they can change the outcome of individuals careers," says Turner.

"They can make their mates who they're going out onto the field with, they can make them better people, they can make them better players and I found that really inspiring.

"I've been so lucky to be surrounded by amazing leaders. If I think back to my memories of playing in the Big Bash under Simon Katich, playing under Adam Voges, being coached in the early days by Justin Langer and more recently Adam Voges, these are some pretty influential people in West Australian cricket.

"For me to be able to learn from them and now take over the role some of those guys once had is pretty humbling.

"And I guess now I feel that as I've evolved into this role of leadership, that's my job to empower the next group of leaders that we've got in Western Australia.

"My job as a leader is to empower everyone, make sure they've got a voice, make sure they're heard, they're listened to and at the end of the day I think, and we think, that's the best way for us to get successful outcomes."

And given his and WA's success in the past decade, it appears to be a solid strategy.