Nathan McAndrew is the leading wicket taker in the Sheffield Shield since his move to South Australia four seasons ago
From unwanted to unrivalled: McAndrew's fateful move south
Nathan McAndrew felt like he was ready.
Rewind to the autumn of 2021 and another cricket season had just come to an end. Another summer where the frustrated fast bowler was denied a shot at state cricket.
The almost 28-year-old McAndrew had almost a decade of second XI cricket under his belt but had only two one-day games for NSW to show for it.
With no NSW state contract, McAndrew was ready for change. The decision to leave his home state? An easy one.
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"I got fired. So it was a pretty easy decision, to be honest," McAndrew said with a grin.
"It was a matter of coming here or Tasmania. I had two contracts on the table and … I decided to come to South Australia.
"I thought it was probably just the best chance to play, and that was all I wanted.
"It was something I'd worked really hard for over a number of years and not really had the opportunity at New South Wales. That was sort of the catalyst of the move here."
It was the right call by McAndrew, going from the fast-bowling scrapheap to the gold standard.
Under the tutelage of former head coach Jason Gillespie, assistant coach Luke Butterworth and assistant-turned-head coach Ryan Harris, McAndrew was nurtured into one of the most reliable and potent strike bowlers in the Sheffield Shield.
In the four seasons since McAndrew made his move to South Australia, no bowler has taken more wickets in the Sheffield Shield than his 138.
While his move from Sydney to Adelaide has seen his game given the opportunity to grow, it was his three winters in England that he credits to lifting his bowling to the next level.
Representing Warwickshire in 2022 and Sussex in 2023 and 2024, McAndrew has taken 62 County Championship wickets at an average of 27.32.
"The biggest thing that's helped me develop into a more attacking and a better bowler has been getting over to county cricket and playing over there," McAndrew told reporters on Friday.
"Originally coming through the Big Bash route, I was good at hitting the wicket and I wasn't necessarily the most skilful bowler. To go over to the UK and get to bowl with the Dukes (ball) and learn to bowl that full length that you have to bowl in the UK with the slower wickets, that's really enabled me to sort of make the most of these nipping wickets (in Australia). You have to bowl that little bit fuller.
"I think that's probably been my biggest strength in the last couple of years when I've been taking more wickets, is my ability to bowl fuller, hit the stumps and keep all modes of dismissal in play in conditions that are favourable to the bowlers."
McAndrew is far from alone in finding a happy home in Adelaide after moving from interstate.
The winter he made the move he was joined by Nathan McSweeney and Brendan Doggett from Queensland, Jake Carder from Western Australia and fellow New South Welshman Ryan Gibson in donning the Redback red for the first time.
And it'll be the case in the Shield final too, this reliance on foreign talent. Seven of SA's XI from their round 10 clash with Queensland came from interstate. But rather than a negative, McAndrew believes that shared experience has had a galvanising affect on the group.
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"We've got a lot of guys from interstate, which has made it really easy," McAndrew said.
"There's a lot of guys in the same boat, in terms that have moved from interstate and don't have any family or support networks down here. It's a pretty close group of guys that all spend a lot of time together, on days off as well.
"I think it's also been a bit of a superpower of the group, how tight we are and how much we socialise off the field as well."
Queensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (c), Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Callum Vidler, Jack Wildermuth.
South Australia squad: Nathan McSweeney (c), Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton
Sheffield Shield standings 2024-25
| Team | M | W | L | D | N/R | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SA
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7.61 | 9 | 55.61 |
|
2
QLD
|
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9.06 | 8.7 | 39.76 |
|
3
VIC
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.19 | 9.3 | 39.49 |
|
4
NSW
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.99 | 8.4 | 36.39 |
|
5
TAS
|
10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.72 | 8.2 | 35.92 |
|
6
WA
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.83 | 8.6 | 35.43 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points