'Prince of Hobart': The curious case of James Faulkner

Wander along the sloping streets of Hobart's historic Battery Point and there's a decent chance you'll happen upon the Shipwrights Arms Hotel. Among the mostly lowset red-brick houses it stands grandly in white, paying warm tribute to a distant time as it peers down to the River Derwent.

Mosey on in and there's also a chance you'll share a bar, or even a beer, with a World Cup winner. A Launceston boy at heart, James Faulkner nowadays resides in the Tasmanian capital, and is a part-owner of this fine old establishment where he seems very much at home.

"A little too much, if you ask me," laughs his longtime friend and ex-teammate Xavier Doherty. "They probably need to pry him off the bar stool down there, I think."

"Yes, he's very social, Jim," confirms his former Tasmania coach Tim Coyle, with whom he remains in close contact. "People love going into his pub and have him pull a beer."

It's 10 years today since the 2015 World Cup came to an end with Australia's thumping win over New Zealand in the final at the MCG. Faulkner was Player of the Match with 3-36, carrying on a fine Launceston tradition set in motion by David Boon (1987) and maintained by Ricky Ponting (2003).

In the afterglow of that game, James' father Peter – an outstanding allrounder with Tasmania through the 1980s and later the state's long-serving chairman of selectors – foresaw the dawning of a golden generation.

"Really I'm gobsmacked by the potential future of that team," Faulkner Sr said. "Guys like Mitch Marsh, James, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Dave Warner – there are so many good young players that could be around for another one or two World Cups … Australian cricket is in pretty good shape."

Years later, his words would prove prophetic in every aspect but one. That generation of Australian stars did indeed claim three more world titles, in 2021 (T20I) and 2023 (Test and ODI). Yet by that point Faulkner Jr had long since played his last international. Even his domestic playing days in this country were behind him.

And while it is a point of fact that as his body broke down, the injuries mounted up, there is a sense among some that perhaps Faulkner's pride came before his fall; that what had been his superpower as a cricketer might ultimately have become his kryptonite.

* * *

The first couple of times James Faulkner played at the MCG, he was crashed to all parts by a strong Victoria batting line-up.

He was just 19 and new to the world of professional cricket, but his feathers were not easily ruffled. As his former Tigers teammate Steve Cazzulino once observed: "The reason James Faulkner has succeeded, is because it's almost like his mistakes didn't happen."

The next time he found himself at the mighty 'G was just a few weeks later, at the business end of that 2009-10 summer for the domestic one-day final against the same opponents. He promptly knocked over Aaron Finch, then collected the winners' trophy with his Tasmania teammates.

"And he was best on ground in the celebrations," grins Coyle. "Front and centre. You couldn't get the smile off his face."

It was Faulkner's 16th match for a Tasmania side that was about to embark on a run of six finals across four seasons in first-class and one-day cricket.

The title won that night was followed by two in the Shield, and it's easy to forget they were just three wickets from making it a first-class hat-trick when they fell dramatically short against Queensland at the Gabba in 2012.

In each of those three years, Faulkner – aged just 20-22 – won the Ponting Medal as his state's best male player.

"Tasmania had a belief in their ability to win by that stage, and Jim took that to another level," Coyle says. "He was confident, and he had an edge to him.

"That night in the MCG changerooms, he just soaked it all up. That would have gone into his memory bank, and he would have said: 'I want to keep doing this'. And he did, you know. He just loved winning.

"At that point, you could just sense that James Faulkner was going to play a huge part in what Tassie did in the future."

* * *

Owing at least in part to the cricketing feats and continuing presence of his father Peter, James Faulkner was a long-known quantity when he arrived in the state set-up as a teenager.

"I remember Jimmy came on a Shield trip to Adelaide when he must've been 10 or 12," says Doherty. "He just shadowed his old man for the week, and sort of popped in and out of the rooms. He oozed confidence even at that stage."

Former Tigers skipper Dan Marsh remembered Faulkner impressing in the nets on those interstate trips, while at Launceston Church Grammar, the young allrounder rose to private school prominence alongside his future state teammate Tom Triffitt. There the pair was coached by John Bailey (father of George), who later called Faulkner "the closest I've seen to a true allrounder".

"Very early on," Bailey said in 2013, "it was clear he was something very special."

Like a few legends before him, Faulkner made the move from Launceston to Hobart while still in his teens, moving in with the Jubbs, a well-known and highly regarded family in the Tasmanian hospitality scene. Twelve months before he debuted for Tasmania as an 18-year-old in December 2008, Faulkner Sr had magnanimously resigned from his position as Tasmania's selection chair, partly to avoid the obvious conflict of interest that was looming.

It was obvious because Faulkner Jr had already made his presence felt in the domestic pathways competitions. While his numbers weren't consistently outstanding, he was clearly a prodigious talent. As a 16-year-old in 2006-07, he played back-to-back U19s and U17s tournaments for Tasmania, collecting two five-wicket hauls in the former to be his state's leading wicket-taker, and hitting 158 against Western Australia to finish as their leading run-scorer in the latter.

Doherty played in Faulkner's Tasmanian debut and what sticks with him is the simple fact that the allrounder "was 18 years old and didn't look out of place".

A couple of months later, he clubbed 153 to help University Lions to victory in that summer's Tasmanian Cricket Association final.

"He is the most sensible 18-year-old with a cricket bat in his hand I have ever met," his skipper Graeme Cunningham said at the time. "He was probably the quickest bowler in the finals as well.

"He is a natural, but we won't have him much next year."

Cunningham was right. A right-handed bat with considerable power and a left-arm quick with a hatful of clever variations, Faulkner was soon a fixture with Tasmania, impressing his state teammates with his skill set and rapid improvement.

But what really set him apart was his unshakeable self-belief.

"Most of us being country kids in Tassie, you didn't want to stand out – you just wanted to fit in and play your role," Doherty says. "Anyone who got ahead of himself would be pulled back in pretty quickly.

"But Jimmy was a bit different. He played his best when he was chest out – when he had that confidence and that arrogance."

There were times at Bellerive Oval through those years when Faulkner would get on a roll with reverse swing through the middle overs of an innings. As he moved the ball to devastating effect, he would call himself "Wasim" and exhort his teammates to do the same.

Regular third-person references to "The Jimcock" were largely tongue in cheek but nonetheless drew the ire of the opposition, though it could scarcely have worried Faulkner less as his confidence grew with every success.

"That certainly rubbed people from the opposition the wrong way," Doherty laughs. "Even now, you chat to people who played against him who only knew him on the cricket field, and they just think: What a dickhead.

"But for people who know him, and love him, that's just his personality, and just a method to get him at his best."

Doherty recalls another moment that typified Faulkner and became an oft-repeated line among the Tigers group in years to come.

"He was coming back from an injury, and the boys mentioned he might have to come back through the Second XI," he begins. "And I think his quote was: 'You don't see (Hawthorn AFL star) Luke Hodge playing in the reserves'."

Former Tigers opener Ed Cowan says Faulkner's "self-belief oozed into everything he did".

"He thought he was the Prince of Hobart," Cowan says. "But it just worked, and that was the joy of James Faulkner."

* * *

Steve Cazzulino was 23 when he arrived in Hobart from Sydney in the 2010-11 pre-season. By then, a 20-year-old Faulkner had one title under his belt and was about to launch into a back-to-back-to-back run of Ponting Medals.

As a relative outsider within quite a tight-knit group, Cazzulino was well positioned to observe the mix of personalities, and the dynamics at play among them.

"I just remember being struck by (Faulkner's) confidence," he says. "I didn't know him, and I immediately needed to quietly ask someone, who was this guy and what was he all about.

"I don't want to give the wrong idea – that he was an a---hole or anything like that – he was just such a big personality.

"That immediately made you sit up and take notice, and watch him a bit more closely to understand him, because clearly he could play. He was a force, that's for sure … there was just this inevitability about him."

Coyle believes Faulkner's confidence was "based off the fact he was bloody good at what he did".

"He had the ability to really change the environment in the changeroom," he adds. "He was a guy who wanted to lead. Even as a young player, there were stories about him saying: 'I want the ball today – let's win this game and we're going to the big dance'. And people started to believe it was going to happen, because he did it more often than not.

"Gee he performed well in some really big moments – not just in finals, but leading into finals – where he really led from the front."

In a 2015 interview with ESPN, Faulkner summed up his approach: "The way I sort of see it is, if you stay relaxed and back your preparations, back your game, more times than not you are going to come on top."

Cazzulino saw Faulkner's ascension unfolding in real time. Where in many instances a cocky upstart might easily push the wrong buttons of a group's senior contingent, the young allrounder was somehow able to make it work.

"They loved him for it," he says. "I think (his confidence) probably imbued in even some of the more senior guys, because he was pretty brash, but he was consistently able to back it up.

"(Among) the native Tasmanians, who had watched him evolve, there was very much a (feeling of): 'This is who this guy is, and we let Jimmy be Jimmy'.

"(He is a) really extraordinary guy. A unique guy, but it was the sort of uniqueness that often leads to pretty special outcomes."

Faulkner went into that 2010-11 summer with just five Shield matches to his name, but finished his campaign with 36 wickets at 17.72. In the drawn final against NSW, he took four wickets and scored 71 to help the Tigers secure their second title.

By that point, Coyle remembers, the 20-year-old and his more senior counterparts like Tim Paine and Luke Butterworth had made winning a habit.

"They played with one thing in mind, and that was how to get themselves in winning positions," he says. "Once they got that momentum, it was hard to stop, and they demanded more.

"Jim was always front and centre with that. He would seize the moment every time he had a chance, and he wanted to be the one who won the game.

"And he was quite happy to live in that moment. It didn't deter him."

Faulkner took four-wicket hauls in the next two domestic one-day finals but on neither occasion did Tasmania get across the line, with the second of those a famous tie against South Australia that was lost by the Tigers on their qualifying record. In the final over of that match, he could not get SA paceman Gary Putland away – a batting failure that ultimately cost Tasmania the trophy.

"But even that didn't burst his bubble – not for one moment was Jimmy going to let that define him," Doherty says. "It probably just spurred him on to be even better; from then on he went to another level with the bat."

Three weeks on from that final, the Tigers played a thrilling Shield decider in Brisbane, in which they very nearly pulled off a Faulkner-inspired great escape. With the visitors looking to defend just 132, Queensland had moved to 2-83 when the left-armer snared three wickets in the space of 14 balls to bring the contest to life.

"As a Queensland side, that was our impression of him – when he was involved, it was always game on," says Bulls great Chris Hartley, who ultimately got his team home that day.

"He was the type of player where you knew if he was involved, something was going to happen. He wanted to make things happen."

Hartley recalls Faulkner being "combative" on the field without ever crossing a line, and it is an assessment supported by Doherty as well as Cazzulino, who played in that Shield final.

"He definitely played very hard," he says, "and that was backed up by a self-confidence where he genuinely felt like he could turn the game every time he touched it."

By the mid-point of 2012, Faulkner had made both his T20 International and Indian Premier League debuts, knocking over David Warner in his lone match for Pune Warriors.

And while he ignored reported overtures from South Australia and Victoria to re-sign with Tasmania for another three years, he had by that point come on board with the Melbourne Stars in the revamped Big Bash League, snubbing the Hobart Hurricanes in a move that would have reverberations down the line.

"I am a Launcestonian and if the team was based out of my home city, I would have signed with them," he said in the December 2011 edition of Inside Cricket magazine.

"I didn't choose Melbourne because of the cash. It was the experience of having the MCG as my home ground … and a big part of my decision-making process was the fact that the Stars had signed two former state captains in Chris Simpson and Adam Voges, current captain George Bailey and current Australian T20 captain Cameron White.

"You can now throw Shane Keith (Warne) into that mix – wow. I think I'll come back to the state having picked up a few things."

* * *

Where most players might be somewhat cowed stepping into international cricket, Faulkner, evidently, was not. Michael Clarke, who was Australia captain in the young allrounder's Test and ODI debuts, later bracketed him alongside David Warner in terms of self-belief.

"Their natural state," Clarke wrote, "is to believe they are invincible."

After eight white-ball games for Australia, Faulkner was named as part of Australia's 16-man Ashes squad in April 2013.

The selection came hot off the heels of his player-of-the-match performance in that summer's Shield final. Having bowled his side into the final with 5-56 against Victoria on the last day of the regular season, Faulkner's first-innings 46 and four wickets for the match were complemented by his most important knock to date; a near five-hour 89 that, alongside Paine (87), rescued Tasmania from 5-15 in their second innings and ultimately gave them the draw they needed.

A third Ponting Medal safely in his keeping, he was then picked for the Ashes, with then national selector John Inverarity citing "three consistently good seasons with the ball at Shield level" as the primary reason for his selection.

"James won't get caught up in the emotion and (his selection) will be pretty much water off a duck's back … he won't be overawed by it all," his dad, Peter, told Launceston's The Examiner. "Big names don't phase him."

As those words were being spoken, Faulkner was busy proving the point as the leading wicket-taker in the 2013 IPL, having been picked up by Rajasthan Royals for $400,000. With his sharp cutters, intelligent lengths and canny variations, he took the world's most lucrative cricket tournament by storm in his first full campaign (his 28 wickets are still the equal fourth-most in a series).

Then, in Australia's first ODI of the UK tour, Faulkner took 2-48 and hit 54no in what was an early indication of things to come. He played his lone Test on that tour, too, taking six wickets while also engaging in some verbals with Kevin Pietersen, who asked umpire Aleem Dar who the garrulous young Australian actually was. The pair, similar in on-field demeanour and perhaps off-field as well, later struck up a friendship at the Stars.

It was across the next 18 months that Faulkner really made his name at international level. And it began with his batting fireworks in a high-scoring five-match ODI series in India.

"When people ask what sort of a cricketer he was … that's the one that stands out for me," Doherty says. "Jimmy just went clean off."

Faulkner didn't bat until the third match of that series and when he did come in, Australia looked dead and buried at 6-213 in the 42nd over, chasing 304.

In a 29-ball blitzkrieg, the right-hander hit six sixes on the way to 64no to get the visitors home with three balls to spare.

In the fifth match, Faulkner – promoted to No.7 – smoked what was then the fastest ODI hundred by an Australian male (57 balls).

"We knew he could bat," says Doherty, "but in that series he was matching it with (Virat) Kohli and Rohit – plus he could open the bowling and bowl death."

With Faulkner suddenly arriving as one of the world's most formidable one-day cricketers, he quickly found himself considered a key cog in Australia's ODI World Cup planning. That sentiment was only reinforced when he produced another masterpiece, this time against England in January 2014.

This time around Australia had slipped to 7-206 chasing 301 when the 23-year-old allrounder rocked the Gabba courtesy of a stunning 69no from 47 balls that once again saw his side home in the final over.

With another five sixes, it was the new-age version of the 'Finisher' role that had been perfected by Michael Bevan and later Mike Hussey; only Faulkner worried less about gaps and quick running between the wickets, and concerned himself more with clearing pickets.

"He understands now that if (he) can get the game deep he has the power to clear the rope at the end," his teammate Brad Haddin said at the time. "He's a guy who learns quicker than most … (and) he's got that competitive edge you want in a cricket team."

In the middle of 2014, having recovered from arthroscopic surgery that cost him a tour of South Africa, Faulkner was appointed Australia A captain for two first-class matches against India A, in what was a clear sign of how he was being viewed by the national selection panel.

Eight months later he hurriedly overcame a side strain to take his place in the Australian XI midway through the 2015 World Cup. He took 10 wickets in six matches, including three apiece in the semi-final and final, sparking a dramatic Kiwis collapse with two in three balls in the latter.

"I thought I might not be here today," he said upon receiving his Player-of-the-Final award. "So this is an amazing feeling."

As had been the case at the same venue five years earlier, Faulkner was front and centre throughout the victory party. But for the 25-year-old, that feeling would never be repeated.

Two days later, he missed selection in the Test squad for upcoming Caribbean and Ashes assignments, while his ongoing knee issues – and more injuries besides – began to cost him time in Australia's white-ball teams as well.

There was a T20 title success with Lancashire in the 2015 northern summer (Faulkner was the tournament's equal top wicket-taker with 25 in 13 matches), but a drink-driving charge – described by then Cricket Australia high performance boss Pat Howard as "very much out of character" – attracted many more headlines in Australia than his on-field triumph, and resulted in a suspension from the national side.

In 2016, he remained a match-winner at times with the ball – taking Australia's first T20I five-wicket haul and a hat-trick to boot – and retained his place in the world's top five ranked ODI allrounders, but his lower-order impact with the bat faded almost as quickly as it had arrived; in 29 white-ball innings for Australia after that World Cup, he averaged 15 and had a top score of 36.

In the IPL with Gujarat Lions, there were whispers among opposition teams that the magic behind his bag of tricks had been worked out, and he suffered through a tough campaign, taking two wickets in seven matches while going at almost 10 an over. 

"It was a tough period for him, no doubt," Coyle says. "When you're challenged – and he was getting challenged because they were starting to work him out a little bit – you need to go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.

"He was certainly capable of doing that, but his body wouldn't allow him to. It was hard for him to prepare and work on new things when he couldn't bowl a lot at training because of his knees. It's easier said than done when your body's starting to fail you.

"I'm sure he would agree, too, he probably could have done some other things to look after himself better in terms of how his knees were going, but at the end of the day, he just loved playing, and when he was in pain and struggling, he'd still front up."

Faulkner's competitive desire had indeed overridden medical advice at times, as he told The Cricketer in 2021: "I might have pushed through a couple of little niggles or injuries that I probably shouldn't have or wasn't aware of."

In November 2016, the knee issues again came to a head.

"He's been battling his knee for years and managing it," Tigers coach Dan Marsh said at the time. "We have decided with Cricket Australia to send him away to see a surgeon … it's a bit of an unknown at the moment."

Not six months later, Faulkner was a notable omission from both Australia's ICC Champions Trophy squad, and the Cricket Australia contract list.

He played twice more for his country – two ODI defeats in India – and just a month after the second of those, he played his final Shield match in November 2017. As Tasmania reached another decider, the man who had once led such charges was managing his chronic knee problem. He was still only 27.

"He is at the crossroads in his career a little bit, I reckon," said Tigers head coach Adam Griffith in February 2018. "He missed an IPL contract and he is back out of the Australian team.

"But he is in a pretty good space … we want to give him every opportunity to make sure he can work his way back into the team. If he puts his mind to it, I don't think we have seen the last of James."

* * *

The return of prodigal son Faulkner to Hobart for the 2018-19 Big Bash should have been the first stage of a happy homecoming. By then he had prioritised the short format (he didn't play at all for Tasmania that summer) and, body willing, looked capable of having an impact with the Hurricanes.

The middle of his three seasons in purple was comfortably Faulkner's best, as he worked through his knee issues to deliver something approaching his finest form with the ball in capturing 18 wickets (seventh most in the competition).

Yet 25 matches out of 44 told another tale. The Hurricanes played two finals in that time and lost both matches, with their marquee man missing out with the bat on each occasion and returning a combined 1-85 from 7.5 overs.

The contract negotiation that followed is now an infamous chapter in the Faulkner story. First Griffith, then Faulkner in response, spoke publicly about the breakdown in discussions. Griffith said the offer – including the potential for an extension based off performance – was fair; Faulkner called it "embarrassing" and said he felt as though Griffith, a fellow Launceston product whom Faulkner had known since he was a kid, was "sticking a knife straight into my back".

The matter turned into a controversial affair that brought Faulkner's time at Cricket Tasmania to a messy end.

"To be honest, it was quite simple," recounts Simon Insley, who was Cricket Tasmania's general manager of high performance at the time. "After a few years James was coming out of what was a big contract. He'd had quite a few injury issues, missed a lot of game time.

"So Tassie's view of his playing value for the next season was very different to what James and his management viewed to be his playing value.

"The list manager and coach were wanting to sign him, but … there was a feeling that his skillset, with his injury record, was replaceable. Hence the offer being what it was.

"Face-to-face conversations probably didn't happen as much as they should've. It was played through the agent, and we couldn't agree on terms.

"There was a lot of communication from his management about what Jimmy had done, with a looking-back focus. We always view a contract negotiation with a looking-forwards focus.

"So he went off and did the PSL (Pakistan Super League), and that was the end of his career … it was all a bit of a sad end, really."

In the space of six months, one acrimonious exit became two. In February 2022, Faulkner left the PSL in the midst of a payment dispute, allegedly throwing his bat and helmet at a chandelier from a hotel lobby balcony following a discussion with a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official, then leaving for the airport (he reportedly paid for the damage).

The PCB called Faulkner's behaviour "reprehensible" and banned him from future tournaments, while Faulkner tweeted his side of the story, saying: "the treatment I have received has been a disgrace".

He never played again.

* * *

It is more than three years now since the PSL incident, and 34-year-old Faulkner, who is younger than the likes of his former Australia teammates Smith and Starc, who continue to shine on the international stage, has quietly drifted away from the game.

Sources close to the situation say he is rarely seen around Cricket Tasmania nowadays, with a feeling that hubris perhaps prevented him from accepting a reduced contract with the Hurricanes back in 2021, which might in turn have led to the more dignified exit he had envisioned.

"He's an affable, loved person," one source says. "But the self-confidence that worked in his favour as a player actually became part of his undoing."

Faulkner remains close to the Jubb family, who have over the years guided him through the unfamiliar world of hospitality (as well as Shipwrights, he part-owns a sports bar called Pavilion on the nearby Salamanca strip).

He has also dabbled in property development, and like many retired cricketers, spends much of his leisure time playing golf.

Coyle, who has known Faulkner since he was a small child, having played at Launceston Cricket Club with Faulkner Sr, describes James as a "wonderful young man", and Doherty supports that sentiment.

"He's a lovable guy, and for people who don't know him, that can take them by surprise," he says. "He's also got strong family values – he's really close to his mum and dad, his sisters. And that comes through any time you talk to him." 

A keen fisherman, Faulkner has a property on Coles Bay at the entrance to the world-famous Freycinet National Park, around 200km north of Hobart. There he can often be found casting a line into the bay's cool, deep blue waters.

As far as Coyle can tell, there is no ruefulness, no reflective moments pondering what might have been had the back half of his cricket career panned out differently. Another source insists he "isn't exactly wallowing in a pit of despair".

"I think he's pretty content," Coyle says. "I speak to him now, and there are no regrets about the fact his career didn't go on as long as it maybe should've done. He made a big impact in a relatively short period of time."

In 2023, Faulkner and his partner Fay got engaged – a life decision Coyle believes will serve his former charge well.

"He's very lucky," he smiles. "It'll be good for him to settle down and maybe have a family soon, because he's still got that (social) streak in him. But that's OK."

And that streak means that if you happen to mosey on into the Shipwrights Arms in Battery Point, you might just share a bar, or even a beer, with a World Cup winner. 

James Faulkner did not respond to attempts to reach him for this story.