The timeless Adam Voges

At 35, life just begins here for Adam Voges.

At 35, many careers reach the twilight, one usually don’t give caps for someone to start afresh knowing the long term goals. The body catches up with the growing age. Fragility becomes visible. Reflexes start coming down. There will be a spate of burden looming large to justify continuity.

To someone who is into the peak 30’s, it is inevitably a time when one’s career reaches a tipping point. Many players start pondering about retirement but for Adam Voges, the life just begins here.

Serving the game relentlessly for over a decade demands mental toughness and the resilience to sustain the lowest points. Frustration creeps in with impatience sometimes when the desired results aren’t fruitful. And the repercussions of it can impact the on-field performances. In the process, it becomes pivotal to keep the zeal going and not to fall-back in emotions and enthusiasm.

For many years that followed since 2004, Adam Voges was on the same track and was one of those men who spent a hell lot of time on the fringes of Australian cricket selection waiting for a coveted opportunity to be seized.

When he set off as a player, predominantly known to be as a middle order batsman for Western Australia in 2006-07, he developed the reputation of being almost impossible to be removed from the crease. He was the glue that was holding his state team propping up the batting order. He transformed into a run accumulator in the domestic circuit piling up biggest hundreds and vital match-winning scores.

The run of glory Voges was basking upon, it was supposed to be the perfect time to infuse the young blood into the national test team of what could have been a beginning of one of the beautifying careers in Australian cricket history. But the invincible era Australia relished during 2003-2008, it was out of the question to dispense anyone from the core middle order. The forced brush off from the Test selection Voges confronted was the start of the many heart-breaking stints.

Voges knew the spacing in Australian batting order was very limited and he had to do something more than inducing a belief of his potential to earn his way into the Test side. His reputation was growing in size. He already established himself as a prolific batsman in the first-class arena. But there seems to be something more he wanted to add to his career.

He played matches after matches for months, years and eventually for a decade becoming a veteran. He penned his own script setting distinct records. Yet, there was some flair that was lacking to be noticed for the national selection. The biggest of scores he amassed were hard to ignore but had to be ignored due to high quality in the national team. He was enduring the pain of being snubbed just when the things started to become much blurrier in Voges life.

Despite having got to show the numbers of greater magnitude to justify his inclusion, Voges age was growing along with his experience. He gradually reached the 30’s and was no longer an enterprising youngster hailing from Western Australia who was at the pinnacle of his career.

But the indomitable optimism Voges owned to see himself in the Baggy green shades never subside. The zeal was ever present and the hope was always flaring. The path he had to go at it being on the verge of an ageing career required a painstaking effort to forge ahead. He always knew where he was standing and where he was actually heading. He recognized age was on the wrong side of his cricketing career to be the attention grabber but also realized that performance was the ultimate thing - which he was accustomed showing it relentlessly all over the years.

It is generally a hindrance for any veteran when a youngster performance hovers as a large shadow over the experience of a veteran. National selectors thrust to infuse the young blood into the team with a view of the long-term benefit to counter the transitional period. But Voges realized an experience that comes with performance would be something hard to be brushed off. He came to the terms with reality understanding that the middle order in the national team is palely weak having a deficiency in experience. And if he can be the guy scoring most of the runs in an all-important competition, he would be awarded irrespective of the age.

The manner Voges cumulated runs with glaring consistency and having a technique that seems viable even at 35 became hard to be brushed aside. He also had an incredible fitness regime who could run as fast as he did as a youngster. The concentration was focused without any lapse and his reflexes were still sharp to support his batting technique.

The vigilance and grit Voges displayed was a culmination of the decade of maturity he developed as a cricketer over the years. Perhaps it was the best time than ever before to reward for his accomplishments. The test call-up was truly overdue. And it was preposterous that it took so long. To savor the moment of pride donning the baggy green cap after 9 years of toil and unflinching accumulation of 160 first class games can invoke bitterness. But nonetheless, Voges seized the coveted opportunity with relief. And also it came at the right time when Australia was in quest of finding a vigilant force that could prop up the middle order with experience.

The milestone Adam Voges etched at Dominica is the start of many more glorious knocks to follow. The lack of proper experience in the middle order apart from Michael Clarke magnifies Voges role in the Australian setup even more. The experience he accumulated over the years is immeasurable and at 35, this marks a new beginning for Voges to knit and stitch the falling perches of the Australian middle order carrying the mantle forth into the future.