In it to spin it - Young leggie O'Connell set to burst back onto state scene
Written by Will Faulkner
Young Victorian state leg-spinner Tom O’Connell is back doing what he does best; turning cricket balls and turning heads.
The 21-year old, known as ‘Toc’ by his mates, is training with a level of confidence both mentally and physically that he hasn’t experienced since playing at his home club Sturt back in Adelaide four years ago.
Ready and raring to take on the upcoming season, O’Connell has his eyes on reclaiming his spot in the Victorian one-day side - as well as a long-awaited Sheffield Shield debut in the longer format.
In between all this, his desire to play as many games this season for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash will only further his case as the go-to leg-spinner at his respective clubs.
However, O’Connell’s path to a professional cricketing contract was nowhere near as clear cut as his aspirations this season; having represented home state South Australia in several sports as a junior.
While baseball and volleyball were always talents of his, the decision to pursue either cricket or football at the top level was not easy.
Fresh off an Under 16 Best & Fairest at Glenelg, his subsequent selection in the State U16 squad made it that little bit harder to pick cricket long-term.
“As much as I loved my footy, I always knew deep down that my heart lied with cricket”, Tom said.
“My (cricket) contract ended up coming before the back end of my draft year; I actually gave up footy when I knew I was a chance of a contract.” The cherry on top for O’Connell and his rise to professional stardom was his 2017/18 season for Sturt, taking a competition-high 47 wickets in a season that saw the Blues make the grand final.
Having dominated junior district cricket as a child, O'Connell burst onto the 1st Grade scene at
just 16 years of age - Photo credit: Unknown
“I was very lucky to play alongside club legends like Alex Gregory and Simon Roberts; they were awesome mentors for me to have as a young bowler”, Tom said of the former Redbacks players.
A month later, after receiving a phone call from skipper Peter Handscomb welcoming him to the Bushrangers, Tom packed his bags and raced onto the domestic scene in September 2018 for his newly adopted state Victoria.
Playing four List A games in just 11 days, O’Connell took eight wickets in what was a remarkable first glimpse at what the young leggie had to offer.
It became clear very quickly that not many could put revolutions on the ball like Toc – in fact, Australian white-ball spinner Mitch Swepson is the only other leg-spinner in the country who spins it as much as he does.
However, as quickly as Toc was in the eleven, he was out. Replaced by Fawad Ahmed for the remainder of the tournament, O’Connell was 13th man for a winning Victoria team in the one-day cup final.
“To play a part in winning a one-day cup tournament for Victoria was a very cool experience as an 18-year-old, but at the same time I was a bit flat I didn’t play in the final.” The rest of his first season was heavily consumed by club cricket at Monash and Big Bash commitments with the Melbourne Stars, where he played four games in January 2019.
Tom O'Connell and Nic Maddison making their List A debuts for Victoria, vs. Queensland, September 16, 2018 - Photo Source: Getty Images
After his much-hyped first season in Victoria, the 2019/20 season for Tom was a hard one; marred heavily by a stress fracture in his lower back from a bowling overload.
Such was the extent of his stress fracture, he ended up leaving the field of a warm-up game between the Stars and Melbourne Renegades after only one over of bowling.
From there on in, O’Connell’s performances at club and representative level (Monash, Victoria 2nd XI and CA XI) were undoubtedly impacted, finishing the season wounded as well as doubts over his own game.
One month into the cricketing off-season, and the COVID-19 pandemic had well and truly swept across Australia, putting all cities into lockdown indefinitely.
After moving temporarily to Adelaide for the first of the lockdowns, he found himself stuck in Williamstown by himself in Melbourne's second, more severe lockdown.
A period that was meant to be full of recovery and rest, had turned into a gruelling mental battle with himself.
Additionally, the online content revolving around the leg-spinner that was once so glistening, began to turn into criticism from faceless trolls online; quizzing his ability to successfully perform at a professional level.
Isolated from many of his family and childhood friends back home, O’Connell truly questioned his move interstate away from those he loved most.
“I rung my old man a few times during the lockdown saying I want to come home, what am I doing here?”
When asked as to how close he was to moving back to his home state, the response was as raw as they come. “I was close - really, really close. There were times where I told myself I had made the wrong call, and should head back to Adelaide”, O’Connell exclaimed.
A dejected O'Connell walks off the ground after being dismissed in a List A game, 2018 - Photo Source: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Despite his doubts, Toc stayed true to the plan; instead opting to relocate within the state south-west to Geelong.
Labelling his move ‘the best decision he’s ever made’, his mental health and self-belief was slowly restored as he was welcomed with open arms at ‘The Cattery’.
Moving down the coast allowed Toc to surf more frequently, and take his mind away from work in regular intervals.
The hobby that he was introduced to in high school by his best friend allowed him to deal with a year that was very tough for everyone, and gave him enough fresh air to reenergise and keep himself on track.
The 2020/21 season saw a much-improved O’Connell performing well for his new club Geelong, taking 13 wickets in a heavily-reduced COVID season.
His new-found balance with life away of cricket has only gotten better as time goes on, regularly playing golf and spending quality time with mates from the Bushrangers, Geelong or university.
Qualified in personal training, Tom has also been working recently with owner of the Geelong Athlete Centre David Morgan; a gym designed specifically for aspiring young athletes like himself.
“It’s a bloody good set up down there; they’ve managed to meet a gap in the market between regular gyms and professional facilities for athletes. David and all the people down there are just great”.
It's been a unique road to his fourth season at the Bushrangers, but Toc wouldn't have it any other way - Photo Source: Unknown
The last three years for O’Connell have been tougher than expected, but heading into his fourth year at the Bushrangers, there isn’t much he would change.
“I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason, and then you learn from it.” “In hindsight, I should’ve got my stress fracture in my second year checked earlier. Having said that, I don’t think I would’ve had as good a pre-season this year if I hadn’t learned from it and remodelled my action accordingly.” Late last year, Stars teammate and Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis outlined to O’Connell how far he had come, encouraging him to be proud of his monumental progress at such a young age.
Recent guest speakers at Victorian pre-season trainings such as Dylan Buckley and Gerard Whateley have also been pivotal in putting the 21-year-old’s position into perspective, and only motivated him more for the upcoming season.
“From a young age, I have always told myself to just enjoy playing cricket. There were times during 2019 and 2020 that I may have lost that, but now more than ever I’m enjoying where I am”, said a confident Toc.
With the season now only just over a month away from starting, there is no shortage of excitement around O’Connell’s game and where it can take him this year.
From the revolutions on his bowling to his handy lower-order batting, Tom O’Connell is in it to win it - and spin it – like no season before.