A few off-season tweaks set up Michael Neser for the best summer of his career
Michael Neser stared out at the pristine water surrounding New Zealand’s Marlborough Sounds scarcely able to believe how the past few months had unfolded.
Not even his tranquil surroundings, as he cast out another fishing line off the northern tip of the country’s South Island, had allowed his Ashes performances to fully sink in.
After all, the Queenslander played three Tests having been called in from outside Australia’s initial squad, and took 15 wickets, which included a five-wicket haul at his home ground, the Gabba.
Neser, along with his wife Olivia and their three children, was on a three-week holiday on the other side of the Tasman Sea, where Olivia’s family lives, for a well-earned rest after a career-best but “gruelling” season.
As the 36-year-old waited patiently for the fish to bite, he was already thinking ahead to next summer rather than looking back to review his breakthrough campaign from the previous one.
Having waited almost three years between his second and third Test caps, the right-arm quick has his sights firmly set on playing as many as possible during a massive 18 months for Australia’s Test team after being rewarded with a national contract for next season.
“Maybe when I retire and I’m done properly it will sink in,” Neser told cricket.com.au in Brisbane after a gym and net session at the National Cricket Centre.
“I’m very proud of what I achieved and to be part of a winning Ashes series is pretty special, and I know I’ll remember that series for the rest of my life.”
When Neser wasn’t named in the Aussies’ 15-player squad for the first Test at Perth Stadium in November, his hopes for impacting the series were low.
Days before the highly anticipated Ashes were due to start, he had just completed a Sheffield Shield match at Perth’s WACA Ground.
But shortly after landing back home in Brisbane, the allrounder was on a plane back across the country to join the squad when fellow fast bowlers Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out of the series opener with hamstring injuries.
While South Australian quick Brendan Doggett got the nod in Perth, spinner Nathan Lyon’s surprise omission for the second Test in Brisbane launched Neser into the XI for his third Test cap, all of which had been day-night matches played with a pink Kookaburra ball (previously 2021 and 2022).
The return of Lyon and captain Pat Cummins in Adelaide saw him sidelined again, but a serious hamstring injury to Lyon opened the door for Neser to play the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney – which were also his first red-ball internationals.
What fans saw was a different Michael Neser.
Admired around the world for his ability with the swinging new ball, the Bulls great had been grinding away with Queensland bowling coach Hamish Bennett throughout the winter months to become less reliant on favourable conditions to get results.
Neser shared the new ball with Mitch Starc in five of his six Ashes innings but took only three of his 15 wickets in his opening spell of the innings.
“Obviously I’ve got that reputation for taking wickets in the first couple of overs, but I’ve worked really hard in this last 12 months on trying to keep my ball speed (up),” Neser said.
“I’ve probably bowled shorter spells than the past but keeping my ball speed to maintain my effectiveness through that middle period (was a priority).