Just over a year before the 2020 Indoor Cricket World Cup, Australia has won the Trans-Tasman Series 2019 held in New Zealand earlier this month. The series concluded on September 14 in Palmerston North.
This series is played between Australia and New Zealand on a three-year rotating basis.
Jay Jhamb, a 19-year-old Australian cricketer of Punjabi origin, is a member of Australia’s national indoor cricket team and was awarded the Man of the Match Award in the final match of this bilateral series.
This young Australian cricketer chose indoor cricket over its more common outdoor version, for which people of Indian descent the world over are usually extremely passionate.
Jay Jhamb (batting) during the Trans-Tasman Series 2019. Source: Supplied
“My father played the Ranji Trophy in India during his younger days. I inherited interest in the game from him and there has been no looking back,” says this Melbourne-based all-rounder in fluent Punjabi.
He was the only cricketer from Victoria in the Australian U-21 team, adding that he "plays indoor cricket during winters and outdoor cricket during summers."
To hear his interview with SBS Punjabi, click on the audio link above.
So apart from playing in an enclosed space, how is indoor cricket different from traditional outdoor cricket?
“Indoor cricket is very fast and requires quicker reflexes, higher speed and more stamina, as compared to outdoor cricket. Its format is very different from outdoor cricket. A 16-over match is played in two hours, every team has eight players and there’s negative marking. If a batsman is out, the team’s score falls by five runs. You can’t get out as that lets your team down in this format,” explains Mr Jhamb who is also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business from Victoria University in Melbourne.
His mother, Jaspreet, shares how the family had to reorganise their life around his training.
“There were days when my husband had to manage the kitchen himself as I would be out with Jay,” says she.
Sunny Bakshi, a Melbourne-based businessman and a close friend of the Jhamb family weighed in on the dedication of Jay’s parents in shaping his success.
“On weekends, when most of us were partying, the Jhambs were busy in cricket training. Whether it was an early morning or late evening session, they never missed it out in favour of socialising,” says Mr Bakshi who travelled with Jay to New Zealand for the Trans-Tasman Series.
"It was fantastic to see Jay starring in Australia's victory over New Zealand. I'm really proud of him", he said.
Click on the player at the top of this page to listen to the full interview with Jay Jhamb and Jaspreet Jhamb.
