- SBS Journalist John Baldock has won the award for the Best Story on the NSW Blues from Cricket NSW for this piece.
- John received the award at the Hilton Hotel on April 3 during the Steve Waugh medal ceremony with newly crowned World Cup winners Michael Clarke, Mitchell Starc and Shane Watson.
For the son of Indian parents, it was only fitting that Australian cricketer Gurinder Sandhu made his international debut against India in January.
His early wicket in that match and two more in his second match against England have given him the belief a baggy green isn’t too far away.
“It was a great experience for me and I was very excited to get my first One Day International cap for Australia,” he said.
He missed out on a spot in the World Cup squad, but he’s done enough to earn a contract with the Delhi Daredevils in the lucrative Indian Premier League later this month.
And the understated Sandhu said he wasn’t even sure he’d get a gig.
“So far I’ve been pretty lucky, touch wood, but you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow so you take it game by game day by day," he said.
That uncluttered approach has served him well, already winning the Steve Waugh medal as the best NSW cricketer for 2012-13 after bursting on the domestic scene with a bang, taking 14 wickets in just two Sheffield Shield matches.
He’s also more than happy to spearhead for Cricket Australia’s drive to get more South Asians living in Australia playing cricket for this country.
But according to Sandhu, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“You talk about the Indian background, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and even New Zealand backgrounds, and you have Samoa as well, they’re big strong boys and they can hit the ball a long way," he said.
If he continues to do a solid job for NSW and in the Indian Premier League, the towering pace bowler will be closer to achieving his goal of adding a Baggy Green to his One Day caps.
The Steve Waugh Medal was won by Peter Nevill, while Alex Blackwell took home the Belinda Clark medal.
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