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TUESDAY 10 APRIL 2001 "When you face a fork in the road, step on the exhilarator!!" - NBA coach, Pat Riley. The Redbacks are currently at that fork in the road. I am not going to go through the 'whys' and the 'what ifs' of season 2000-01 but instead highlight the positives of a disappointing year. There has been a lot of soul searching and a lot of excuses thrown around in the past two to three weeks at why we fell away so dramatically at the business end of the season. The decisions to be taken over winter by our coaching and administration departments will be the most important ever made in our history. "This one is going in the pool room." A line from the movie 'The Castle' was the first thing University's Mike Smith had to say when accepting the 2000-01 Bradman Medal. The rest of his speech was fantastic and impressive, much like the record-breaking performance which saw him earn 44 votes and create a gap of eighteen to second place. Mike was simply outstanding during the season for my 'Blacks'; he took ten wickets in a game twice to reach a total of 49 and added 470 runs with one century as well. His vote total equated to second best on ground in every game he played! To top it off, he played the last three games for the Reds and performed well. My good friend Simon Williamson took out the Talbot Smith fielding trophy for the second time as well, to make it a great and also a long night for the University club! Greg Blewett's form after December was simply magnificent. He started with his 260 not out in Brisbane and never let up. He once again scored over 1000 runs for the season and could be a dark horse for the Ashes, an arena in which he has an impressive record. Shane Deitz had his first full season for us this year and scored two centuries and added other very valuable contributions along the way. Shane is an excellent addition to the side with his work ethic, enthusiasm and fielding rubbing off on some the younger players. Mark Harrity and Brett Swain continued to go along quietly and do a fantastic job for the team at various times. These two guys are crucial to the Reds for success in the future. Likewise, Peter McIntyre continued to show the form that grabbed him two Tests a few years ago. Without Macca at one end this team is going to have a hard time replacing him. Our captain Darren Lehmann again showed why he is Darren Lehmann. If you look up persistence in the dictionary you will find a picture of Boof. He continues to rack up the runs and keep the pressure on the Aussie boys year in and year out. If every player in our side took just a little bit from Darren's attitude we would be unbeatable. It was also great to see our debutants get their games at the end of the season and undoubtedly the success story was Paul Rofe. At twenty years of age it is exciting to be able to not only work with him but also watch him grow as a person and a bowler. With his attitude and thirst for learning we will see a very good player for years to come. While I have singled out only a few guys, their performances were worthy of a mention. To the rest of the squad, well done on your hard work and endeavours, and thank you for being yourselves under difficult circumstances. With a new year coming it means new and better things on the horizon. The day we take full responsibility for ourselves, the day we stop making excuses, that's the day we start our journey to the top. Congratulations to the Bulls for once again setting a new benchmark for the rest of us to follow and beat. To have introduced five new players and taken away the Pura Cup was an outstanding effort. Well done to Stuart Law and Bennet King. Personally, I would like to thank CricInfo for giving me the opportunity to write to you every now and then, I have enjoyed it immensely. To my sponsors: Shannah van Eerden and everyone at Bolle Australia for your all-round support; Noel Neitz and everyone at Dynamic Sports and Leisure (Asics); Greg Smyth and all the Gray Nicolls staff and to Dean Chambers at Musashi. Your loyal support is humbling and greatly appreciated. Finally, I wish to thank my beautiful and understanding wife, Larissa, for just being herself. Our partners often go unnoticed but never unappreciated; without them life would be unfulfilled. As I write this we are to become parents for the first time over the next few days and we can't wait! See you all soon, Blocker
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