By Marcus Uhe
Nathan Lambden feels that he is a much better bowler than he was in his early 20s as a tearaway quick that was frightening Premier Cricket batters while rubbing shoulders with the state’s best, finding himself on the fringe of selection for Victoria in domestic cricket.
If only he knew, what he knows now, back then.
Lambden sits equal first on Premier Cricket’s leading wicket takers list for the current campaign with 19 scalps in only five matches at an average of just 12, including five-wicket hauls against Greenvale and Camberwell in back-to-back weeks.
A dedicated regiment of ice baths, cycling, stretching, running and gym work has been one the keys to the fierce competitor’s remarkable consistency, having taken 20-plus wickets in six of his last eight seasons since crossing to Casey South Melbourne from Dandenong, leading to notching his 150th First XI match in Premier Cricket at Casey Fields on Saturday.
For as long as he can remember he wanted to reach 200 games and join Cricket Victoria’s ‘200 Club’ in recognition of his longevity, and at 30 years old he is three-quarters of the way to the mark.
Despite his successes at Premier level, he admits he harbors regrets about not grasping the opportunities afforded to him early in his career.
“That was probably when I didn’t do that stuff and thought ‘I’ve already made it’, when realistically I hadn’t made anything,” Lambden said.
“Talent can only get you a certain way but it’s not going to get you too far if you don’t work hard.
“Cricket Victoria gave me the opportunity, put me in the squads, I trained with them and played a few second XI games, and back then I thought I’d made it.
“I was a lot younger back then too, and it wasn’t until you miss the boat and you’re out of those opportunities that you get a bit older and realise that you’ve actually got to work hard if you want to make it or do anything.
“I worked hard at training when I was at training and on the MCG, bowling to Robert Quiney, Cameron White, Aaron Finch.
“You work hard then.
“It was the extras outside of that, that I do regret not doing.”
But while that door closed early in his career, another opened in the form of a long and rich career at the Swans.
Closing in on 250 wickets, at an average in the low 20s, for the strike bowler are the quantifiables.
The brotherhood and lifelong connections forged from his time in the red and white are much harder to gauge.
Lachlan Sperling, Michael Wallace, and Devin Pollock were all in the playing XI for Lambden’s first game for the Swans back in October 2015, a 115-run loss to Camberwell.
For Lambden’s milestone match, the same three men are expected to joined him on the field to celebrate the occasion.
Six rounds into the 2023/24 season and the Swans look almost unstoppable, the camaraderie and continuity afforded by playing so long together considered major reasons as to why things have clicked early in the campaign.
“I believe that off-field bond and friendship you have, you take that on-field and you play for each other,” Lambden said.
“We’re all basically best mates off the field and on the field, we do everything together and I think it’s the friendship and bond that the players and coaches have made, it’s hard to turn your back on it.
“Everyone is smiling and the new rooms are awesome.”
Lambden, Devlin Webb, Jackson Fry, Ruwantha Kellapotha and captain Luke Shelton have solidified their understandings of one-another’s games to form a lethal quintet headed by Lambden at the front of the pack, despite a shoulder injury at the end of last season limiting his output at training.
“As a group we’ve been playing together for a while now, so we all understand each other, our strengths and weaknesses of how each other play, and we understand each other as a group,” Lambden said.
“Jacko (Jackson Fry) doing what he does every week, he doesn’t get scored against, Webby (Devlin Webb) is hitting the top of the stumps most balls and the fielding has been unreal.
“A lot of credit has to go to them and I’m the one that’s lucky that’s been getting the reward so far.
“The ball is still coming out pretty well, which is nice, but a lot of credit has to go to the other bowlers, at the other end, bowling so tight.
“I’m feeling a lot more consistent and that I’m hitting my line and lengths a lot more than in previous years.”
A feature of the vaunted new pavilion at the Lindsay Hassett Pavilion is the ability for the club to showcase its history and tell the story of Casey South Melbourne Cricket Club, a club that won its third and most recent First XI premiership back in 1968.
The absence of premiership success since has not gone unnoticed, as Lambden revealed in a conversation with star all-rounder Kellapotha.
“We were standing there looking at the shield on the wall and it said that 1967/68 was our last premiership,” he said.
“I said to Ruwy ‘How good would it be when there’s one up there that says 2023/24?’
“That’s what we play for; yes, you play to have fun and be with your mates but ultimately we want success.
“It is early, we’re ticking the boxes so far, but there’s a very long way still to go and there’s still a lot of room for improvement with us.
“The thought of winning one with them boys, it would be unreal, I don’t really have the words to describe it.
“It would be amazing, and a dream come true to be a premiership player, especially for Casey South Melbourne with the history that we’ve got.”
