Ashes 2017/18: Marcus Stoinis Eyes Big Following Dad’s Death

Sometimes it’s not all about being marred by an injury or dip in the form for a professional cricketer at the highest-level to suffer the heat.

To be precise, it could be more of a personal matter which eventually saw the Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis falling in the line and living through the pain, before considering a big leap in the cricketing world owing to his tough character followed by the courage and the commitment.

“Those couple of months that I got at home with Dad – it was hard to make those decisions at the time – but looking back, they were just moments I’ll treasure forever,” Stoinis told Cricket Australia.

While knitting the dream to make his dad, Chris, proud, Stoinis worked hard and excelled in the domestic fold, as he is looking forward to taking the massive challenge – to shape up well during the early days of his international career for Australia.

Eyeing for a momentum, the 28-year-old Perth-born Stoinis has had shut his way for a while – to spend quality time with his ailing father recently when the promising prospect was gearing up for the Test pick in the Australian squad.

“It’s not in any bit of a disrespectful way. But I was nervous about getting picked,” Stoinis maintained.

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When things didn’t go well for a reason, Marcus had been forced to return to home in the recent past – to take care of his dad in the pursuit of a cementing his spot in the national team led by Steven Smith.

Opting for the invaluable time back home to nurse his deceased father, who was suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is a sort of the blood cancer; Stoinis has battled out the infliction of the pain to set the impetus – to return to what he had dreamt off long back, after his day passed away at the age of 60 in November 2017.

“Dad had gone on so long fighting and longer than he probably should have. It would have probably broken me if I had gotten picked just after he passed,” Stoinis maintained.

Chris was undergoing the major medication procedure; the disease he was suffering from – has the potential of affecting the lymphatic system which is the part of a circulatory system of the human body.

With the storm ravaging inside, it’s pertinent to mention Stoinis was considered one of the contenders for the number six spot for the ongoing Magellan Ashes 2017-18 when Cricket Australia selectors were observing the JLT Sheffield Shield competition for the first three rounds of the four-day tournament.

“It’s still the dream and I’ve got every plan to play a lot of Test cricket for Australia. I’ve been quite vocal about it and I’m confident about it,” Stoinis revealed.

However, the much-talked-about spot subsequently saw Shaun Marsh making into the national set-up for the traditional series against England in which Australia is leading by 2-0 with the third Test slated in Perth on December 14.

“It would have been very tough for Dad to miss out on that so close after his passing,” Stoinis added.

However, Stoinis who found himself in the mix for his ability to contribute both with the bat and the ball for the national side which further saw him further focusing on his fitness and bringing himself closer to make the Test debut before things worsened back home for the talented cricketer.

Banking on his strength and relying on his optimistic approach, Stoinis earlier expressed he would cherish to don the white jersey for Australia in the foreseeable future.

“I’m enjoying my cricket still. I can’t really describe what I’m feeling,” Stoinis further added.

After missing out on the deal with the state-side Western Australia in the past, Stoinis made a remarkable return in Melbourne to impress the selectors for the limited-overs cricket.

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Following his father’s death, Stoinis had withdrawn from the game in Perth against South Australia before the squad Australian squad was announced.

“There’s no blueprint. Every day you just see how you’re feeling. Some days you’re sad, some days you’re OK,” Stoinis concluded.

In three first-class match of the Shield competition so far, Stoinis went wicketless which further saw him scoring just 103 runs in five innings.

Stoinis is pretty sure that his father would be overseeing him while being on the national duty.

Stoinis, who made his international debut against England in 2015 at Cardiff, went on to play eight One-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals for Australia.