CS Team of the Century | Taking an opportunity: Ryan Sidebottom’s rapid rise to first-class cricket

In the lead-up to the ceremony, The News will run special feature pieces on all 30 players, before the release of a commemorative magazine on November 25.

From running down the famed slope at cricket’s spiritual home Lord’s to making his Sheffield Shield debut for Victoria — the game has taken Northerners product Ryan Sidebottom to great heights.

But if it wasn’t for a conversation with local legend Rohan Larkin after a 2009-10 Haisman Shield grand final loss to Central Park-St Brendan’s the trajectory of not only his cricket career, but his life could have been incredibly different.

A 19-year-old opening bowler for Karramomus at the time, Sidebottom reflected on that interaction and how it shaped the rest of his cricket journey.

“A lot of what I managed to achieve in cricket stems from that grand final we played against Central Park in 2009-10,” Sidebottom said.

“It was a losing grand final, but I remember after the game having a great chat with Rohan Larkin and it was him who put the thought in my mind and asked if I’d be interested in going down to Melbourne and taking my game to the next level.

“He said that he thought I was definitely good enough to give it a crack, and without that conversation I don’t think it would have happened, because he’s gone on and made contact with the Carlton Cricket Club who gave me that opportunity to play Premier Cricket.

“When I see him (Larkin) next I’ll definitely have to buy him a beer.”

But while that conversation was the flame that ignited Sidebottom’s rise to first class cricket, it was growing up at Tallygaroopna where his passion for sport was born.

One of five brothers — that includes Collingwood football legend Steele — Sidebottom grew up desperately wanting to follow the lead of his elders, which subsequently led him to the game of cricket.

“Growing up as one of five sport-crazed boys there was always plenty going on at home, whether it was a football, cricket ball or tennis racquet we would always be doing something,” he said.

“So when it came to how my cricket career started it was really just me wanting to do what my older brothers were doing.

“My first memories of playing cricket were in the back garden with my four brothers and I think those battles really shaped my development, because you get sick of losing pretty quick and have to work out a way to win.

“All that I have been able to do in the game really comes from those games of cricket with my brothers in the backyard.”

Having built a solid foundation at home, Sidebottom would take his budding talents to local cricket club Northerners, where he would play all of his junior cricket before shifting to Old Students to play in the seniors.

Frequently moving around the region in the 2000s, an opportunity to play A-grade with brothers Trent and Tyson would eventually bring him to Karramomus, where he took part in the losing grand final of 2009-10 before taking his talents to Melbourne.

Truly finding his groove as an opening bowler while playing for Premier outfit Carlton, he explained what was a meteoric rise into the state set-up.

The peak of Sidebottom’s rapid rise would come in March 2013, where after a string of strong performances in Victoria’s second XI he was handed a surprise Sheffield Shield debut against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval.

“I got selected in the 14-man squad for the game, but remember being told when I was picked that I was more-so heading down for the experience of being around the group — I wasn’t expecting to actually play,” Sidebottom said.

“But when we got down there everyone was told to prepare like they were going to play, but at the time I had no idea how to prepare for a Shield game, so the build up was a bit bizarre for me.

“We then rocked up the next morning and they didn’t announce the team until the toss, so I was just doing a bit of fielding and the captain Cam White came over, told me the news and from there the rest was just a blur.”

Opening the bowling, Sidebottom would take the wicket of Mark Cosgrove as he finished the first innings with figures of 1-68 before backing it up with a second innings return of 0-25.

Unfortunately Victoria was handsomely beaten in the match and Sidebottom would never feature in another Shield encounter.

Spending the next three seasons battling away in the seconds and in Premier Cricket, he was eventually let go by Victoria, prompting him to make another life changing move.

“After not being offered a contract with Victoria I was a bit unsure of what to do, but with Mum being born in the UK I made the call to get my English passport and made the call to go over to England with no real expectations,” he said.

“I just wanted to enjoy the English summer and have a life experience, but halfway through playing some second grade games I got a call from Ashley Giles, the director at Warwickshire at the time, and they showed some interest.

“One thing led to another and incredibly I went from playing club cricket in June to debuting at Lord’s in August.”

Having been part of Birmingham-based County club Warwickshire since that fateful summer of 2017, Sidebottom has continued to take his game to new heights during the past five years, enjoying some incredible highlights along the way.

“Over my time with Warwickshire I’ve been lucky enough to play at Lord’s four times now, and being able to be part of the history of that ground is very special,” he said.

“Last season we were also crowned County champions, I only played a small part of it, but a small part is better than no part and being part of that team was certainly a highlight.

“I’ve now built a life over in England as well, I’m married and have got a four-month-old baby girl, so I do owe a lot to the game of cricket.”