Shaun regains his mental edge

Paceman Shaun Tait's passion for cricket has returned and Australia is reaping the benefits. Picture: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

The demands of playing and touring. It seemed just about every nuance of cricket at the top level disagreed with the salt-of-the-earth kid from the Adelaide Hills who craved bowling fast and just keeping things simple.

It wasn't so long ago that Tait, who settled into Sri Lankan life yesterday with the Australian World Cup squad, was nearly lost to cricket.

He rails at the suggestion he suffered depression. Regardless, he was at breaking point, physically and mentally wasted, a shell of the bowling tearaway who former Australian left-arm quick Bruce Reid once predicted would take 200 Test wickets.

But, three years on, having survived his darkest days when he embarked on a 10-month hiatus from cricket, Tait has built a record that has rubber-stamped him as one of the most successful Australian bowlers in World Cup history.

The South Australian's 3/35 against the Kiwis on Friday saw him join the legendary Kapil Dev with 28 World Cup wickets. The Indian allrounder played 26 matches. Tait needed just 13.

If he continues his romp, Tait will surpass Shane Warne (32 wickets) and Brad Hogg (34) during this tournament, leaving him behind only Glenn McGrath (71) among Australia's most prolific World Cup bowlers.

Those close to Tait, such as former Redbacks teammate Darren Lehmann, can recall how low the speedster once sank, and the fight he showed to haul himself back.

It is why Lehmann now believes Tait, for all his detractors, has the mental fortitude to propel Australia to a fourth consecutive World Cup.

"It means a lot to see him fit and firing again," says Lehmann, who was one of Tait's confidantes when he temporarily quit cricket in January 2008.

"It was exciting to see him bowling fast the other day (against the Kiwis). In that form, he can take this side a long way.

"It was a really tough time. I saw what he went through, he wasn't enjoying cricket, so it's just great to see him back bowling well and happy again."

During his time out of cricket, Tait searched every facet of his soul. He sought out Marcus Trescothick. The England opener had battled the Black Dog. He knew the demons engulfing Tait.

"I wasn't enjoying it, even playing for the Redbacks," Tait admitted recently.

"I was just going through the motions for the sake of it. When you're not enjoying being out on the field for your country, there's something wrong.

"It's no-one else's fault, it was just the way I felt."

Now healed, Tait has been given a licence to rip and tear at the World Cup. Skipper Ricky Ponting accepts there may be the odd costly spell, but he is backing Tait to produce the form that saw him take 23 wickets at the last World Cup.

"He probably hasn't bowled as well as he can with the brand new ball just yet, and (the New Zealand game) was a pretty good example of that," Ponting said.

"He's just got to keep it in the back of his head that he's going to get probably four or five spells to come back and have an impact for us.

"I don't care who we're playing against or where we're playing, if we get Shaun, Mitch (Johnson) and Brett (Lee) bowling as well as they can, then it's going to be hard work for any team batting against us.

''There was a lot made about our attack at the start of the tournament but people are probably starting to change their minds and their opinions now."