Clive Rose, and the best of both worlds

In the American classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz published in 1900, L. Frank Baum had paved the yellow brick road as an allegory to negotiating one's own voyages. Dorothy's trek along the path shed light on how one can embark on their own journeys, and successfully at that. Taking that road, however, is as much about knowing yourself as it is about treading the path; the first steps towards which begin with just the knowing.

Whether or not he knew much else, Clive Rose, the left-arm orthodox spinner hailing from Victoria, always knew he wanted to be a cricketer. It comes as little surprise given the hordes that have transcended from backyards to playing fields on Australian shores.

"I started playing outdoor cricket since the time I could walk," Rose told Cricbuzz with a laugh. "My dad took me down to his club, the Cavaliers, in Oakleigh, where he had been playing and I started training with the Under-12s at the age of six. When I turned seven or eight, I played my first Under-12s match."

Rose slowly made his way up the rungs of junior level cricket in Victoria. He made the Australia Under-19 squad for the World Cup in 2008, where he picked up nine wickets in five matches at an average of 8.55. In 2011-12 season, he played his first List A game for Victoria and there has been no looking back since. He made his first-class debut in the Sheffield Shield in 2012-13 and began scaling new heights.

That outdoor cricket was augmented by its indoor cousin for Rose only enhanced the experience, proficiency and his involvement in cricket from a young age.

"I've been playing indoor cricket since I was 12-13. I used to go watch my dad play in the Wednesday night competition. I started playing with him. I have been playing in the state (Victoria) team for the last 4-5 years."

His participation reaped rewards aplenty. So much so that, he had the chance of representing Australia in an indoor cricket World Cup - an opportunity that left him at the crossroads, with his desire for either put to test.

"I got picked in the World Cup team in 2013, but playing outdoor cricket prevented me from (playing in the World Cup). It was during the Matador One-Day cup, so I couldn't be a part of it. I was a little disappointed. Obviously, I wanted to play for Australia in any format of indoor or outdoor cricket. So I was a little disappointed I couldn't play, but that said, I got picked to play for Tasmania in the Matador Cup, so that was nice," said Rose.

Eight-ball overs, and runs counted by the distance travelled by the ball and the number of bounces it takes evoke childhood memories of gully cricket. Little did majority know that it was being played professionally in some parts of the world.

"Like outdoor cricket has Twenty20 Internationals, One-Day Internationals and Tests, indoor has the six-a-side competition and an eight-a-side one. Most of the top-league indoor cricket is an eight-a-side one, which is played at 16 overs an innings.

"In 16 overs, everybody bowls two eight-ball overs. You also get to bat four overs. If you get out, you lose five runs but you keep batting for your quota of four overs. In outdoor cricket, if you're out, then you're out. Another difference is that you don't need as much protective gear as a batsmen in indoor cricket because the ball is a lot softer."

While indoor cricket is played in the nets where the ball is softer and can bounce off, outdoor cricket is played with a harder ball in the open. All the same, one would wonder how different the sub-sects of the same sport are for one to master both realms just as successfully.

"I don't think skill-wise both games are much different. I believe that playing both can be an advantage. The good thing about indoor cricket is that you have to be able to bat, bowl and field. All the players have to bat for four overs and bowl two. You have to also be able to field at any given position. So everybody gets a go. Sometimes in outdoor cricket, you can go to a game and not bowl or bat, but in indoor cricket, you have to bat, bowl and field - all in one game," adds Rose.

What, however, makes indoor cricket quite intriguing is the manner in which the runs are amassed.

"Each net has a value on it," Rose explains. "So if you hit the back net without touching any other net, then you score six runs plus the number of runs you run. For example, if you get six and run one, then you get seven runs in total. If you hit the ball on the ground and it hits the back net, then you get four plus whatever you run, so probably five for that.

"If you hit one of the side nets, then you get one extra run above what you've run. If you hit the side nets and then the back net, you get three plus whatever you run. The maximum number of runs you can score in one delivery is seven."

Life is all about choices, but they come at a price. In this case, while being an integral part of both formats of cricket, Rose has made his preference clear; but his choice doesn't necessarily have to be in tandem with his enjoyment of the other.

"I've always enjoyed indoor cricket more because you're always in the game. Whether you're bowling or batting. Even while fielding the ball comes to you more often than in outdoor cricket, so there's always a chance to do something. Also, sometimes, you might not be able to bowl or bat, but in indoor cricket, you'll definitely get a go, so you'll need quick reflexes and will need to be really fit and agile, as a fielder especially," he adds.

It was only expected that Rose would have had apprehensions about picking one over the other when he was faced with the predicament. However, an endorsement from someone as revered as Kumar Sangakkara could only etch in stone that he belonged here.

"Kumar Sangakkara was there at the function, and the discussion was the Australian team and what's going to happen here and there. Kumar hadn't said much - there were three or four of us there chatting - and someone said 'What about spin bowling?' and out of the blue Kumar said 'What about that Clive Rose guy? I really like the look of him'," Ian Chappell had said in 2013.

That, however, is only the start. Rose earned himself a contract with Hobart Hurricanes for this season's Big Bash League, where he will get to play alongside Sangakkara. "I'm looking forward to playing with Kumar Sangakkara," he gushed. "He's with Hobart this year. I've met him a few times before and he's a great bloke and I'd like to learn much more about the game. I'm hoping to draw from my experiences in previous seasons and hopefully get more games this year."

At the end of the domestic season in 2012, Rose left his home state of Victoria - where he was third in the spin pecking order - for a contract with Tasmania. Despite the move, the Melbourne Stars handed him a two-year deal.

"I learnt a lot from Melbourne Stars," said Rose. "There were some world class players there.... I learnt a lot about the game, about the run chases, how to bowl to particular batters, what it takes to be a world-class player like a lot of them were and what I need to do to improve and do mentally to succeed at this level.

"I'm looking forward to taking my game to the next level this year and learn about the 20-20 game from a different group of players," he said humbly.

Rose now finds himself hoping to orchestrate the same tune as he has in indoor cricket. Just like in the fairy tale, Rose discovered that all the answers to the queries he might have been faced with were answered with what he already possessed. His premature career is evidence to each of us having our own yellow brick road to choose; after all, it is the choices that make us who we really are.