Ben’s the mane man
The label as a blue-collar swing merchant sits comfortably with Leopold’s Ben Horne. Despite being parked for a handful of years behind higher profiled pacemen, the 22-yearold is now seeking to establish himself in a senior new-ball role in a Lions’ side determined to make an impression in the GCA’s top tier. As the GCA1 competition prepares to resume after a rain-induced break, the part-time engineering student is setting his mind to orchestrating the demise of Grovedale at Burdoo Reserve.
WES CUSWORTH: How did you get your start in the game?
BEN HORNE: Dad’s (Cameron Horne) been playing cricket as long as I can remember, so I’ve always been down at the club. I started at under-11s and then progressed through 13s, 15s and 17s before making my way into the senior group. Next thing you know you’re making your first XI debut.
WC: I believe you got the call-up from Sriram Krishnamurthy, who has since gone on to become a development coach at firstclass level with Wellington in New Zealand.
BH: That’s right. It was January 2015 and I was 17. I hadn’t come off a good game or anything like that, but I’d been training well. It was a terribly wet and windy day against South Barwon and unfortunately it was a game we just lost.
WC: When did you begin to feel at home at first XI level?
BH: Initially I was bowling second change after James Menzies and Tim Marshall. I don’t think you ever feel at home until you start to take a few wickets. I didn’t have a breakout game as such, but you just reach a point where you feel confident that no one will take your place.
WC: Have you sensed a little more responsibility since Tim Marshall has been sidelined with that finger injury sustained in Round 1?
BH: Absolutely. Sheriff (Marshall) is Mr Consistent. My first couple of years of first XI he won our batting and bowling. He can open the bowling or reverse it later on, which is a skill that not many people have. He’s certainly one of the best bowlers that I’ve played with.
WC: So you’ve embraced the step-up from change bowler to frontline in recent seasons.
BH: You always want to open the bowling. It’s a good responsibility, but obviously comes with some pressure on your shoulders. You want to stand up for your team and the best way to do that is with the new ball, to get your team off to a good start.
WC: You’ve certainly seen a variety of coaches in your five years at first XI level — Sriram from India, Luandre van Wyk from South Africa, then local products Rhys Zanoni and Scott Lindsay, and now Corey Ogle.
BH: The year Luandre was coaching, I was in and out a bit. I played most of the year under ‘Z’ (Zanoni) and then as soon as Scott came in I’ve been fortunate to play every game.
WC: You’ve had enormous variety there, a bit of international flavour, followed by some homegrown talent.
BH: Sriram was awesome for his knowledge of the game, while Luandre was a bit of a pump-up coach. I learnt a lot from a bowling perspective from Rhys, while Scott Lindsay’s reputation as a great coach is well known around Geelong. Scott was a hard but good coach, which is what Leopold needed.
WC: So what’s your read on the direction Corey Ogle is taking the club in?
BH: We’ve got a really young side in the ones, so I think he is just trying to get us to play with a bit of freedom and to play to our strengths. He’s always really positive and has been able to keep a really calm head. Corey’s also been able to attract a lot of older, former players back to the club.
WC: Who is the best batsman you’ve bowled to?
BH: It’s got to be Sean O’Neill. He’s a class act and always makes runs against us. Any good batsman will put a bad ball away, but with Sean if you’re even just a little bit off or a little bit full he will punish you. That’s the difference between the good bats and the best bats. Richie Oliver is another one, as I don’t think I’ve ever been able to get him out. Richie just never looks like he’s ever going out. You’re just never sure where the best place to bowl to him is.
WC: I know your bowling is your priority, but you also value your wicket and like to spend time at the crease. It’s actually two years ago this weekend that you and Lachy Alford put together that memorable 70-run final-wicket stand to get home against St Joseph’s chasing 257 at the College.
BH: Every bowler wants to be a batsman at some time, don’t they? I think it’s just my will to want to help the team win. The only way you can do that is by being out in the middle. There’s nothing worse when you give your wicket away cheaply and you’re walking back to your mates. Sometimes, like that day at St Joeys when I watched Alfy hit them around, you can just sit at the other end. If it means I have to sit there and be boring, I can do that.
WC: So here we are, three weeks since we last saw any Saturday action, but with a weather forecast that suggests that you’ll be back into the fray tomorrow.
BH: I think we’ve been playing some good cricket. Yes, we’ve had some class batsmen make hundreds against us, but in training everything’s been looking really good. We’d rather be two wins and one loss, as opposed to our current record of one and two, but hopefully we can get on a bit of a roll and get some wins before Christmas.
WC: It’s a tough one to return to. Personally you’ll meet the likes of Jordan Moran, Luke Ford and an inform Brayden Engelen-Baker straight up this game against Grovedale.
BH: They’re a class outfit and you always know they’ll be a tough side to compete with. Hopefully there’ll be a bit in the wicket, but either way we’ll always back our side to make runs or take wickets.