No BBL, alcohol helped O’Keefe

Heading into the first Test between India and Australia in Pune, Steve O’Keefe was not considered a huge threat. At age 32, he was potentially looking at this Test as his last chance. His selection in the playing XI had been criticised by Shane Warne, and in four Tests before Pune, O’Keefe had taken just 14 wickets.

In the series against Sri Lanka, O’Keefe was viewed as a threat but he suffered an injury and was ruled out. Having been blighted by injuries in the series against Pakistan in the UAE in 2014 and in Sri Lanka, it looked O’Keefe’s Test career was finished.

Speaking to ABC Grandstand after the win, O’Keefe said, “Missing out on the Big Bash was a big deal. It was something I wanted to do but I knew coming into a series like this, with the weather, conditions and workload, I had to make sure my body was 100 per cent ready to go because I couldn’t let the team down again. If I did that, I knew it would be an absolute line through my name.”

His second decision, to lay off alcohol, came when he was in the crossroads of his career. After he was injured in Sri Lanka, O’Keefe was involved in a drunken incident in a Manly night club and was fined AUD 10,000.

“I blew the chance in Sri Lanka and didn’t do myself any favours when I got home; I carried on like a pork chop,” O’Keefe rued.

“It was the wake-up call I needed. I swore off alcohol for the summer and left nothing to chance in order to prepare for India,” he added.