‘We’d play, then we’d fight’: The sporty siblings who love a good duel

We’re still competitive. A few times in Brisbane, I took him to the gym. We were trying to beat each other in every exercise. I gave him a good run for his money. We couldn’t leave for half an hour afterwards because Jack was sitting on the floor seeing stars.

Loading

I played a game at Junction Oval in Melbourne and got absolutely rolled. The whole team was really down. I got my phone back from security. Jack had club cricket. I opened the scorecard and he was on 91. He was nearby, so I went there straight away and saw him get his 100. I went off my head. He heard me and waved with his cricket bat. It was the highlight of my trip, especially knowing how hard it’s been for him being away from family.

Jack: Our whole childhood is catalogued with home videos. You can see when we were really little, Georgia was on my tail 24/7, following me saying, “Jack, Jack” in a little voice. It’s cool seeing the person she’s grown into.

We grew up playing every sport – soccer, track, athletics – then there was cricket or footy in the backyard, Wii Sports, Monopoly, anything. We’d play, then we’d fight. We annoyed the hell out of each other. There’s always been a competitive spirit in the family and Georgia definitely embodies that. She’s a go-getter. She was really into softball so we’d be out in the street, throwing softballs. She’s got the best throwing arm in the whole family; she’s a weapon.

She got into cricket quite late, the back end of high school. She was playing softball for Queensland, throwing javelin for Queensland, then she started playing cricket and got good really quickly. All of a sudden, she was in the state team. I was jealous, but it was impressive to see her pick it up so well.

She’s made a career out of it, bought an apartment; it’s so cool seeing her build a life around a sport that probably even five years ago she couldn’t have.

“As you get into your mid-20s, you realise that cricket isn’t your whole life: we’re family first, cricketers second.”

I moved to Melbourne and, two weeks later, we were in lockdown. I was in an apartment by myself. I started talking to Georgia every day. I was so homesick, I leant on my sister. As you get into your mid-20s, you realise that cricket isn’t your whole life: we’re family first, cricketers second. Good things happen to good people; we say that to each other a lot. We try to be the best versions of ourselves. If we’re getting ahead of ourselves or getting a bit down, we help each other get back on track.

There was a Renegades game that they lost when Georgia happened to be bowling. She was distraught. I was shattered for her. I was straight on the phone, texting her, reinforcing the fact that it’s just one game. She had to play the next day and I was pretty nervous for her, but she went out and was player of the match. To see her turn that around in 24 hours was a really proud moment. Our family chat was going nuts.

Loading

Her professionalism and regard for her wellbeing is next level. If we go out for breakfast, I’ll get pancakes, she’ll get smashed avo. She eats all the right things, gets eight hours’ sleep a night, goes to the gym. She’ll ring me after a game: “Why aren’t you at the ice bath?” “Why aren’t you going to yoga to stretch?” She inspires me.

Georgia is caring. She’ll bring me cookies, book us dinner. We’ll be in a cafe and she’ll sneak away and pay for breakfast. I’m learning from her when it comes to doing things for people.

Even so, she’s still competitive. She’ll do a five-kilometre walk fast. She’ll move house in two hours. If we’re in the nets, she’ll try to take me down. We tried clay-pigeon shooting. I took one shot and missed. She stood there for 20 minutes trying. You should have seen her celebrate when she finally hit it.