Matthew Elliott once threatened to become a Colossus of world batting, at his best a towering presence at the crease: tall, powerful, with invulnerable technique and a devastating array of shots. During his successful 1997 Ashes tour, the man who past players predicted would wind up with a Test average of 60 was a harbinger of a new, aggressive age of Australian cricket. By the 1999 West Indies tour, the punishing left-hander had waned alarmingly. All sorts of reasons were bruited, from hatred of touring to dislike of on-tour antics. Domestically, and for Yorkshire and Glamorgan, Elliott resumed his brutal ways. Then, 729 runs short of Dean Jones’ Victorian run record, the enigmatic three-time Domestic Player of the Year moved to South Australia. Elliott said he wasn’t offered a contract. Cricket Vic said they were desperate to keep him. Elliott wasn’t believed. He responded with: “Victorian cricket is a bit like Pakistan; there’s always got to be drama.” Last year, his season was curtailed by a recurrence of a knee injury, and he pulled out of his county contract with Glamorgan, but a spanking 111 in the first FR Cup match in October announced his return.  He speaks with Robert Drane.

Was the knee you hurt the same one you injured 10 years ago, when you bumped into Mark Waugh?

Same knee.  I did it playing soccer in England. I had my lateral cartilage repaired, which is slow-healing.

Do you think people have judged you harshly?

A little. I absolutely worked my butt off to be the best I could. It was said I was insular and selfish, but I’ve never put myself before the team. If I had my time again, I’d do things differently, particularly training. I injured my knee at 24, and within a year had two major ops on both knees. That cut me down. I’d train smarter if I could do it again. When I started, it was still very much a footy culture: ‘Get out there and run your 5k’. Not really cricket-specific. Especially for someone who’s taller. It can trash the joints. But I don’t think I was super-talented. I trained hard and that was a cornerstone for me. When I couldn’t do that the way I wanted to, that really frustrated me.

So your technique began to break down because of those injuries?

You need strength and power in the knees to be able to move normally. After a couple of injuries, my feet weren’t moving as well. Then you’ve got to try and find a way around it, modify your game. When your knees go, it makes moving to the ball very difficult, with such limited time.

So the clash with Waugh was a turning point?

I don’t want anything to sound like an excuse. That injury was able to be fixed. That part of my knee is really good. But once you do something to your knee, it changes the dynamics. It’s such a precision joint. I’ve had around six scopes on the knee since that operation. But that’s just the cards you’re dealt.

Were you were frustrated by things in Victoria, or did you just need to change the scenery?

Toward the end of 2004-5 I’d slipped into the comfort zone. I needed to put myself under the pump. I’d only played with the one club, and for the same state, for twelve years. I wanted to know what else was out there. It was also difficult to play after Hooksey’s involvement. It was quite an exciting time for a couple of years.

How was it for you under Hookes, considering he was such a hard-liner?

He made things happen. I didn’t actually enjoy Hooksey’s coaching, because he kept me under the pump. But you look back and think ‘That was really smart, the way he did that.’ He got the best out of me. When he went, you sort of craved that again.

So what happened when he went?

I think things went back the way they always were. Very conservative and very much a closed shop. That’s hard when you’ve seen the light a bit.

Are you happy with the way you were treated ?

They’ve always been generous. In our last meeting, I said, ‘It’s not about you guys. I just need a new challenge.’ I went away and all of a sudden the lay of the land had changed. Stuff written about me being selfish. I was absolutely gutted. I don’t think many blokes have walked away from Victoria happy, and that’s pretty sad.

In 2002, when someone on the board was trying to recommend that Warne replace you as captain, did you feel you were being shafted?

Not really. I’m a real worrier. It became all-consuming. I found it hard to stop captaining and start batting. We needed a couple of us to be playing as well as possible with the bat. Warney always harboured ambitions to captain, and he’s got such a great cricket brain. I said, ‘I’d like to give it another shot with a different support structure’ – that was when Hooksey came. In the first couple of games, I was struggling to divorce myself from field placings, bowling changes. Talk to any opener who’s captained. It’s hard work. You have to be exceptionally strong to do it well. With Tubbs (Mark Taylor), I reckon it probably took the edge off his game. But he enjoyed it and saw it as his role and stuck at it. Victoria didn’t have the luxury of five or six established players. We needed Hodgie and myself playing as well as we could.

After you relinquished the captaincy, you came to be considered a good leader. Do you see any cruel irony in that?

No. I thought the best way to lead was make runs, and do everything in training and preparation. That was my form of leadership. I had a better understanding after being captain and tried to help out. Anyway, Chuck (Darren Berry) did a great job of captaining us to the Pura Cup win, and Cameron White has done a great job.

You went on to win the Pura Cup that year. What did the death of Hookes do to the Victorian side?

Guys were battling a lot of emotions, but we were able to find solace in each other during the next couple of weeks, make sure no-one was on their own. It was pretty surreal. Some guys had known David for a lot longer. Others were there the night it happened. Others had met him fleetingly. It was different depending on their emotional involvement. A game against South Australia was postponed until after the funeral. It was the best thing that could have happened. It gave the boys time to get their heads around it, how the rest of the year was going to pan out, who was going to coach the team. There was a bit of closure. The team was pretty much on automatic pilot. There was a quiet resolve that we’d started the job a year and a half ago, let’s get out and do it. No-one ever said “We’re going to do it for Hooksey”, because a lot of guys thought if we didn’t win anyway, we’d let him down, and no-one wanted to feel that way.

What is it you like so much about English conditions?

The wickets don’t have the same zip, so once you’re actually in, and you’re batting well, you can stay in for a long time. As soon as it’s overcast, the ball seems to do a bit more. County cricket’s like a marathon, not a sprint. You play a long season and a lot of cricket, and you still want to win every game, but the intensity comes down a bit. The boys at Glamorgan don’t like losing, but it’s not the end of the world. I enjoy their attitude.

Were you getting itchy fingers watching the Ashes in 2005?

Not really. Glamorgan was battling. I got caught up in that. I still thought the Australians were going to win, but in the end the English boys were a bit smarter and better organized. They probably just wanted it a little bit more and that showed when they were able to win those key moments that the Aussies have been able to win. It’s probably freshened the Aussie team up a bit.

What about the future of cricket?

I’m worried. We need vibrant, competitive cricket. People don’t want one-sided games. The Ashes was followed with fervour because it was tight. Cricket needs more of those. There’s nothing wrong with the product if it’s in good health, no need for 20/20 or all that stuff to get people in. Not if you’ve got two teams going hell-for-leather. That’s what world cricket’s lacked.

Did you hate touring as much the media say you did?

I didn’t mind touring. I liked places like South Africa and England where you could get the facilities and you could really get into it.

So…the main explanation for your drop in performance on the 1999 West Indies tour was training facilities?

We were obviously under the pump with performances. It’s nothing against them, but there were no decent practice facilities, and even in the interim games, facilities were poor, and it was hard to work yourself back into touch. A couple of training sessions we almost had to abandon because the nets were sub-standard.

If you had to sum up what went wrong, where would you identify the problem?

I wouldn’t take it so seriously. You think it’s the end of the world when you’re dropped, but it’s not. That was the biggest part. Injuries weighed me down a bit.

Do you feel you missed an enormous opportunity?

I played 21 Tests and got back into a bloody good team after five years. I was proud of that. I enjoyed my involvement, but I still enjoy playing first-class cricket. Yeah, I’d love to have played more Tests.

Do you feel a second chance slipped away against Sri Lanka in Darwin, when you scored 0 and 1?

I loved every minute of being back and involved. I would have loved more runs but I’m a realist and it was only a one-off. If you make a double hundred you might force something, like Hussey did last summer, then Hodge. But I find it’s better to know where I stand.

That occurred during a hell of a time in your life, with the birth of a baby, the death of a brother-in-law, an unexpected trip from England, then the unexpected call-up.

Yeah, I didn’t know where I was at. I think it would have been great to have my own cricket boots there on the morning of the match! I had to borrow Matty Hayden’s. I didn’t have any gear. I’d left it all overseas. I was only coming back to Australia for the birth of William then going back to England, then I got the call!

What grates you even now?

Running into Mark Waugh. As a Victorian against a New South Welshman, I should have absolutely barrelled him. How did I come out of it worse off? Should have just run through him. My footy days should have come back to save me. There are some things I wish never happened, but it’s all part of the trip. If everyone was scoring hundreds all the time, or taking five-for every time they bowl, no-one would be coming to the cricket. What keeps you coming back is that it’s not easy, and can be a failure-orientated game.

What do you have left before you’re fulfilled?

I’d like to win another Pura Cup with South Australia. I want to make a hundred in Queensland. I’ve only made one at the Gabba. And I watched Boof make that 301, so for a bit of one-upmanship, I’d like to go 302 not out!

Do you still want that chance to play for Australia?

Oh yeah. It would be great, especially to take my boys along. I’ve taken them to watch the Aussie boys train. The buzz they’d get out of it would be the biggest thrill for me now.

Published in Inside Sport, December 2006