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It all started back in 1989 when Toddy made the Australian cricket squad for the first time. But his childhood is where the dream started. Todd recalls back when he was a kid, learning to play cricket at school and home. "Then of course there were the backyard 'Tests' I played with my brothers Phil and Graham and the other neighbourhood kids. We had an elaborate set of rules worked out: 1) One hand off the fence is out. 2) Over the fence is six and out. 3) If you're out first ball, you're not out (girls only). Having systematically destroyed Mum's garden we eventually shifted our games to the street, where a new rule was introduced: 4) The player facing the oncoming traffic must call 'car' (we lived on a pretty busy road). Of course, all of us playing back then dreamed of one day representing Australia, but as it turned out I was the only one who had the talent and commitment to achieve that goal. Phil became an accountant and Graham's spent most of his life in a wheelchair after an unfortunate breach of Rule 4." |
Preparing for battle |
Todd's first muscle car |
Warwick Todd's childhood was not as nice as he would have you believe. "I understand the importance of having your parents around. I was only twelve when Dad left home. It hit me really hard as we were a very close-knit family. So it came as a double shock the following week when Mum left". "Dad was my first coach, and he was very strict. Some of his methods bordered on the illegal. Not that he ever pushed any of us Todd kids into cricket. We were always given the choice, between playing or getting beaten with a length of electrical cord. Putting him into a home was one of the hardest decisions we ever had to make, but with two kids and nowhere else to store my trophies we simply had to free up the spare room. It was either Dad or the billiard table". Not long after making the Australian team, Todd proposed to his wife
Ros after a lengthy courtship.
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| It's hard to be away from your family for so much of the
year, as Todd tells:
"Called Ros tonight for a chat. She was still in bed, despite it being almost 9.30am back home, and to tell the truth she sounded a little out of breath. The poor girl's obviously shagged out, what with looking after the kids and everything while I'm away. After hanging up I phoned Garry Beckman to see if he'd mind dropping round and checking if Ros was okay but Gazza wasn't home... Gazza is a great mate. We played district cricket together. The fact that I went on to a sparkling international Test career while he became a roofing contractor has never come between us. And don't let me detract from his cricketing ability. He was a keen competitor. Whenever Gazza was out in the middle you would be guaranteed that runs would flow. Only problem, he would be bowling at the time". |
The wedding day |
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Ros has always given him the support that he needed, but he knows where to draw the line. "I remember my first ever test duck, back in Perth in 1990. I went home to Ros that night so wound up, so angry, I'm ashamed to admit that even blows were struck. Why she felt the need to hit me I've never worked out, but it was the last time I whinged to Ros about an on-field failure". After nine years of marriage, Warwick and Ros separated but resolved
their differences and got back together soon after. The pressures
of being an international cricketer had taken their toll.
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'The Warwick Todd Diaries', 'Warwick Todd - Back in the Baggy Green' and 'Warwick Todd Goes the Tonk' are available from all leading book stores. Thank you for visiting my webpage and reading this. |
