It's an opportunity for an experience

I had the great opportunity to follow the Australian Cricket team during the summer of 2021/2022. The third test took place in Melbourne—the famous Boxing Day Test. With a few players injured, there was a rare opportunity for a fast bowler to join the Australian line-up. An Indigenous, relatively unknown player was selected, largely because of his deep understanding of the MCG wicket, being a regular in the Victorian state side and his recent form. His name was Scott Boland—and two days later, everyone knew it.

He finished the second innings with six wickets for just seven runs—an extraordinary feat by any measure. Australia won the match well before the fifth day, and the MCG crowd erupted with chants of “Scotty, Scotty, Scotty.” The atmosphere was electric. Boland went on to bowl impressively in the next two tests as well. Perhaps he wasn’t just a local specialist—perhaps he had always been a great bowler, simply waiting for his chance to shine.

Australian cricket selectors often face criticism for choosing players based on factors other than recent form, but looking deeper, selecting the best eleven to come together as a cohesive unit was no simple task. When a player is given an opportunity, they need to take it with both hands—it might be the only one they get.

A similar analogy could be drawn to my family’s decision to take a trip around the country to attend the test matches. It was a chance for my dad to tick a major experience off his bucket list. We weighed the pros and cons, thought about how often such an opportunity might come around, and decided to go for it. Many thought we were being overly adventurous, but we did it anyway (I often get told I do wild things—I suppose that’s just who I am).

As it turned out, the timing worked in our favour. Everything aligned just enough to make the trip memorable in all the right ways. We made it to every ground, navigated the logistics, and created memories we would talk about for years. Like all good adventures, there were some hiccups, but that only made the storytelling better. Who wants to hear about a travel tale where everything goes perfectly?

The lesson? Be prepared, take luck when it shows up, and embrace the opportunities that arise. Whether it works out exactly as expected or not, you’ll never regret the experience. Each one teaches you something—about yourself, your goals, and the world. So look for the chances that might propel your career, your passion, or your life forward. Even if the result isn’t perfect, the experience is always worth it.