Tye's patiences pays off
Mature-aged WA rookie Andrew Tye has climbed from obscurity to become a crucial one-day player for the State.
After several years of toiling away for Scarborough in our summer and English club side Chester-le-Street in winter, Tye earned an unexpected debut against Queensland in the Ryobi Cup last month.
The bowling all-rounder grabbed his chance with both hands, claiming 2-32 and scoring a quick-fire 22.
He was a shining light in an otherwise gloomy one-day campaign for WA, finishing the round-robin stage of the tournament as the competition's leading wicket-taker.
Playing five of six games, Tye took 13 wickets at an average of 19.3, including 5-46 in WA's only win, against Tasmania.
He also chipped in with 91 runs - 42 of which sailed over the boundary.
A month from his 27th birthday, Tye is cricket's equivalent of the AFL mature-aged recruit, but said he had doubts about whether he would play State cricket.
"There have certainly been times when I thought I wouldn't make it," Tye said.
"Especially given the fact I hadn't really been involved in any of the WACA squads.
"I'd tried playing county cricket in England and I did OK, but no one wanted to pick me up, so it was a bit like, 'Oh well, I've had fun playing cricket'.
"I never wanted to give it away, though - I play for fun."
His selection stemmed from a decision to bypass this year's English summer and put in a full pre-season with the Warriors, playing warm-up games while the Perth Scorchers were in India for the Champions League.
An injury to a teammate then led WA coach Justin Langer to hand Tye his opportunity.
"It was a little bit (unexpected), because they still had good strength in bowling numbers coming back from India and with the guys already in the squad," Tye said. "I was packing up my gear and JL and the coaches came over and said, 'AJ, get ready to play tomorrow'.
"I wanted to jump around with joy, but I had to be mindful that someone was missing out."
