Queensland opener Bryce Street has opened up on his brilliant century for Australia A against the England Lions, with the knock rocketing him into Ashes calculations.
Street scored an unbeaten 119 in Australia A’s second innings, putting his name up as a potential replacement for David Warner, whose status for the second Test is still uncertain.
With Usman Khawaja scoring a total of 16 runs in two innings against the Lions, Street is an outside shot at replacing Warner in Adelaide, should the veteran opener be ruled out.
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The 23-year-old said he was able to put in a good performance by not “chasing” a selection for the Australian Test side.
“Sometimes the harder you think about it and the harder you chase the selection, the harder you make it for yourself,” he told 4BC.
“Going into that Australia A game, if you would’ve told me in three or four days time that all of a sudden my name would be brought up to open in the Ashes series, I’d be like, ‘No way, absolutely no chance’.
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“I just went out there to embrace what was a really awesome experience for me and to learn a few things and to step up to another level of challenge.
“I just try to make the most of every opportunity that I can get when I get a chance to get out and be in the middle. That’s as simple as it is for me, from there the rest takes care of itself.”
When questioned over what he had learned most by being surrounded by Australia’s international stars, Street pointed to their ability to “self-coach” themselves.
“The thing I’ve most picked up is the amount of self-coaching that goes on among what I’ve seen in international players,” he said. “They understand their games so well that they are their own best resource.”
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“It’s almost as if they use the coach to give feedback to them on what they want to see. Rather than the coach saying, ‘Oh, it looks like you’re doing this’, it’s like, ‘Hey coach, can you keep an eye on this, this and this … and it all should finish with X product’.
“No one’s there to hold your hand when you’re in the middle of the ground. So if you’re unable to help yourself in the middle of a batting innings then no one can, unless you’re coming off for lunch or tea. Being your own best coach is a great strength because it allows you to adapt and adjust very quickly.”