Quantcast

Watch Buck dance up storm

Opener makes up for lost time after sleep-in

If scoring consecutive Test centuries is tough to do at 36 years of age, then so is getting out of bed after back-to-back big nights on the town.

Chris Rogers found that out the hard way on Tuesday, when he nearly missed Australia's public reception at the Sydney Opera House after sleeping in.

A sheepish Rogers didn't make it in time to be presented on stage to nearly 5000 fans alongside teammates and Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

However, he tried to make up for lost time when he did arrive, signing autographs and performing a dance routine on stage which had received nearly 23,000 views on the Cricket Australia website within five hours of being posted.

Coach Darren Lehmann was less than impressed with Rogers' tardiness. However, in the grand scheme of things, team management was viewing his failure to make the bus as a minor incident.

Rogers thought his Test career was over after playing one solitary match against India in 2008, only to be given a second chance at life in international cricket ahead of last year's Ashes in the UK.

The left-handed opener has capitalised on his belated opportunity, scoring three tons and finishing the top run-scorer from the combined Ashes series.

Rogers says he feels his career is now complete but admits he may have celebrated that fact a little too hard.

"It's the best thing that's happened in my career and I didn't think that was going to happen. So I'm just enjoying it ... maybe a little too much," he said.

"These moments don't come along too often, if ever. And to do it at 36 is unbelievable.

"If I'd finished and not played international cricket I would have been quite disappointed so to get this opportunity and play it well, I can finish cricket a some stage and say I've done everything and that's great to do.

"People talk about retirement, but what's the point in retiring? This is amazing and I haven't had this opportunity before so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts."

Asked had he grown bitter at being consistently ignored by selectors despite amassing 20,000 first class runs, Rogers hesitated and grinned before saying "no."

Rogers says despite scoring tons in Melbourne and Sydney, his mature age means the pressure on him to score runs won't cease until he retires.

"There's always a push for the next big thing ... I enjoy playing under pressure so I've got to keep putting myself under pressure," he said.

According to the MC at the Opera House, Rogers had "other commitments", while teammate Ryan Harris joked, "We thought he was in jail actually."

Asked if Lehmann had given him a dirty look on his way in, Rogers said: "I'm surprised he's here."

Be he conceded he'd be doing his best to hide. "I haven't seen him yet so I'll probably keep away from him."