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Why O'Keefe fired at the last-chance saloon

Left-arm tweaker reflects on sacrifices and success following an eventful six months in his career

First Test hero Steve O'Keefe has revealed he felt he was on the verge of having a "line through my name" if he didn't deliver the goods during Australia's Qantas tour of India.

O'Keefe has endured a turbulent six months – from dealing with injuries in Sri Lanka and on the homefront, to receiving a $10,000 fine for a drunken incident outside a Sydney nightspot – but the left-arm tweaker bounced back stronger than ever in Pune with a match-winning, record-breaking 12-70 to end Australia's 13-year drought in India and hand the tourists a one-nil lead in the series.

Quick Single: Australia spin way to massive win

O'Keefe's decision during the home summer to exclude himself from playing with Sydney Sixers in the KFC Big Bash caused waves in some corners at the time, but the man himself was adamant it was the right call as he set about preparing his body for the rigours of a Test series in India.


Given the opportunity alongside Nathan Lyon in last winter's Test series in Sri Lanka, the New South Welshman broke down with a hamstring injury in the second innings of the opening match and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the tour.

O'Keefe had loomed as a major player for Australia in that series, with his left-arm orthodox spin viewed as the team's best answer to the threat of Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath, who ran riot to deliver the hosts a shock three-nil series win.

Match Wrap: Aussies thrash India in Pune

Shortly after arriving home from Sri Lanka, the 32-year-old was at the centre of a drunken incident in a Manly nightspot and fined $10,000.

He later described it as the wake-up call he needed, swearing off alcohol for the summer and leaving nothing to chance in his preparation for India.

"I blew the chance in Sri Lanka and didn't do myself any favours when I got home; I carried on like a pork chop," O'Keefe told ABC Grandstand after his match-winning double of 6-35 and 6-35 that sealed the first Test inside three days.

"Missing out on the Big Bash was a big deal, it was something I wanted to do but I knew coming into a series like this, with the weather, conditions and workload, I had to make sure my body was 100 per cent ready to go because I couldn't let the team down again.

Quick Single: O'Keefe spins way into record books with 12

"If I did that, I knew it would be an absolute line through my name.

"So it meant sacrificing something at home that I wanted to play, but as it turned out it's a 1-0 start so I feel like that's sort of vindicated itself.

"But the test will be backing up games but I know now in my body that I've been able to (have success) because I've sacrificed some white-ball cricket to be able to play a lot of red-ball cricket."

Smith heaps praise on teammates after victory

O'Keefe returned the most economical 12-wicket haul in Test history, but far from feeling a release of pressure at the close of day two after his breakthrough 6-35 in India's first-innings, the left-armer revealed he had a sleepless Friday night.

"When I was at home last night the mind was still ticking," he said. "I'd done so well in the first innings but you probably think it's now on you again in the second innings.

"So I didn't sleep too much – I kept rolling over and checking the clock every half hour.

"I knew if we had a good first session it would set the game up for us and the wicket would deteriorate, but I also know how good these guys (India's batsmen) are in spinning conditions.

"So it's more relief now and hopefully a couple of good nights' sleep are in order."

Quick Single: Pitch played into our hands: Smith

With Australia boasting a series lead and the performance of his career behind him, O'Keefe's focus is squarely on the greater context of what could prove to be a momentous tour.

"It's a good feeling to be 1-0 up in India, I think it's taken a while to win a game," he added. "So it makes it even more exciting now going into Bangalore.

"Winning the series will be the ultimate dream. Sitting at the end of it with the boys, sharing a series win in India, which the last time we did it was over a decade ago and before that the '69 team, so that'll be the full dream."

Test Squads

India (for first two Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 17-19, Tour match v India A, Mumbai

Feb 23-27, First Test: Australia won by 333 runs, Pune


Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru


Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala