Cricket: Victorian seamer Fergus O'Neill on his brilliant form and baggy green aspiration
Fergus O'Neill doesn't have to look very far for international inspiration.
The 24-year-old seam sensation has taken his relentless Sheffield Shield form overseas, collecting 21 wickets at 17.9 in four County games for Notts.
O'Neill's spree of English scalps follows a 38-wicket Aussie summer that netted him the Sheffield Shield player of the year award.
But as his stocks as a future Test player rise, O'Neill is staying patient and drawing motivation from the late-career flurry of Victorian teammate Scott Boland.
'We got Scotty Boland with us at the Vics who has had so much success for Australia into his 30s,' O'Neill told Willow Talk Podcast.
'I think for a lot of the young boys at the Vics, we look at him as a bit of a model. You know it's going to look different for everyone.
'The pecking order, it's (Mitch) Starc, (Pat) Cummins, (Josh) Hazlewood, Boland and then it's probably light years to the next.
'They've been so good for so long, it's going to be very hard to fill those shoes for whoever gets the opportunity.'
O'Neill was born in New Zealand before moving to Australia at a young age and has Irish heritage.
Despite eligibility to play elsewhere, O'Neill's allegiance is to Australia and he says he is happy to earn his chance to pull on the baggy green.
'I think what Scotty, and Sidds (Peter Siddle) to be fair, have been telling me is 'every time you play, you're just playing for that team and you're just trying to play well. If higher honours are a by-product of that, then you go there and try and play well',' he said.
'I think if I have done that for Victoria and I've got an opportunity with Aussie A, I think I have done that for Aussie A.
'If that turns into a baggy green … I am just going to try and perform.
'I feel like a lot of people put a lot of pressure on themselves to get a baggy green or do this, do that. I am not too bothered about that. I am playing every game and try to play every game well, and what will happen from that will happen.'
O'Neill is enjoying a break from any form of cricket before he returns to train with the Notts T20 Vitality Blast team.
Originally published as Victorian seamer Fergus O'Neill on his brilliant form and baggy green aspiration
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