- Andrew Fedeke was called into Aussie Test squad in 2015
- Tour of Bangladesh later cancelled due to safety concerns
- Fedeke was then removed from team’s private WhatsApp chat
Fringe Australian player Andrew Fekete has recalled the brutal four-word message he received from Mitchell Starc that ended his Test career before it even began.
The year was 2015 and the paceman – who picked up his first state contract with Victoria aged 27 – was called up ahead of a two-Test series in Bangladesh following a number of impressive Sheffield Shield performances for Tasmania.
Cricket Australia were soon advised to cancel the tour due to safety concerns, and Fekete was left pondering what might have been.
Then Fekete received a blunt update on his phone from the Australian team’s private WhatsApp chat – ‘Mitchell Starc removed you’ – which further rammed home he would never wear a baggy green.
Not that the late bloomer was bitter – Fekete accepted his fate and went back to Shield cricket with the Tigers.
Sadly for Fekete, rival Shield players had worked out how to combat his reverse swing – and injuries then followed.
‘I tried harder. Tried to bowl quicker, have more an impact, take more wickets,’ he told News Corp.
‘As the season progressed, I reckon I had stress fractures by Christmas time. ‘I pulled out of the last Shield game because I was basically in tears when I was bowling.
‘Then I went off for scans and found out I had stressies [fractures] in my lower back.’
These days Fekete is a Senior Finance Business Partner with the AFL, based in Melbourne.
He is content with this first class cricket career, which included playing alongside Australian great Ricky Ponting plus fellow Test cricketers George Bailey, Ben Hilfenhaus, Xavier Doherty, Alex Doolan and Tim Paine.
Fedeke relished his time in the Apple Isle, stating he had countless ‘fond memories.’
‘My first year down there….it just had this aura about the place. Tassie won the Shield in my first season there,’ he said.
‘There was also a few tough years….but the opportunities I got ….we did have a bit of success.
‘Overall I loved my time [down] there.’
