“Never thought of Zimbabwe. Never,” Jayden tells The Indian Express. “It’s never really been an option. Obviously with regards to Zimbabwe, it’s all dad’s memories. I was a bit young to remember it, but I’m sure he loved every minute of it. It’s what you dream of as a kid and I know that’s what he wanted to do and he ended up achieving it, which was awesome. Then the same for me. When I was a kid, seeing dad playing, I just grew up around cricket and I just loved it since I can remember. I just wanted to play cricket and bat,” he says on the sidelines of a practice match against Andhra team at MRF Pachaiyappa’s Ground.

Like his father, Jayden had to shuffle between UK and Australia every six months. With Murray turning out for Sussex in County championship, he would spend six months in England and head back to Australia during summer. “So until I was about 14, I used to shuffle between Australia, England and even Zimbabwe. So I did my schooling in both UK and Australia and played cricket in both countries. But in a way it allowed me to play a lot of cricket round the year, which isn’t the case with many,” Jayden says.

Copping banter

Given the rivalry the Ashes rivals share, Jayden has copped a fair amount of banter in school in England and Australia, where he says was probably the hardest growing up. “School life was probably the hardest thing because you’d fall behind a bit because you’d miss certain things that Australia would do and then England would repeat it. In Australia, I used to be called pommie geyser because they are very proud and in UK I got the most banter. But overall, now when I look back, I’m just fortunate that I’ve friends and teammates from both countries with whom I stay in touch,” he says.

Moving between England and Australia meant Jayden experienced the cricketing conditions in both the countries. Like his father Murray, he says growing up in Western Australia has chiselled him into a predominantly back-foot player. “I pride myself on my game against fast bowling. It doesn’t matter how quick they are. Also just getting through tough situations when the balls moves around. It just comes because you are used to both the conditions. Coming here to MRF obviously is to learn about the sub-continental conditions,” he says.

When it came to picking a domestic side, Jayden says his choice had been Western Australia all along. “The legacy of dad playing first-class cricket in Australia and England is obviously huge. But for all my pride and everything, I’m an Australian. Like my father, I want to build a legacy at WA. I remember being there (at WACA) as a kid, watching dad play. It was pretty cool to go in the change rooms after the play, just pick up the bats and stuff. And you’d have Mike Hussey and Justin Langer just throw a tennis ball at you, which was very cool,” Jayden says.

Most of the conversations between him and father, who is unsurprisingly his first coach, revolve around cricket. In particular, his batting. “He is very strict. He is very passionate and old-school but effective. If we get I get out on a bad shot, he might give you some harsh words. And when you get a hundred, he’s not only the first person to say well done but also the first person to say you should have got 200.”