Former Australia spinner Xavier Doherty, who was part of the ICC 2015 World Cup-winning squad, has now turned into a carpenter. He talked about his post-cricket life in a video shared by the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).
Doherty had made his ODI debut for Australia in 2010 against Sri Lanka and he also went on to play the Ashes in the same year, which was his Test debut. The Tasmanian spinner retired from cricket at the end of the 2016-17 Australian season. He took some time after retirement to figure out what he wants to do after being done with cricket.
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“Right now, I am three-quarters of the way through a carpentry apprenticeship. This is my day on building sites and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Just being outdoors working with my hands, learning new things. Something completely different to cricket,” Doherty said in the video.
“When I finished cricket, I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do. Then I spent the first 12 months once cricket finished doing everything and every opportunity that came my way. I did some landscaping, office work, cricket work and then found myself here,” he added.
The 38-year-old got help from ACA to find a new profession. "The ACA has been unbelievable really. Obviously, it hits you right between the eyes when your cricket days finish and thoughts going through your head of what’s coming next, and money and what’s my life gonna look like?”
“So obviously, having Player Development Managers there to guide you through that. And then having education grants as well to help me out financially and cover some of the costs that come with the next phase of my life and covering some of the fees that go with doing an apprenticeship,” said Doherty.
The former left-arm spinner scalped 7 wickets in 4 Tests while he picked up 55 and 10 wickets in 60 ODIs and 11 T20Is, respectively. He had also featured in the Road Safety World Series for Australia Legends in 2020.
Doherty played one match against Sri Lanka Legends and picked up 2/28.
