Luke Pomersbach’s international debut was almost as unlikely as it gets. Still on suspension by his state for breaking a curfew, he found himself playing in the second team one minute and then in Australia’s side for the Twenty20 in Perth. It doesn’t stop there: he only received his call-up from the car park of the WACA, having gone there with his girlfriend as a spectator.

Now, he tells The Australian, having been given such an opportunity, he has learned his lesson about discipline and is ready for whenever the international selectors should come calling again.

I've just learnt that to be a professional cricketer you've got to make the right decisions. If you make the wrong decisions you could end up back in the trade industry or whatever you do. Now I'm going to take it a lot more professionally the way I prepare for games."

Also making the most of an opportunity is Ricky Ponting, who took his chance to relax after being rested from the Twenty20. The same paper reports that he headed to the golf course to watch one of his friends show him how it's done.