Darren Lehmann - Early Years

Early Years

A junior representative for Central District Football Club as well as playing cricket, Lehmann left school at the age of 16, to work on the assembly line of Holden car manufacturers in Elizabeth, South Australia. He declined selection to the first intake of the newly-formed Australian Cricket Academy, a full-time cricket centre, citing his enjoyment of the factory life. Lehmann entered the first-class scene as a 17-year-old in the 1987/88 season for South Australia, playing one match against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after both Tim May and Peter Sleep were called into the national team. After making 10, Lehmann was omitted upon their return and did not play any further part in the season. In 1988/89, South Australia were at the bottom of the ladder, when coach Barry Richards called Lehmann into the team, playing against Western Australia at the WACA. Lehmann remembered little of the match; after being struck in the right temple by a Bruce Reid bouncer, he was knocked unconscious and temporarily ceased breathing. Lehmann made his mark in the following match against New South Wales Blues at Adelaide Oval, reaching 50, but the innings was marred by the manner in which it was ended. Going for a quick single, Lehmann collided with bowler Geoff Lawson and was run out after falling over. However, Richards and South Australian captain David Hookes claimed that Lawson had tripped Lehmann, leading to a confrontation between the two teams.

In 1989/90, Lehmann came into contention for national selection, after scoring 228 runs at the age of 19 in a match against Victoria in that season. He also scored a century against the touring New Zealand cricket team and followed that with centuries in three consecutive Sheffield Shield matches. Having scored over 700 runs in the first half of the season, Lehmann was drafted into the Australian squad for the New Year's Test against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground after both openers David Boon and Geoff Marsh were injured. As Lehmann was not an opener, Mike Veletta and Tom Moody were selected and he was relegated to being 12th man. Lehmann was also called into the squad for the triangular ODI series, but after being unused he was replaced by Mark Waugh.

The following year, Lehmann was lured to move to Victoria by John Elliott and Ian Collins, then directors of the Carlton Football Club with a lucrative deal for him to play district cricket for Carlton, as well as the Victorian state team. Lehmann believed that he had a better chance of international selection, feeling that selectors disregarded batting performances at Adelaide Oval on the perception that it was a flat track. Lehmann was not, however, rewarded with international selection, but he did participate in a Shield victory in 1990/91. He was fortunate to play in the final, having needed facial surgery prior to the match after being struck in the nose during a training session. Following another season, Lehmann expressed dissatisfaction, and returned to South Australia.