When Shane Warne praises someone, people generally take notice.
And he’s a big advocate for Western Bulldogs recruit Alex Keath.
In a former life, the Aussie cricket legend captained Keath as a budding cricketer at the Melbourne Stars.
Keath’s ability to bounce back from a forgettable semi-final over against the Perth Scorchers in the 2012-13 Big Bash League season convinced Warne that the now key defender is made of the right stuff.
“Either me or him were going to bowl that one over, and I decided to back ‘Keathy’ in,” Warne told the Herald Sun.
“It was a wet ball and I was like, ‘I should bowl this over, we’ve got one to make up … nah I’ll give it to Keathy, this’ll be good for him’.
“I saw how distraught and how upset and how disappointed he was with how the over went. “So I was interested to see how he responded from it, because some people go either way.
“And to see him playing footy now, he’s a really determined fella and he really cares.
“Watching him after that over I wanted to put my arm around him and say, ‘It’s okay — it happens, it’s all right’.
“And I just think he’s got it. He’s a really smart person in a sporting sense, I think he cares, he’s passionate about it, he’s a hard trainer and he can read the play really well.
“He’s a good thinker, so I think he’s a very good sportsman. The Dogs will be very happy to have him.”
KEATH COMMITTED TO KENNEL CAUSE
Keath’s football career began after joining the Adelaide Crows in 2015 as a Category B, with the Victorian originally heading to South Australia to keep his cricketing career alive.
But cricket’s loss is the Bulldogs’ gain, after securing the former Crow just minutes before trade deadline on Wednesday night.
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