Bouncing Back

In the middle of Sydney's Drummoyne Oval last january, stuart MacGill quietly wept with joy. His North Sydney cricket club teammate Trent Johnston had just rushed on to the field during a game against rival suburban club Balmain to tell MacGill, a spin bowler for New South Wales in the national Sheffield Shield competition, that he'd been selected to play for Australia in a Test match. Less than a week later, the 26-year-old joined the Australian team in Adelaide to make his debut in the Third Test against South Africa. There, MacGill nearly wept again--with anxiety. When Australian...