How Opportunities Work in Professional Sport Can Sometimes Be a Lottery

Unlikely chances can pop up anytime.

I was following The Ashes last night: England vs Australia in the most prestigious cricket series on earth.

It’s every young English or Australian cricketer’s dream to play an Ashes Test match for their country, the pinnacle of their sport.

England have planned (and maybe overplanned) for this series in great detail over the last two years. And yet, because of sport’s unpredictable nature, all plans suddenly went out the window last night.

England had two wicketkeepers in the team: Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow.

A third English wicketkeeper was driving across Australia to join up with the squad as cover, but still miles and miles away.

So when Buttler and Bairstow suffered hand injuries on the same day, Ollie Pope, a batter without much senior experience behind the stumps, suddenly found himself taking the gloves and subbing in as his country’s wicketkeeper in this most high-profile event.

It’s an example of how opportunities sometimes arise in unlikely ways in professional sport. And how sometimes they don’t.

Pope did well, stepping up for his team and taking four catches.

We’ll have to wait and see if Sam Billings, still driving across Australia as I write this, ever gets to play for England in an Ashes Test match. It would no doubt be a dream come true for him if he’s selected next week - something he’s trained for his whole sporting life.

But there’s no guarantee. Buttler or Bairstow could recover quickly, meaning Billings’ unlikely chance to prove himself at that level disappears.

It’s how sport works sometimes.

In my own football career, I’ve had contracts I expected to receive slip away at the last minute, then random Facebook messages produce opportunities I’d never dreamed of.

I suppose the lessons are not to expect your path through professional sport to be a nice straight line, because unpredictable events (and unpredictable people) may get in the way at any time, but to keep yourself ready for when that most unlikely opportunity does one day comes knocking.