Not since Ray Bright has a specialist left arm orthodox spinner represented Australia at the senior level. Some recent non-specialists to do it include former Australian captain Allan Border and Michael Clarke.

Jack McNamara is latest of a rare Australian breed. He has already toured India and Sri Lanka as part of the Australian under-19 team. He speaks about his experiences so far, on playing for Australia and many other aspects in an interview I had with him.

How did you take to cricket? Tell us a bit about your progress to an Australia under-19 cricketer.

My father, like a lot of people who grew up in rural Australia, subscribed to the stereotypically Australian 'Football in winter, cricket in summer' theory, so I guess a bit of that caught onto me. I was always a bit better at cricket, and since we live so close to a park, I ended up heading to train with the Under 12s when I was 7. I bowled medium pace (well, I thought it was quick) until I was 12, when the coach of the U/14 local representative team saw my left arm spinners and told me I'd be a better chance of making the side bowling spin. Since then it's been a pretty good ride - Victorian U/17s and U/19s, and was fortunate enough to be selected for the Australian side on my performances at the most recent U/19 National Carnival, in combination with my results for the Camberwell Magpies in Melbourne's Premier Cricket.

Who are your heroes/idols?

Daniel Vettori is probably the guy who I most enjoy watching. I guess being left arm, and having played a number of times - and bowled extremely well - in Australia, means that he's someone I can watch and learn off, more than a right arm off-spinner. His lines are always pretty good, but its his length that I most enjoy, and his willingness to get hit to take a wicket. That's something that I think he's more prepared to do than any other spinner in the world.

Also, Ray Bright - the ex-Australian and Victorian spinner, has been a mentor, of sorts, since I was about 14. He's involved heavily in Victorian cricket as a selector, but is often there at the youth programs working with us young spinners, taken his own time to conduct a few one-on-one sessions, and has been a great sounding board to bounce ideas off, having so much experience himself.

How does it feel to be representing your country at such a young age?

Lucky. Not many people ever get to represent their country, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to do so before I'm out of my teens.