JIMMY Peirson was 12 when he sat by the fence at the Gabba and asked Chris Hartley to autograph his wicketkeeping gloves.
More than a decade later, the talented young keeper-batsman has taken Hartley’s cherished Queensland Bulls one-day spot.
Peirson, 23, has now usurped Hartley in both the Brisbane Heat Big Bash and Bulls one-day sides.
Hartley, 34, is expected to retain his spot for the Bulls’ Sheffield Shield campaign.
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READ NOWQueensland open their season with a Matador Cup one-day clash against the Cricket Australia XI at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field on Saturday, and Peirson revealed how Hartley had given him strong support.
“We have been jostling for the same spot, but Harts has been absolutely fantastic,” Peirson said.
“We were told fairly early that I was being picked in the one-day team and it is a credit to Harts that he has been helping me prepare for the tournament.
“I have always looked up to Harts and I remember vividly when I was 12, I took my Kookaburra wicketkeeping gloves to a game at the Gabba and got Harts to sign them.
“I really want to be playing first-class cricket but he (Hartley) still deserves the right to be in that side and he deserves the utmost respect.”
Peirson becomes the latest link in a Queensland wicketkeeping chain that stretches back to the halcyon days of Don Tallon and Wally Grout.
While Grout famously espoused “never give a sucker an even break”, Queensland wicketkeepers have proved remarkably generous to the next man in.
Mentoring has been a given for the likes of John Maclean, Ray Phillips, Peter Anderson, Ian Healy, Wade Seccombe and now Hartley.
Peirson, who can whack the ball a mile, is expected to open the batting in Queensland’s first game.
Queensland will be missing regular skipper Usman Khawaja who is in South Africa for Australia’s ODI series, while left-hander Sam Heazlett has a thigh strain.
Explosive batsman Chris Lynn will miss the tournament as he recovers from a shoulder injury. Charlie Hemphrey has been called in as his replacement.
The Bulls are striving for a much-improved one-day tournament to their campaign last year when they won two matches.
Peirson is yet to play first-class cricketfor the Bulls.
“A lot of state cricketers like me have a profile before we really deserve it, and that is because we play in front of 30,000 people in the Big Bash,” Peirson said.