Caribbean all-rounder used sport to escape struggles

Growing up with his father and brother in Jamaica, he learned from a young age that money was tight. The sports-mad schoolboy never went to bed hungry but those formative years were, by his own admission, far from easy for the Austin family in the Clarendon parish that sits towards the southern tip of the Caribbean island.

Austin, now 27 and the driving force of the Leeds United midfield, used sport as an escape with cricket and football filling his days.

Skills honed on the playing fields of his village soon marked him out as budding talent and Austin went on to captain his high school team in both sports.

Football eventually won the battle for his affections, as a career that has taken him from winning the domestic league in Jamaica with Portmore United to the engine room of the Elland Road midfield via four years in Norway proves. But Austin was a cricketer of some repute, particularly with the bat. By his own admission, he “tried to hit a boundary with every shot”.

“Life was hard when I was younger,” said the United midfielder to the Yorkshire Post ahead of today’s Championship date with Nottingham Forest at Elland Road.

“I grew up with my father and my brother. It was hard but he always provided stuff. I never went to bed hungry.

“It may not have been easy growing up but I have always tried my best to have a better life and be able to help them out. Football has allowed me to do that, which is great.

“At school, I loved sport. It was football and cricket for me. And my schoolwork as well, of course. But mainly sport.”

The last three words are delivered with a broad smile and a wink, inviting the follow-up question of just how prolific he was with bat and ball as a child.

“I was an all-rounder at cricket and enjoyed it,” says the softly-spoken midfielder. “I had fun growing up, even though life was hard.

“Cricket was something I really enjoyed. I bowled medium pace and batted No 3.

“I was the type who tried to hit a boundary with every shot. I was the captain of my high school team in the Headley Cup and we did well.

“But I ended up choosing football. Before, I’d played football and cricket 50-50. But football started to go better for me. I always played midfield or defence. I was never a striker.

“The thing that changed for me was when my school played in the DaCosta Cup, the highest level in school football. I did very well and in my final year at school, I got called up to the national Under-20s team.

“We went to Germany and, again, I played really well. After that, I said, ‘This is it’. And I dropped cricket to stay with football. I joined a team called Portmore United at 19 and in my first year we won everything.”

Eight years on from his first taste of domestic success back home, Austin is hoping for more of the same in England.

His summer move to Leeds was a case of being third time lucky after previous transfers to Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers collapsed through a combination of work permit issues and SK Brann, his club in Norway, putting an exorbitant fee on his head.

To most footballers, missing out on a move to the Premier League would have been a major cause for regret. Austin, however, is a laid-back character who doesn’t waste time dwelling on what might have been.

Instead, he prefers to focus on the present – which in Norway included the midfielder being named as the 2011 Player of the Year in the Eliteserien League.

As enjoyable as his four years in Scandinavia were, however, the lure of English football remained and he was delighted to finally be able to make the transition this year after Neil Warnock came calling.

“I went to Stoke in 2008 and a transfer looked like it would happen but then I didn’t get the work permit,” said Austin, who netted in Jamaica’s 2-1 World Cup qualifier win over the USA earlier this month. “After that, I went to Norway and signed for SK Brann on a one-year loan.

“The following year, I still didn’t get the permit for Stoke so Brann took the option to sign me permanently. I was very grateful for that as it meant I could clear my head, knowing I was going to be at the club for four years.

“I am not a person who questions why things don’t happen, I just look to the things that do happen.

“When QPR were interested, I didn’t know my club were asking too much. As I say, I don’t question things like that. If something doesn’t happen, I just move on to the next part of life. There is no point sitting down and thinking about things that you don’t have control over.

“And Norway was a fantastic place to live in, probably the best there is. For kids growing up, it is peaceful. It can be expensive but I have no problems at all with Norway. I would live there again if I needed to. It is a nice place and well run.”

Austin spent four years in Norway but it was only in his final full season that Brann’s fans saw the very best of him.

“I moved there when I was 23 and it helped me a lot,” he said. “I grew a lot as a person. I spent a lot of time there on my own until my wife came over (ahead of the 2011 season).

“We grew up together so when she came, that is when my best season happened. I won everything that year. Things like best player for the league and Player of the Year for my club.

“Norway helped me develop as a player and a person. That is why I don’t regret going there for four years. I think I am a better player for it and have more experience.”

Leeds are now benefiting from those years spent honing his skills in Norway with Austin already having two goals to his name from eight appearances.

“The most I have managed in a season is eight,” he said. “So to have two already is great. I do like shooting and I hope there are a lot more to come because I am really enjoying being a Leeds United player.”

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