I remember Steve Waugh making the observation that the reason he & Mark were so successful was in part due them being born at the right time of the year when it came to entering competitive cricket. They were essentially older at the time of registration than, say, a kid born 6 months earlier. He said that the extra time not only gave them maturity vs other kids, but that as they progressed & were more successful, they stuck around whilst other kids who didn't have that initial success left the sport to try something else. Of course talent & ability are key components, but as mentioned many times on here, when a player gets the chance to play rep footy, he usually returns a better, more skilful player for the experience. And that is why the Waughs became the legends they are cos they stuck around and developed their skill accordingly. I recall back in school I was almost a full year younger than the majority of kids, being born in July whilst most were New Year's Eve-conceived kids born in mid-September, early October of the previous year! After high school, when I was about 24, I met up with some Old Boys to play Basketball - they were shocked to see me standing over them at 6ft 2 whilst they had shrunk to about 5ft 10! I still couldn't shoot for peanuts! 🍻 🤣 🏀