Australia included three uncapped cricketers in the squad. As reserve wicketkeeper, Josh Inglis has been part of the unit for some time. In the unavailability of captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland is likely to step up as the second pacer, after Mitchell Starc. Sean Abbott is the third seamer, presumably an emergency backup, though Beau Webster.

Inglis has played 26 ODIs and 29 T20Is, and has been playing first-class cricket since 2011-12, while this is the tenth Sheffield Shield season for Abbott (26 ODIs, 20 T20Is). Connolly’s case is different, for he has played only four first-class matches.

Connolly had risen through age-group cricket in Western Australia, from the Under-17s to the Under-19s, and was only 17 when he played in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. There, he smashed a 53-ball 64 against a West Indies attack that boasted Jayden Seales among its ranks. In 2022, he joined a small group of cricketers who played in two editions of the tournament. This time he led Australia, hit a 25-ball 33 against Pakistan, and picked up 3-17 against the West Indies and 2-30 against Afghanistan.

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He got a Perth Scorchers contract that year. He faced only 22 balls in 2022-23 across four games and two innings, but got out only once and made 45 runs. This included the final, where, with 38 to win in three overs, he hit James Bazley for two sixes – including a humongous one – and a four to as good as close the game. Following the game was the senior Australian team. Connolly’s hitting left them in awe.

Across the 2023-24 BBL season, Connolly had figures of 11-0-76-6, and in three consecutive games, made 35 in 25 balls, 37 not out in 18, and 31 in 18. In 2024, he was picked for Australia’s tour of the UK, and again for the home series against Pakistan. There was no memorable contribution across the two ODIs and the two T20Is, but that had to do with the lack of opportunities: he batted only once and bowled only nine overs.

What about first-class cricket?

A boating accident, followed by a toe surgery, delayed Connolly’s Sheffield Shield debut. It eventually came in the final of the 2023-24 edition: Connolly hit 90 in 115 balls from No.7 with 12 fours and three sixes in the first innings. In 2024-25, he made 79, 30 not out, and 55 in his three Shield outings.

However, the most significant red-ball call-up came in late October, for Australia A in an unofficial “Test” against India A. It is not common for cricketers in their first years in first-class cricket to be picked for “A” games, but the selectors placed their faith in Connolly.

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After India A were bowled out for 107, Connolly walked out at 73-4 in testing conditions. With 37, he outscored captain Nathan McSweeney in a stand of 51. While McSweeney was picked for the Test squad (as an opener – a role he was not used to), this remains Connolly’s final first-class match. His career stands at 309 runs at 61.80 with three fifties – but no wicket from 16 overs of bowling in his format.

Australia are likely to back Sam Konstas as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner. Marnus Labuschagne, stand-in-captain Steve Smith, and Travis Head will follow. McSweeney, recalled to the squad, will probably fill in if any of the five misses out for any reason. Beau Webster seems to have sealed the all-rounder’s slot – at least until Cameron Green returns.

Where does that leave Connolly, whose selection as good as shut the door on Glenn Maxwell’s Test career? Barring the teenage Konstas (and when he returns, the 25-year-old Green), all the others are past their 30th birthdays, and will grow a year older by the 2025-26 Ashes. If he bowls more, Connolly can become a long-term solution to the role of the specialist batter who can bowl left-arm spin.

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