Australia have picked Cooper Connolly, the 21-year-old Western Australian batter, in their 16-member squad for the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka.
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.
