Connolly bolts into new-look Aussie squad | cricket.com.au

by Admin
July 15, 2024

Western Australia allrounder Cooper Connolly has earned a shock call-up for Australia’s tour of the UK in September, where Jake Fraser-McGurk is set for the first crack at filling David Warner shoes at the top of Australia’s white-ball batting line-up.

Mitch Marsh will captain both sides with Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins rested from the month-long tour consisting of three T20 internationals against Scotland and three T20s and five ODIs against England.

Marsh’s state teammate Connolly is a surprise pick for the T20 leg, with the former Australia under-19 skipper bolting into his maiden senior squad on the back of a strong two seasons as a middle-order finisher for the Perth Scorchers.

That role had been filled by Matthew Wade at the past three T20 World Cups, who, along with Ashton Agar, missed selection for the tour as national selectors look to the future with the veteran Tasmanian to turn 38 before the next global T20 event in 2026.

Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Australia ODI squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Connolly’s inclusion comes after he shot to national stardom with a defining hand in the KFC BBL|12 decider, hitting two sixes in an unbeaten 25 to send 53,886 Scorchers fans into a frenzy.

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The 20-year-old left-hander, who captained Australia to third place at the 2022 U19 World Cup, has an impressive strike rate of 145 in 15 Big Bash appearances to date, building on his breakout campaign last season with crucial knocks against Brisbane Heat (35 off 25), Sydney Sixers (37no off 18) and Adelaide Strikers (31 off 22) from No.6 in their final three games of BBL|13.

After adding a One-Day Cup title with WA in February, Connolly – who also bowls handy left-arm spinners – proved again he was a player for the big occasion a match-turning 90 on first-class debut in the Sheffield Shield final against Tasmania to help deliver Western Australia a third straight title.

Connolly, who said as recently as last week “the last couple of years (had) been pretty surreal” after signing a two-year extension with the Scorchers, will likely compete with two other versatile WA allrounders – Cameron Green and Aaron Hardie – for a berth in Australia’s middle-order.

Cummins will miss the entire tour as part of a “pre-planned, long-term load management strategy” ahead of five-Test Border-Gavaskar series, a Cricket Australia release said, with Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell to join the squad for the ODI matches only.

The five one-day internationals, as well as three against Pakistan to kick off the home summer in November, will form Australia’s final preparations for next February’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

The reigning ODI world champions will be forced to make at least one change to last November’s World Cup-winning XI for next year’s tournament following Warner’s international retirement, although the veteran opener took to social media last week to say he would “open” to coming out of retirement for the Champions Trophy if selected.

Warner endorsed Fraser-McGurk as his successor following Australia’s exit from last month’s T20 World Cup, posting a photo on Instagram with the 22-year-old featuring the caption “All yours now champion”.

The Melbourne Renegades and South Australian aggressor made a splash on international debut against the West Indies in February with his fearless approach, launching his fourth ball faced for a huge six before slamming 41 off 18 in his second match to help Australia complete their quickest ever chase in men’s ODIs off 6.5 overs.

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He then lit up the Indian Premier League with a series of scintillating knocks for the Delhi Capitals while Warner was sidelined though injury, almost batting himself into World Cup contention for Australia despite being uncapped at international level in the T20 format.

His form earned him a trip to the Caribbean as one of Australia’s World Cup reserves alongside Victorian Matt Short, who will miss the T20 series against Scotland and England to remain home for the birth of his first child.

Quicks Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett round out the changes from last month’s World Cup 15. Johnson earned his T20 debut in South Africa last August, while Bartlett left his mark with 10 wickets in his first three international games against the Windies in February after also leading the wickets in KFC BBL|13.

The absence of Starc and Cummins will also allow Nathan Ellis extra responsibility to lead the attack alongside Josh Hazlewood during the T20 leg after impressing during his three World Cup appearances in the Caribbean.

Starc, Maxwell, Short, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey and Sean Abbott will all join a 16-player strong ODI squad ahead of the series opener against England at Trent Bridge on September 19.

National men’s selection chair George Bailey said they’d invested a lot of planning into the next six months which had included the “gradual integration” of new players into the white-ball squads.

“This tour gives us a great opportunity to bring in some new players in the absence of David Warner and Matthew Wade, as well as giving some senior players time to prepare for the home summer and a busy first half of next year,” Bailey said in a statement.

“We are particularly pleased to offer Cooper his first opportunity in the T20 squad having introduced the likes of Jake, Spencer, Xavier and Aaron in the past 12 months.

“They are exciting prospects to join the likes of Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis in the white-ball setup.”

Australia’s UK tour kicks off with the first of three T20Is against Scotland in Edinburgh on September 4, the first ever men’s bilateral series between the two nations.

The tour replaced Australia’s planned three-ODI, one T20I visit of Ireland that the hosts withdrew from for financial reasons.

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Australia has previously only visited Scotland for one-off matches, the most recent of which was an ODI in 2013 the visitors won by 200 runs.

Scotland pushed the Aussies all the way in their most recent T20 meeting in the opening group stage of last month’s World Cup, with half-centuries to Head and Stoinis ensuring Australia overhauled their target of 181 with two balls to spare in a result that eliminated the Scots from the tournament.