Last Updated on 41 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
In May, Teague Wyllie said he’d like to prove Western Australia wrong after the state pulled their offer for the 22-year-old. The new Tasmanian recruit has made an excellent start to those aspirations, scoring 130 for Cricket Australia (CA) XI against Bangladesh in Darwin.
CA XI, in response to Bangladesh’s 263, were in trouble at 139/5. Wyllie, along with future Tasmania teammate Jake Doran (78) stitched together a 167-run stand to put the hosts in the lead.
The 22-year-old brought up his century off just 131 balls. He faced a total of 177 deliveries and struck at 73.45 with 16 fours to his name.
Teague Wyllie begins new lease of life with 130 for CA XI against Bangladesh
The right-hander was proactive in Darwin, not allowing the Bangladeshi bowlers to settle. He was able to shift momentum in his team’s favour and the hosts ended day two in a strong position after scoring 355 and reducing the Tigers to 13/2.
“It was really nice to be able to contribute to the scoreboard and help put the guys in a very good position,” Wyllie said, as quoted by CODE Sports.
“There are a few divots after yesterday but all in all I thought with the new ball we did enough and if you earned the right by applying yourself with the slightly older ball there was value for your shots.
“The Bangladeshi bowlers attacked the stumps really well so I had to be disciplined there and not get too far across but the game is set up really well.”
Wyllie is the seventh-youngest batter to score a maiden Sheffield Shield century. He achieved the feat at the age of 18 years and 163 days playing for WA against New South Wales in 2022-23.
However, opportunities have been limited since, playing just a handful of matches over the past few seasons as he fell behind in the pecking order. WA originally handed him an offer, but limited opportunities meant he wanted to see who the coach was.
“I was very honest and transparent,” Wyllie told reporters in May, as quoted by cricket.com.au. “I said, ‘I really appreciate the offer and the faith in offering a multi-year deal, but I’ve played four games of cricket in the past two years, and I don’t know who the coach is next year, so I just want to keep my options open.'”
WA then made the call to let Wyllie go. The 22-year-old is now happy to be at Tasmania.
“As soon as I found out that I was being let go by WA, I messaged Jake Doran, which helped put me in contact with the right people to get the ball rolling, and from there it was a pretty smooth process to be able to join the Tigers,” he said.
“I feel like coming to Tasmania is a place where I’ll be able to grow as a person and a player and hopefully flourish.”
Teague Wyllie a player to watch in the coming years
Wyllie comes across as a confident player who has self-belief. Australia need young batters to make a statement in Shield cricket, and the 22-year-old believes he is in a good place.
“It’s been tough sitting on the sidelines a little bit the past couple years,” Wyllie said earlier this year.
“For me, the challenge is to make sure that when I get that opportunity that I make it impossible not to be selected for the next game.
“My career average in second XI is (74); I’ve got an average of 52 in first-grade cricket, and I got an opportunity in one-day cricket last season for WA and did pretty well.
“Even in a CA XI game I managed to get runs (scoring 71 and 20 not out against England Lions in November), so I don’t think it’s a case of being out of form, I just feel like I haven’t quite nailed the chances that I’ve got in the last little period.
“But that doesn’t mean that I’m a better player three or four years ago when I was playing (than I am now).
“I feel like my game has trended in the right direction, and I’ve worked on the on the right things, I just haven’t quite nailed it when I’ve had opportunities at Shield level.”
