Last Updated on 5 months by Charbel Coorey

Australia have selected 20-year-old Cooper Connolly for the T20I legs of the upcoming Scotland and England tours. Born in Perth in August 2003, Connolly is an allrounder who plays for Perth Scorchers. He bats left-handed and offers a handy left-arm orthodox spin option.

Connolly burst onto the scene in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2022/23 Final. The Scorchers were in all sorts of trouble in their run chase of 176 against Brisbane Heat, sitting in a precarious 137/5 with 19 balls remaining and all of the experienced batsmen back in the hut.

Then 19, Connolly rose to the occasion, slamming 25* off 11 balls to send the capacity Optus Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Before that innings, Connolly had played just three BBL games and faced just 11 balls.

Cooper Connolly: Australia’s next big thing?

Connolly, who plays for local club Scarborough in Western Australia, captained Australia during the 2022 U-19 World Cup in West Indies. He had a quiet tournament with the bat (6 inns, 73 runs), after 72 runs in two innings (including 64 off 53 balls vs West Indies) as a 16-year-old in the 2020 U-19 World Cup.

Perth Scorchers and Western Australia saw him as a great talent worth investing in. The left-hander has impressed in his short career so far. He currently has 15 T20s under his belt, scoring 226 runs at an average of 28.25 and strike rate of 145.80. He has also taken six wickets at an average of 15.16 and economy of 7.00.

The youngster made his First Class debut in the 2024 Sheffield Shield Final against Tasmania. He struck a superb 90 off 115 balls in his first innings, hitting 12 fours and three sixes.

In T20s, Connolly has batted both at the top and middle order, so it will be interesting to see where he lines up for Australia. He has opened four times, batted six times at number six and has lined up at seven on two occasions.

“We haven’t had that many bolters for a little while,” said national selector George Bailey, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“He’s an exciting young talent. Hasn’t played a great many games yet, but we really like his versatility,” Bailey continued. “His work through the middle order for the Scorchers has been really impressive. Handy left-arm spin as well which, as a secondary skill, is something we are really keen to keep exploring and see where that goes with his cricket.”

Australia’s squad for T20Is vs England and Scotland & ODIs vs England

Connolly joins Jake Fraser-McGurk as the two young guns in the T20I squad. Xavier Bartlett is also included. Matt Short will be home for the birth of his first child before linking up with the squad for the ODIs. Pat Cummins (rested for whole tour), Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc will miss the T20Is.

T20Is: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

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

Australia begin the tour with three T20Is in Scotland on September 4, 6 and 7. They then travel to England for three T20Is on 11, 13 and 15, afterwhich they will play five ODIs.