Mitch Marsh backs WA young gun Cooper Connolly to embrace the pressure ahead of international debut
Cooper Connolly is no stranger to pressure and, as his meteoric rise has taken him to the doorstep of the Australian Cricket Team, Mitch Marsh predicts he can be the nation’s next star.
Connolly was a surprise inclusion in Australia’s Twenty20 squad for their tour of Scotland and England having only burst onto the scene after his BBL grand final heroics in 2023.
Before then Connolly had only faced 11 deliveries at a professional level but his ability to deliver under extraordinary circumstances has Marsh believing he has a bright future ahead.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The one thing that stood out to me, and we saw it in Big Bash, is he loves the big moments,” Marsh told Fox Cricket.
“He’s going to fail at certain times in those moments, but I know that he doesn’t get overawed by that, he’s a very calm character.
“He’s a confident, humble young man, and I think Australia will fall in love with him.”
Connolly has only enhanced his reputation as a big game player after making his first-class debut in this year’s Sheffield Shield final where he cracked 90 off just 115 balls to help bury Tasmania as WA completed a hat-trick of Sheild titles.
While Connolly undoubtedly still has a long way to go in his development Marsh predicts his X-factor could set him up for a long career for Australia.
“I certainly think he’s good enough to play (for Australia), and that really excites us,” Marsh said.
“He’ll be up for the challenge, and he’s going to learn a lot being around some of our more experienced players.
“He’ll have a lot of fun, he’s learning a lot at the moment, as a young player coming through the ranks.”
During his selection announcement last month, George Bailey said they view Connolly as a potential all-format star.
“He hasn’t played a great many games yet, but we really like his versatility,” Bailey explained.
“His work through the middle order for the Scorchers has been really impressive.
“There’s a number of Australia A games and some CA XI games if we feel like we want to keep providing red-ball experience he might not be getting elsewhere.
“Who knows where he can get to, but (we’re) just looking forward to getting to know him better and seeing how he is around the group.”
It comes as England settled on their white-ball squads with Jonny Bairstow’s England career potentially over after he was axed along with Moeen Ali.
England are overhauling their white ball squads following Matthew Motts sacking as coach and have named five uncapped players for the side which will be led by interim coach Marcus Trescothick.
South African-born pace bowler John Turner, Barbadian-born all-rounder Jacob Bethell and left-arm seamer Josh Hull are selected in both formats while Dan Mousley and Jordan Cox come have been added to the T20 side.
