Bartlett has not been seen in domestic cricket so far this season after a side strain cut short his white-ball tour of the UK in September. He recently returned to local cricket in Brisbane and is set to play in the first match of the T20I series between a short-handed Australia (without their Test players) and Pakistan at the Gabba on Thursday.
He subsequently claimed four-wicket hauls in his first two ODIs against the West Indies and took 6 wickets from four T20Is at an average of 17.66.
Bartlett has been on the radar of the hierarchy as they struggle to create depth behind the quick big three of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, who have been resilient over the years but face the tough challenge of five Tests against India in seven weeks.
“Those three main [Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood] “They’ve been incredible for so long, incredible,” Bartlett told reporters in Brisbane. “There will be opportunities in the future. Personally, the goal is always to try and play Test cricket in Australia.
“There is so much cricket and every time you get the opportunity to play for Australia it is a childhood dream. Whether [due to] people who are not available or who are available you just have to try to take advantage of your opportunity. And this is a great opportunity.
“Everything’s fine [with my fitness]… biting the urge to go out.”
Bartlett, 25, will be part of a second-string Australian team looking to salvage some pride after their surprise ODI series defeat to Pakistan, which included successive thrashings in Adelaide and Perth.
Australia’s batsmen had no answer for Pakistan’s four-pronged attack, which enjoyed favorable pace and bounce conditions throughout the series. “They’ve been incredible, the last two games they’ve only used four players,” Bartlett said.
“The 140 [kph] From both ends, it’s been exciting to watch. They threw great distances and attacked a lot. Hopefully we can emulate that. “We’ve talked about just trying to take wickets and trying to make early breakthroughs.”
Bartlett is set to share the new ball with left-arm quick Spencer Johnson in a tandem return for the pair that lit up the Heat so many times during their title run. As at Optus Stadium, the Gabba surface tends to be fast and bouncy, but runs can flow quickly there in white-ball cricket.
There have been storms in Brisbane this week and rain is forecast for Thursday. “It’s a really good cricket ground, so it should be entertaining cricket,” Bartlett said.
While some eye-catching performances in the three-match T20I series could see Bartlett move up the pecking order of fringe Test bowlers, his Heat teammate Nathan McSweeney will make his debut in the first Test after being named initial partner of Usman Khawaja.
“Seeing their journey since we were about 11 or 12 years old. [years of age] “Where he is now, making his Test debut, it’s incredible; I’m absolutely happy for him,” Bartlett said of McSweeney, who is from Brisbane but captains South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.
“He’s worked really hard. I can’t wait to see him out and I hope he does well in Australia.”
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
