If you thought Sam Konstas was inexperienced with 11 first-class matches under his belt when he arrived in the Australia team, their next debutant could have just four games to his name when they take a loose green and a maiden first-class wicket could come. in a test.
“I really liked having someone like Cooper come in and be able to spin the ball,” Smith said. “You see India play in India and they have Axar [Patel] and [Ravindra] Jadeja, if one of your spinners gets tired or nothing happens, you can turn to another spinner. I like the fit, just having a pair of swivel wheels in each direction. “It combines very well.”
Connolly, who revealed he had snapped a 10-year-old photo of himself alongside Smith at the WACA after his call-up, is not expected to play the role of those specialist spinners, but is confident in how his bowling is developing at the moment. despite limited opportunities.
“I feel like my bowling is pretty high at the moment. I like to think that’s the case,” he said. “That’s something that will get me into teams around the world and hopefully more opportunities for Australia. I think my bowling has come a long way in the last 18 months so I’m happy with where I’m at.”
It was 9pm when Connolly received the phone call telling him he had made the team. “I saw Tony Dodemaide’s name come up and thought that was probably the only thing it could be,” he said. “[It was a] Nice phone call, I was direct and told mom and dad that mom was about to cry. I will never forget that moment. Dream come true.”
It was a theme taken up by the chairman of selectors, George Bailey, when the team was announced. “Technically, we like it. We like the temperament. We like the character. Clearly, the skill set has a lot to like as well,” he said.
Connolly would have played Shield cricket before last season’s final but for a boating accident, and would have added a couple more appearances if not for a broken hand he suffered in the ODI against Pakistan in Perth . He scored a half-century in each of his first three Shield matches and featured in the Australia A-India A series before moving into the ODI team.
While Connolly’s bowling has been a big part of his team, batting is clearly his strong point, although even there he continues to learn on the fly, particularly when it comes to switching between formats, something he will need to do heading into Sri Lanka. from the BBL where he is currently the leading run scorer.
“I haven’t done much of that [changing formats] so I’m still learning but I think it will be about [how] I also like to be an aggressive player in red-ball cricket,” he said. “So it’s about toning it down a bit from T20 and continuing to play the way that has gotten me to this level.”
As the game glimpses Australia’s next generation, Connolly praised the way Konstas began his Test career. “Watch him play ramps shoots [Jasprit] Bumrah, it’s exciting; I won’t do that,” he said with a smile. “He’s brought a lot of energy to that team, they already had a lot of energy, but he’s brought something different, the way he plays is unbelievable to be honest. He is brave enough to bring Bumrah up three times in a row. “It will be a good opportunity to get in there and hopefully give him some more energy.”
Whether Connolly plays or not, he will take the opportunity in Sri Lanka to absorb as much knowledge as he can from the experienced players.
“I’ll probably sit in Travis Head’s pocket like I did during the one-day and T20 series,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting to be around some players that I saw playing Test cricket at the WACA ten years ago. I actually took a photo from 10 years ago, it was a photo of me and Steve Smith, so that was a cool one.” to think I could run away with him.”
Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor of ESPNcricinfo
