Young all-rounder Cooper Connolly experienced a difficult outing in Australia’s Champions Trophy semi-final against India on Tuesday, where he was given the chance to open the batting but fell for a duck after facing nine balls. His selection came as a surprise after he was promoted from the travelling reserve to the main squad just one day before the match, taking the place of Matt Short who was sidelined due to a quadriceps injury.
Despite the selectors choosing Connolly as Travis Head’s opening partner over Jake Fraser-McGurk and Aaron Hardie, his performance did not meet expectations. Connolly was visibly uncomfortable at the crease, missing six deliveries before an inside edge off Mohammed Shami was caught, leading to a successful review by India after initially being given not out by the umpire. Ravi Shastri, the former Indian cricket captain, commented on Connolly’s struggles, indicating the pressure of the moment was evident.
At the time of his dismissal, Australia found themselves in a precarious position at 1-4, with Connolly’s innings marking his debut at the opening position in international cricket; previously, he had batted at No.3 and No.5 in his limited ODI appearances. In contrast, Travis Head had made a promising start, scoring 39 runs before being dismissed.
Connolly recently debuted in Test cricket against Sri Lanka, with his prior outing resulting in a low score of 4, and he also failed to take wickets in his bowling stint. Despite this challenging display, Australian coach Andrew McDonald expressed optimism regarding Connolly’s potential, suggesting it was premature to critique him based on early performances. He sees Connolly as a future asset for the team, especially if he enhances his batting.
Both McDonald and acting captain Steve Smith highlighted Connolly’s bright prospects in cricket, signalling that despite the initial setbacks, the 21-year-old has the talent to grow and potentially secure a more prominent batting role in the future.