Everyone remembers the Big Bash final but for Cooper Connolly, his belief stems from a moment three years earlier in the quieter surrounds of Benoni’s Willowmoore Park some 20km east of Johannesburg.
The crowd barely nudged three figures that day, a far cry from the more than 50,000 that packed Optus Stadium for the KFC BBL|12 decider last year, but for the then 16-year-old left-hander from Perth’s northern suburbs, the stakes were just as high.
Thrust onto the world stage with Jake Fraser-McGurk’s tournament brought to a premature end after a monkey scratched his face, the youngest member of Australia’s 2020 men’s Under-19 World Cup squad rose to the occasion with a 47-ball half-century against the West Indies in their final game of the campaign.
It’s a trait that would become a habit for the young West Australian in the four years that followed with defining performances on the big stage to help deliver Perth Scorchers a record fifth men’s Big Bash title and WA a third straight Sheffield Shield.
Connolly’s next moment could again come for his country, but this time he can be certain more will be watching after yesterday earning his maiden selection in an Australia T20 squad for September’s tour of the UK.
Scorchers and WA high performance boss Kade Harvey remarked last week there wasn’t much that “flusters” the now 20-year-old after rewarding him with a two-year contract extension, but Connolly admits the call from national selector Tony Dodemaide did come as “a bit of a surprise”.
“I couldn’t sit still, I was walking around the for about 10-15 minutes, it was such a surreal moment,” he told cricket.com.au of the moment he was informed of his selection in a 14-player squad for six T20 internationals against Scotland and England.
“It’s nice to have done a few things with a great team (at WA and the Scorchers) and it obviously gives me some confidence.
“But I’ve never experienced this level (international cricket) so it’ll be nice to learn off some of the guys that are going, some quality players including the likes of Travis Head.
“I’ll get (over) there, get learning and hopefully, if I get my opportunity, I’ll make the most of it.”
Australia’s men’s selection chair George Bailey said Connolly’s “versatility” had stood out despite his limited experience at the top level having only played 15 games for the Scorchers since his BBL debut in January last year.
Bailey also pointed to his exposure to different conditions after captaining Australia at the following U19 World Cup in the West Indies in 2022 and also touring India to visit the MRF Academy in Chennai last year.
“His work through the middle order for the Scorchers has been really impressive and (he bowls) handy left-arm spin as well,” Bailey said on Monday.
“For Cooper, that ability to bat from four to seven, we find it’s a challenging spot to find and maintain players through that area.
“If you look at our T20 team over the past, we’ve had Matty Wade and Marcus Stoinis, two guys that have had a lot of success at the top and they’ve been able to create really good careers through becoming finishers in that Australian side.
“I think Cooper’s got that ability to be able to do something similar and that’s where he’s had the majority of his opportunities and that’s where we’ve liked the skill set that he’s provided.
“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.”
With Wade omitted for the UK tour, Connolly’s opportunity will likely come into that middle-order ‘finishing’ role where he has excelled for the Scorchers, including his memorable 25 not out from 11 balls against Brisbane Heat to swing the BBL|12 Final.
He’d only batted once previously that season before his match-turning knock, which included an 18th over takedown of James Bazley where he blasted two sixes and a four, flipping the Scorchers’ win probability from 21 to 69 per cent with six swings on the bat.
He began last summer opening the batting for the Scorchers with English recruits Zak Crawley and Stephen Eskinazi but after struggling to get going in his first four innings, settled back into a more familiar middle-order role.
It saw him end the BBL|13 season with consecutive knocks of 35 (off 25 balls), 37no (18) and 31 (22) from No.6, as well as a counterattacking 90 from 115 balls on first-class debut in the Sheffield Shield final in March.
But at 20 years of age, Connolly knows he is far from a finished product, and with a “lot of learnings” still to come, he is determined to grab his next chance at the top of the order having prospered at No.3 for his club side Scarborough.
“I’m trying to take every opportunity because I want to allow myself the best opportunity to represent my country in any position that’s required,” he said.
“I found my way a little bit towards the back end of the Big Bash last season at six and worked out how to play that role a bit better.
“I still want to open the batting, it’s quite a good spot to be.
“It’s just going to take some time and it was something new to me, I haven’t had that much exposure or experience with it so over time I’ll hopefully get better and maybe get some opportunities in coming years.”
While he reckons “it won’t feel real” at first when he starts rubbing shoulders with the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Marsh who started their own careers when Connolly was one of the 10-year-old kids in the stands, he can draw on that day in Benoni in February 2020 – which he pinpoints as the beginning of his rapid rise to international level – of how quickly things can change.
“That tournament doesn’t feel long ago at all,” he said.
“I made (64 off 53 balls) at 16 years of age which was a real confidence booster for myself, I thought I could potentially make it to the next level.
“It was strange circumstances that I got the opportunity and I just tried to make the most of it as much as I could.
“It’s always nice to have in the back of your mind but then again I was 16 at the first one and 18 at the last one, there’s so much growth that has happened between then and now.
“And I feel like there’s so much more growth I can give to my cricketing ability and hopefully I can show some of my talent if that opportunity presents (in the UK).
“It’s pretty surreal to be saying that I could be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with some of these guys, it won’t feel real for the first bit but hopefully I can settle in … have some fun and see what happens.”
Qantas Tour of the UK 2024
Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
September 4: First T20 v Scotland, The Grange, Edinburgh, time TBC
September 6: Second T20 v Scotland, The Grange, Edinburgh, time TBC
September 7: Third T20 v Scotland, The Grange, Edinburgh, time TBC
September 11: First T20 v England, Rose Bowl, Southampton, 3.30am Sept 12 AEST
September 13: Second T20 v England, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 3.30am Sept 14 AEST
September 15: Third T20 v England, Old Trafford Manchester, 11.30pm AEST
Australia ODI squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
September 19: First ODI v England, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 10pm AEST
September 21: Second ODI v England, Headingley, Leeds, 10pm AEST
September 24: Third ODI v England, Riverside, Chester-le-Street, 10pm AEST
September 27: Fourth ODI v England, Lord’s, London, 10pm AEST
September 29: Fifth ODI v England, County Ground, Bristol, 8pm AEST