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Perth Now
4 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Aussie hopefuls' challenging Ashes audition
Test batters Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney will have an early run in the looming Ashes bat-off after being named for the Australian A tour of India. Australian chief selector George Bailey announced two squads on Thursday, a red-ball and a white-ball squad, for next month's subcontinent series. The Aussies will play five games against India, starting on September 16 and finishing in early October. McSweeney and Konstas headline a 14-strong red-ball squad that also includes Test hopefuls Cooper Connolly, Todd Murphy and Lance Morris. Bailey said upcoming subcontinent tours were front of mind when picking the squad but made note of players returning in time for the start of the Sheffield Shield season. 'The subcontinent provides many unique challenges and the opportunity to utilise different skills with bat and ball,' Bailey said. 'We hope repeated experiences in these conditions will assist players in developing an effective method and understanding of their game for future subcontinent tours. 'For many of these players we remain interested in the development of their short-form cricket as well, but balancing out priorities meant we wanted them back and available for the start of the Sheffield Shield season.' The white-ball series will provide opportunity to a host of Australia's up-and-comers, including Harry Dixon, Lachie Shaw and Tom Straker. Out-of-form youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk will also get an opportunity to regain touch on pitches he has relished in the past. Australia A (four-day squad): Xavier Bartlett Cooper Connolly Jack Edwards Aaron Hardie Campbell Kellaway Sam Konstas Nathan McSweeney Lance Morris Todd Murphy Fergus O'Neill Oliver Peake Josh Philippe Corey Rocchiccioli Liam Scott Australia A (one-day squad): Cooper Connolly Harry Dixon Jack Edwards Sam Elliott Jake Fraser-McGurk Aaron Hardie Mackenzie Harvey Todd Murphy Tanveer Sangha Liam Scott Lachie Shaw Tom Straker Will Sutherland Callum Vidler
Perth Now
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
‘Struggling to get it away': Wunderkind's subtle warning after dazzling debut
It was a subtle yet ominous warning from the emerging star. Teenager Oliver Peake hit 55no from just 38 balls on his Australian A debut on Friday in the first of five matches against Sri Lanka in the Northern Territory. The left-hander walked to the middle with 10 overs left and put on a 100-run stand with Test hopeful Nathan McSweeney. Peake carved four fours and one towering six in his 38-ball stay but, worryingly for Sri Lanka, he said he was far from his best for the first half of his innings. 'It was pretty cool to bat with Nathan McSweeney, obviously six months ago he was opening the batting for Australia,' Peake said. 'It's pretty cool to rub shoulders with him and spend some time out in the middle. 'He definitely guided me through my first 20 balls really well, I felt like I wasn't really hitting them too well and struggling to get it away. 'He just reminded me it's a big ground, run really hard and we just started to get the momentum back in our favour that way.' Ollie Peake made two hundreds for the Australian under-19 team against India. Oliver Peake Instagram. Credit: News Corp Australia Peake, who toured with Australia in Sri Lanka earlier this year, also hit a half century on Sheffield Shield debut for Victoria in March. He said he took some time to adapt to the speed of the Sri Lankan spinners and the length of the seamers. 'The wicket had enough in it for the bowlers but as you can see a lot of runs scored as well,' he said. 'Their spinners were pretty fast through the air and didn't get too much bounce, that was a bit new and different to how Australians typically bowl. 'Their pace bowlers were trying to hit a lot of Yorkers which was quite new to me as well playing List A first class cricket, my first game. 'Hopefully I can continue on with some runs but it was good to help out at the end and cool to bat with 'Buddha' (McSweeney).'
