Jake Weatherald, a 31-year-old opener from Tasmania, recently got his first call-up to the Australian cricket team. Now he’s preparing for the best cricket Ashes series against old enemy England! The call comes as Australia finalises its 15-man squad for the opening Test and is a testament to Weatherald’s stunning run through the domestic ranks.
Weatherald’s display of late gives him a strong case to be the next big addition in the national side. During this season [1993-94], he scored a remarkable 101 runs from 111 balls opening for Queensland Bulls against New South Wales. His developments were arrested by a failure across 4 of 12 for Aaron Hardie to bowl him. Even that happened again in a later game. Despite that, his track record of hitting history leaves him a formidable presence as a favorite for the starting batting job.
Among the crowded field of domestic players, Weatherald quickly distinguished himself. Each one of them competing for a golden ticket into an elite Australian batting order. Last summer, he battled against some of the best, including Marnus Labuschagne, last season’s leading run-scorer. Labuschagne had gotten Weatherald out in their earlier encounters. This competitive environment is evidence to the uphill battle that Weatherald will face in continuing to make his claim at earning a place on the team.
Andrew Tye’s fellow former Australian player Michael Rogers, now coaching in the Netherlands, has come out in support of Weatherald being included in the squad. Giving Weatherald an opportunity in his experience Fagan indicated was vital to finding out whether he can show similar talents on the global phase.
“I would like to see Jake Weatherald get a chance to see what he is made of,” – Chris Rogers
Rogers was worried about the selection process that’s being used to fill the opening position. He recognized the burden of liability placed on selectors, who he said like to take a cleaner line in their selections.
“It is a concern. They would prefer it to be a little bit cleaner,” – Chris Rogers
Rogers stressed that the best knowledge selectors will select the right team Colour appropriately. He addressed the difficulty of keeping the most talented players out of the draft pool.
“No-one has a crystal ball with these things,” – Chris Rogers
He then doubled down on his openers selection woes, revealing the lengths he would go to to protect this all-important batting position.
“I am protective of the opening position as an opener. I always like to think it is the hardest role of cricket. I wouldn’t mind seeing them go with the proven opener as such,” – Chris Rogers
Aussies revving for the Ashes series, and mighty contest soon to explode. Weatherald’s selection marks a huge vote of confidence in him. The next games should give Weatherald and her teammates further chances to prove their fitness for the big stage of international cricket.
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