Who is Cooper Connolly? 5 interesting facts about Australian all-rounder picked for England and Scotland tour
On Monday (July 15), batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly was named in a new-look Australian T20I squad to face Scotland and England in September. Mitchell Marsh will lead the side, with the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell being rested.
Connolly has garnered 226 runs in 15 T20 games at an average of 28.25 and a strike rate of around 146 for the Perth Scorches. He also has six wickets to his name at an economy of 7.
Despite having less experience, Connolly has been looked up to as a future left-arm spin all-rounder for Australia across all formats. Here's what the chief selector George Bailey said about Connolly in the press statement:
“He hasn’t played a great many games of cricket yet, but we really like his versatility. His work through the middle order for the Scorchers has been really impressive. Handy left-arm spin as well, which is something we’re really keen to keep exploring and see where that goes with his cricket."
On that note, let's take a look at the few interesting facts about Cooper Connolly, ranging from his life to career so far.
#1 Learned cricket from his father-cum-coach Shane Connolly
Cooper's father, Shane Connolly is a former assistant coach of the Scarborough team, which takes part in the Western Australian Premier Cricket, a club cricket tournament. Interestingly, he was awarded Cricketer of the Year 2004-05 by the West Australian Suburban Turf Cricket Association.
As a result, Cooper has been learning the game from his father since his childhood.
#2 Captained Australian team in U19 World Cup 2022
Cooper Connolly has represented Australia twice in U19 World Cups. In 2020, he garnered 72 runs in two innings, while impressive the selectors with his terrific knock of 64 off 53 against the West Indies.
Then, Connolly led Australia in U19 World Cup 2022, where they had a third-place finish. He contributed 73 runs and picked up five wickets in six appearances. He returned with a best batting effort of 25-ball 33 against Pakistan, while taking 3/17 against the Caribean team.
#3 Cooper Connolly and his father have been teammates of Andrew Tye
According to reports, Cooper Connolly's father, Shane played domestic cricket for Scarborough with Andrew Tye, who is Western Australia's all-time leading wicket-taker.
Interestingly, the spin-bowling all-rounder, Cooper, also took the field for Scarborough with Tye. Ahead of his T20 debut for Perth Scorchers in January 2023, the youngster received a cap from Tye, which got him a bit emotional. Here's what he said at that time:
“Looking at AJ when he was talking, he got me a little bit emotional because he’d done a bit of work with my dad (Scarborough assistant coach Shane) and they’ve had great communication over the last 15 years. [H/t The West Australian]
#4 Played a match-winning innings for Perth Scorchers in BBL 2022/23 final
The Big Bash League (BBL) 2022/23 final witnessed Perth Scorchers taking on Brisbane Heat in Perth. Batting first, Heat posted a strong total of 175 on the board, with Nathan McSweeney (41) as the top-scorer.
In response, the Scorchers got a mediocre start, but skipper Ashton Turner (53) bolstered the team's chances. Cooper Connolly arrived at the crease, when the Scorchers still needed 39 off 19 balls.
In only his second ball, the southpaw cleared the long-on boundary, while hitting a four in his fourth towards the deep mid-wicket. In particular, his six towards the deep mid-wicket against James Bazley was a highlight of his innings.
The youngster went on to slam 25 off 11, as he stitched an unbeaten 41-run stand with Nick Hobson (18*) to defend the title for the Scorchers.
#5 Scored 90 on his first-class debut
Cooper Connolly made his first-class debut in March 2024 for Western Australia against Tasmania at Perth. He slammed 90 off 115, with 12 fours and three sixes, taking the team's total to 347.
The second innings saw him contribute 18 off 30, as the team went on to win the game by a mammoth margin of 377 runs.