Cooper Connolly

Connolly, a left-handed batter who has modeled himself on Shaun Marsh and a left-arm spinner, had been viewed as a future star during his teenage years and captained Australia Under-19s at the 2022 World Cup. It was the 2022-23 BBL final that really brought him to wider attention, however, when he steered Perth Scorchers to the title with a nerveless display in just his second T20 innings.

That ability to rise to big moments was again on show in the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield final where Connolly made 90 on his first-class debut, which would have come sooner had it not been for injury.

Despite still very limited experience he was selected for the white-ball tours of Scotland and England in 2024, making his debut across both formats, which he followed with an Australia A appearance against India A early in the 2024-25 season.

A broken thumb sustained in an ODI against Pakistan on home soil at Optus Stadium sidelined him from that summer's T20I series but he returned to have an impressive BBL where he averaged over 50 at a healthy strike-rate while batting at No. 3 and 4. Still, he was a surprise selection for the Test tour of Sri Lanka, plucked out as much for his developing left-arm spin as his batting with stand-in captain Steven Smith making a strong push for his selection.