Cooper Connolly appears to be like like he’d be extra at dwelling on a surfboard than in the midst of a cricket floor.
Yet the 19-year-old clearly appears to be like like he has the nerve and the sport to play on the high stage.
He walked off Optus Stadium on Saturday evening after taking part in a key position within the Perth Scorchers Big Bash remaining win over the Brisbane Heat, to 53,886 followers chanting his identify, who definitely consider in him.
“Cooper… Cooper.”
It was eerie.
He didn’t even hit the profitable runs for the Scorchers. His teammate Nick Hobson smashed 10 runs in two balls to get Perth over the road in opposition to the Heat with three balls remaining.
But Connolly’s daring 25 runs from 11 balls, together with a boundary and two huge sixes, stole the present.
The Australian captain for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup within the West Indies took the duty to win the sport and adopted by way of.
“I simply walked as much as Hobbo and I stated ‘mate, we can do this. I have full faith in ourselves,” he said when he got to the wicket needing 39 runs to win from 19 deliveries.
“And after that over from (James) Bazley (when he hit 19 runs), I thought we can actually do this and we sort of just got on a roll and that’s what momentum does.
“We wanted 10 off the final over so we even thought three twos and one boundary and we’re away.”
That plan didn’t final lengthy. Connolly hit a single with the primary ball of the over, earlier than the six and a 4 had been hit by Hobson to seal the win.
It was solely Connolly’s fourth sport of the event and simply his second time on the crease.
He hit an unbeaten 20 runs from 11 balls in his earlier knock, in opposition to the Melbourne Renegades in Game 52.
He’s additionally been working intently with Ash Agar, a fellow left hand spinner.
But it’s his batting now that has folks speaking.
“(Agar’s) been so good for me, even coming in last year I was sort of around a little bit,” he stated.
“He’s taught me how he goes about it and he’s one of the best T20 in the world so to learn from him is amazing and he’s an absolute hero of mine as well.”
“(This performance) just gives me that extra boost that I can play at this level,”
“A couple of games ago I wasn’t too sure, and this was like I can play on the big stage and I’m confident in myself that I can perform under pressure.”
Source: www.news.com.au
