Cooper Connolly: Junior coach reveals the decision that will add zeroes to WA rising star’s pay cheques

Australian cricket is licking its lips over Cooper Connolly’s left-arm spin as he prepares to head to Sri Lanka on his first Test tour. But if it wasn’t for the advice of one of Western Australia’s top junior coaches, he could still be bowling “slow medium pace outswingers”. It’s a call that now makes Connolly one of the most exciting all-round packages in all of cricket. Steve Smith wanted him in the Test squad because he turns the ball away from right-hand batter and in the opposite direction to Nathan Lyon and soon it will start adding zeros to pay cheques. Gun batter. Elite fielder. Very handy overs. “There was a period where myself and our under-17 coach suggested to Cooper to take up left-arm orthodox spin bowling, over his slow medium pace outswing,” WA talent pathway manager David Fitzgerald told The Sunday Times. “We saw immediate results in the championship with him being a quick learner and being able to develop that skill very quickly. “And I feel like that’s quite a pivotal moment as part of his career and journey that he was able to take up that advice and continue to improve it every year as a secondary skill to his primary skill of batting.” “It came about because we probably needed a second spinner within our under-17s team and to provide balance for the squad. “But it also allows him to be more flexible, adaptable in selection in future teams as he progresses through the Cricket Australia pathway and his left-arm slow medium pace outswingers was not going to assist his future selection.” Connolly has been included in the 16-man Test squad as a batting all-rounder. If an opportunity comes, selectors say it will be in the middle order, but they have been crying out for a left-armer to work in concert with Lyon. It has been revealed Smith was one of Connolly’s key advocates as momentum grew around him landing a spot in the side. “I kind of had a little chat with Ronnie (Andrew McDonald) and Dodders (selector Tony Dodemaide) in here (the SCG) after the game and I was quite big on someone like Cooper coming in to be able to spin the ball away,” Smith said. “You watch India play and they have Axar (Patel) and (Ravindra) Jadeja, when one of their spinners gets tired or nothing is happening they can turn to another spinner and I like the fit, just having a couple of spinners each way, it sort of matches up really nicely.” Connolly’s bowling hasn’t even taken a wicket yet in first-class cricket, but he has bowled key overs — particularly coming out of the power play — for Perth Scorchers and he has vowed to bowl more in the lead-up to the tour. The 21-year-old has travelled to the MRF Academy in Chennai to work on bowling in subcontinent conditions and will have a 10-day camp on wickets Australia will prepare as turners later this month. Former Australia and Scorchers coach Justin Langer believes it is a major part of what makes Connolly such a sought-after prospect. “The other thing that comes with him is he has got that, he can bat down the order and hopefully this education up the order will be good for him, but also he has got handy left-arm spinners and he is a gun fielder,” he said. “He is a bloody good athlete because he is quick between the wickets, so what that means is he is a really good package as well.”