Australia in Sri Lanka: Cooper Connolly on the cusp of playing Test cricket under childhood hero Steve Smith

A decade ago, Cooper Connolly asked Steve Smith — then at the top of his game as a batting master — for a photograph. Now, after a 21-year-old Connolly was named in a Test squad for the first time, Smith has revealed he pushed for him to be selected. First they will face off in a Big Bash League match between Smith’s Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. “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.” It comes after Connolly opened up on his Test selection, which he said was “one of the greatest moments of his cricket career and life”, in an exclusive column for The West Australian. The emerging star has lifted to every stage he has been thrust onto in the infancy of his professional career. That includes famously winning the Scorchers a title in just his fourth match and making his first-class debut in a Sheffield Shield final. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Smith. “I think it’s a really good inclusion, he’s a talented young kid. Every opportunity he has got he has done really well and I like the prospect of having someone that can spin the ball away from the right-hander as well,” he said. “It’s a really exciting tour for him, he has got a lot of talent and I look forward to seeing what he can bring in Sri Lanka.” Connolly uncovered the photo of himself and Smith for his column in The West and said it was mind-blowing to now be on the cusp of sharing a field with him. “It’s just going to be exciting to be around some players that 10 years ago I was watching play Test cricket at the WACA,” he said. “I actually pulled up a photo from 10 years ago, my State 12’s and it was a photo of me and Steve Smith, so that was pretty cool to be thinking that I could potentially be running out with him.” Connolly said he will ramp up his bowling loads when he picks up the red ball to prepare for Sri Lanka after Smith stressed his left-arm orthodox could be crucial. “I feel like my bowling is pretty high at the moment, I like to think it is. I guess that’s something that’s going to get me in more teams around the world and hopefully more opportunity for Australia,” he said. “I think my bowling has come a long way in the last 18 months, so I’m happy with where it’s at.” The all-rounder will leave for Australia’s training camp before the BBL finals series and said he was desperate to leave the Scorchers in contention. He also all but confirmed he would play in Perth’s final match of the regular season, against Adelaide Strikers at Optus Stadium next Saturday. “We have obviously still got three Big Bash games to go, so just want to contribute as much as I can to the Scorchers and hopefully put us into finals contention and then get cracking with the red ball,” Connolly said. Smith scored back-to-back centuries in the guts of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in a stunning return to form that he had insisted was coming. He will also captain the side in Sri Lanka, resuming in the role with Pat Cummins to remain at home as a he battles an ankle injury and waits for the birth of his second child. “I feel like I have been batting nicely for a while now, even before I scored the hundreds I was saying to you guys I was actually batting really nicely and hitting the ball well and I think there is a real difference between being out of form and out of runs and I think I was out of runs,” Smith said. “A couple of good scores, it was cool to contribute to the team success over the summer, it was a wonderful summer of Test cricket and to have some contributions there was really nice.” Smith finished one run shy of reaching the 10,000-run mark in his home Test to end the series against India. He was dismissed in both innings beyond 9,990. He admitted this milestone meant more than most he has ticked off and that his mind had strayed during the SCG Test. “I probably let it (my mind) wander too much throughout the game. It’s a cool milestone to tick off. I have never really been one for milestones at all, but it is kind of a different story with 10,000, there has only been a handful of people that have done it,” Smith said. “It just shows the longevity in the game and the consistency over a long period of time, so it would be a cool one to tick off, hopefully in the first innings in Galle.”