Follow UsWestern Australia youngster Cooper Connolly will become the 471st player to represent Australia in Test cricket after being handed his maiden Test cap in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Connolly, 21, has only played four first-class matches and was a left-field pick in the squad, but the left-hander has made it into the starting XI of the second Test after sitting out the first.
The 21-year-old, who recently shared the Player of the Tournament award in the Big Bash League (BBL) alongside Glenn Maxwell, will be the fourth debutant for Australia in as many Tests, following Sam Konstas (Melbourne), Beau Webster (Sydney) and Josh Inglis (Galle).
Connolly’s debut comes at the expense of Todd Murphy, who has been left out of the starting XI, with Australia opting to go with just three frontline bowlers.
Murphy burst into the scene in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy by picking 22 wickets and earned himself the nickname of being Virat Kohli’s ‘tormentor’ after dismissing the former India captain four times in the series. But after an underwhelming Ashes 2023, where he had to fill in for Nathan Lyon, and after registering figures of 1/85 in the first Test in Galle, the 24-year-old finds himself out of the playing XI.
The first Test of the series was dominated by the Aussies, who registered an emphatic innings and 242 runs victory. Incidentally, that game saw Steve Smith become the fourth Australian to amass 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
For the second Test, Sri Lanka have the services of Pathum Nissanka, who missed the first game due to injury.
Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith(c), Josh Inglis, Alex Carey(w), Beau Webster, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon
Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kusal Mendis(w), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lahiru Kumara
You can watch the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia on FanCode (digital) and Sony Sports Network (TV).