Victorian prodigy Ollie Peake reflects on whirlwind BBL debut and Test squad opportunity

Ollie Peake’s Big Bash debut was nerve-racking, but there was also a sense of familiarity. The 18-year-old talent opens up on the experience and his rare Test opportunity.

Ollie Peake had Australian pacemen Spencer Johnson, Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett charging at him in his Big Bash League debut for the Melbourne Renegades on Saturday, but there was a sense of familiarity for the 18-year-old.

Strolling to the crease alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk at 2-45 with another 151 runs to get and a potential finals spot on the line, the prodigious Geelong talent certainly had some nerves.

But Peake, who will join Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka next week as a development player, had seen this movie before.

Or rather, this video game.

Ollie Peake made his debut for the Renegades against the Brisbane Heat on Saturday. Picture: Mike Owen/Getty Images

“It was pretty nerve-racking. The night before I was sort of getting a lot of information from people who have played against them before,” Peake said.

“But once you’re out there I guess it’s just a cricket ball and you have to try and play the ball and not the man – even though those three have all played for Australia and are really bowlers.

“It was actually pretty cool. The massive sight screens and the crowd, it sort of felt like a video game in a way. It was a pretty cool experience.”

“Charlie my brother is pretty big on the PlayStation and he sometimes ropes me into playing Cricket22. And we faced those boys when we were playing for the Renegades on the PlayStation.

“So it was pretty cool to do it in real life.”

Luckily his batting partner Fraser-McGurk was playing Stick Cricket out in the middle of Marvel Stadium in his matchwinning 95 from 46 deliveries, which meant Peake didn’t have to do anything drastic.

The pair put on 84 runs in eight overs before Peake was dismissed for 19 from 21 balls.

His knock in the three-wicket win was much better than it looks on paper, underlining the Aussie U19 World Cup winner’s cricket smarts and relaxed temperament.

“It was pretty surreal, it was a proper rollercoaster. I guess being amongst it is pretty nerve racking and exciting and fun all at the same time. Just had an absolute ball,” Peake said.

“Batting with Jake was just unreal. He’s very supportive and he takes the pressure off you because he’s just hitting sixes left, right and centre. Last night everyone saw just how good he is and why he’s sort of playing for Australia and going for big money in the IPL.

“Think we needed around 10 an over and whether that was me having to play a shot to get a boundary or if Jake had hit a few sixes and fours like he was regularly doing, just rotating the strike and probably getting him back on strike.”

Jake Fraser-McGurk was on fire. Picture: Mike Owen/Getty Images

Peake’s debut was one of the most bizarre and enthralling BBL games in recent memory.

He was one of the first to contend with the blinding sun shining through the open Marvel Stadium roof.

Later in the first innings, captain Will Sutherland and Fergus O’Neill were both taken out of the attack for running into the protected zone, forcing Josh Brown – who had never bowled in the Big Bash – to deliver 2.4 overs in four different spells.

“Because I was fielding on the boundary, I was pretty unsure about what was going on, whether ‘Chief’ (Sutherland) had hurt his side at the start,” Peaks said.

“Then when ‘Ferg’ got taken off it was pretty clear that it was due to running down the middle of the wicket or whatever they were doing, which was a bit weird considering we were batting second.

“(Fielding on the far side) was pretty tricky with the open roof. The sun was right in your eyes on one side and then in the shade you actually couldn’t really pick up the ball off the bat. It was tough, but it was good fun.”

The South Barwon product’s first ‘boundary’ of his career was in keeping with the earlier absurdity, with him and Fraser-McGurk running a four from a reverse pull shot.

Peake before his debut game. Picture: Mike Owen/Getty Images

“That was a bit weird,” he chuckled

“I didn’t quite hit that one as well as I would have liked, but it was fun. I had a lot of people texting me the night before asking if I was going to pull out the reverse – was pretty happy to get that one away.”

The Renegades had jumped to fourth after the win but needed a tight result from the Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers to hold on.

That looked a decent bet until all-rounder Cooper Connolly’s heroics.

Regardless, Peake soaked up the atmosphere in the rooms and in the celebrations later on – where O’Neill – who hit a six then a four to bring up the win – was best on.

“We needed a lot of things to go our way to get into finals, but all the families and friends were down in the rooms after the game, which was pretty nice,” Peake said.

“For me, for my first experience, it was pretty cool to have everyone close to me down in the rooms and then see a few more mates later on that night.”

TEST CALL-UP

Peake only turned 18 in September yet he has already toured India with the Australian U19 side and won an U19 World Cup in South Africa.

Now the left-hander will be packing his bags and heading to Sri Lanka on Friday with the Test squad for an “incredible experience”, receiveing the good news from national selector Tony Dodemaide.

“Tony Dodemaide called me up probably two or three days ago, and just said, ‘We’ve got a really cool opportunity for you to come across and be a development player and learn off the guys’,” Peake said.

“I think it would be so cool to train with them and properly be around the squad.”

Peake raises the bat for a century against India. Picture: Supplied.

It won’t be his first time meeting them, either. He ran drinks for the Australian side during last month’s Boxing Day Test against India and got the chance to train with them on Christmas Eve.

“It’ll hopefully make it a bit more comforting walking into the environment where I’ve already met the boys and stuff like that,” Peake said.

Peake appears destined to be a part of the Test squad as a player in the future, but the mature youngster’s full focus is on the present.

“I think it’s all happening pretty quick from finishing school two months ago to starting to train with the Vics and then getting a Big Bash game,” Peake said.

“I’m just sort of enjoying the ride and I guess one of the biggest pieces of advice that I’m getting is not to rush anything, just to keep trusting the process and training hard and being ready when my opportunities comes like last night.

“I’m not focused on making teams in the meantime, but I just want to be ready if I am called up.”

Originally published as Victorian prodigy Ollie Peake reflects on whirlwind BBL debut and Test squad opportunity