How Cooper Connolly is on the same path as Steve Smith in road to Australia’s Test side

We’ve been here before. The quirky, multi-talented 21-year-old who the Australian selectors think will make it as a batsman, but could get his big break as a spinner. Back in 2010 that was Steve Smith and in 2025 it’s Cooper Connolly.

Cooper Connolly of the Scorchers warms up during the BBL match between Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers at Optus Stadium, on January 18, 2025, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Australia has been down this road before.

The quirky, multi-talented 21-year-old who the Australian selectors think will make it as a batsman, but could get his big break as a spinner.

Back in 2010 that was Steve Smith and in 2025 it’s Cooper Connolly.

If Connolly makes his Test debut next week against Sri Lanka in Galle, it won’t be in the middle order, it will be as a left-arm spinner batting at No.8.

Scorchers star Cooper Connolly could make his Test debut in Sri Lanka. Picture: Getty Images

These circumstances are eerily similar to the way in which the man who will be his first captain, Smith, got his start bowling leg-spin and batting below the wicketkeeper at No.8 against Pakistan at Lord’s 15 years ago.

Connolly’s selection, like Smith’s before him, has come about partly due to the nation’s low spinning depth and partly as a nod to his precocious batting talent which Australia likes the idea of injecting into a Test XI, even if it’s in a funky sort of way.

If Australia’s No.1 left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann is ruled out of the first Test due to his dislocated thumb, Connolly appears certain to make his debut on Wednesday.

Steve Smith made his debut bowling leg-spin and batting below the wicketkeeper at No.8 against Pakistan at Lord’s 15 years ago.

But even if Kuhnemann proves his fitness, it’s not out of the question Connolly could still be picked as a secondary left-arm option, such is the premium Australia puts on the skill of spinning the ball away from the right-hander in sub-continental conditions.

Connolly has a batting average of 61.80 from his four first-class matches so if he plays Australia has the added luxury of extending the batting order down to No.8 with Mitchell Starc coming in after him at nine.

If the West Australian is handed a baggy green, he couldn’t ask for a captain who understands his role in the team better than Smith, because he has lived it himself.

Cooper Connolly is a superb striker of the ball. Picture: Getty Images

It’s understood Smith was pushing Connolly’s barrow heavily to selectors because he likes the cut of his jib and even if Smith gave up bowling long ago, he is an expert in the craft of spin.

Despite the fact Connolly is on this tour as a spinner who is yet to take a single first-class wicket from 96 deliveries, the pressure will largely be off him if he’s given a crack.

If he is the sole left-armer in the line-up, he will have the experience of Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Travis Head to back him up if the Sri Lankans get on top of him.

And if he’s picked in unison with Kuhnemann, Connolly really has nothing to lose as the second left-arm option and can attack the game.

One thing is for sure, Connolly will learn quickly about spin bowling while in Sri Lanka and even if his greenness is exposed on this tour, chucking him in the deep end could pay real dividends for Australia in the years to come when they tour India and other sub-continental countries.

Smith took three second innings wickets in an Australian victory on debut and Australia would certainly take that sort of return from Connolly in Galle.

And given the traps for batsmen in Sri Lanka and propensity for top order collapses, it would be more than a handy bonus to have a genuine run-scorer extending the batting down so low.

Originally published as How Cooper Connolly is on the same path as Steve Smith in road to Australia’s Test side