Jack Edwards is the next big thing in Australian cricket and he’s ready to take the BBL by storm

Big things are expected of teenage Sydney Sixers opener Jack Edwards and not just because of his imposing height — he can whack the ball a mile, has a temperament beyond his years and he’s already rewritten the record books. Now he’s set for the BBL.

Jack Edwards celebrates his first one-day century.

Standing nearly two metres tall, it’s not hard to see why Jack Edwards has been dubbed the next big thing in Australian cricket.

But it’s not his height that’s got everyone so excited.

The hype that’s been built up around the towering teenager is because of the mountain of runs he’s been piling on since moving into the senior ranks and the mature way he’s gone about it.

Still just 18, the opener’s been ripping up the record books since he was promoted from the juniors, with his dashing displays at the crease.

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Two months ago, he became the youngest player ever to score a century in the state one-day competition when he blasted 116 off 112 balls and a month later, he became the youngest player to score a century for NSW in Sheffield Shield since the legendary Doug Walters in 1963.

And now, he’s about to make his Big Bash debut for the Sydney Sixers, and he can’t wait.

“I’m super excited to get into the first game and test myself against the very best,” he said.

“I guess there’s a bit of pressure but I love that so I just want to get out there and show everyone what I can do. I don’t really get too anxious or nervous.”

Jack Edwards celebrates his first one-day century.

Edwards is the youngest player to score a century for NSW in Sheffield Shield.

While Edwards isn’t getting blinded by the glare of the spotlight, plenty of others are tipping him to do big things.

Sixers captain Moises Henriques got a close up view of what Edwards can do when he shared a 237-run partnership with the curly haired youngster the day he scored his record-breaking one-day ton.

Having represented Australia at Test and T20 level, Henriques knows what it takes to get to international level and he already sees all those attributes in Edwards.

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“He’s got a head beyond his years which is great, he’s a very fast learner and he’s done things at 18 years of age that I haven’t seen many young kids do,” Henriques said.

“I think he’s got just the right amount of fearlessness and brains. He’s quite measured in what he does. Although he does back himself, and we want him to play that style of cricket where he’s backing himself to execute, at the same time he’s constantly thinking what’s the best thing to do here for the team as well.

Edwards in action for NSW.

“You see a lot of guys with talent come through the age groups but not many with the overall game smarts and adaptability that he has. So he’s probably one of the more full packages I’ve seen come through.”

Unlike most young Australian kids, Edwards went against the grain and modelled himself on a foreign batsmen. His childhood hero was Ricky Ponting but he saw more of himself in Kevin Pietersen.

“Being a tall batsman, I always loved watching him bat. He was very imposing and long limbed so in a way I took a bit of that for my game,” Edwards said.

“I feel really good about my batting at the moment and my strength is to use my long reach to hit the ball hard so I think the T20 format will suit me.

“I guess there’s a few young players coming through now but we haven’t proved ourselves at this level yet so there’s a long way to go and we need to score lots of runs and just get lots of games under our belt.”

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Originally published as Jack Edwards is the next big thing in Australian cricket and he’s ready to take the BBL by storm