The lure of a rare Test series win in India next year has Australia’s selectors debating where they will send the likes of Cooper Connolly among others in September when Australia’s ODI team tours southern Africa at the same time Australia A are in India for two valuable four-day games.
Australia have a six-match ODI tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa that runs from September 15 to 30 ahead of a three-Test series in South Africa that starts on October 9, with a two-day warm-up game scheduled for October 3 in Potchefstroom, the same venue that will host the final ODI four days earlier.
Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey revealed on Tuesday that his panel was debating where to send certain players given the crossover in priorities. Australia are planning to use the ODIs as a key scouting trip for the 2027 World Cup but the two four-day games in India are equally valuable ahead of a five-Test tour starting in January given Australia have not won a Test series there since 2004.
It will be the second Australia A tour of India in 12 months and although there remains some queries on how much the pitches in Puducherry will replicate conditions the Test team will face in 2027, Bailey said the trips were valuable and confirmed the selectors were debating whether the A tour could be prioritised.
“It’s always a really difficult thing to take an opportunity for someone to play international cricket away from them,” Bailey said. “But we certainly acknowledge that that’s a really key series for us, that A series. We’re pretty excited about the group that we’re putting together for that and the opportunity over there.
“We’re lucky enough to have a couple of repeat entries into India, so some guys are starting to get some good levels of experience over there. Hopefully when they do get their opportunities to tour there with the national team, that’ll hold them in really good stead.
“For [Connolly] and a couple of others that will be a debate – and not trying to get too cute with it – but whether there are some that can come across and play some of the white-ball series potentially in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and then join for part of the [India A] series. For some, potentially the India series will be prioritised.”
Connolly and Matt Renshaw appear to be two who could be debated. Connolly established his place in Australia’s ODI side with a stunning 149 in their most recent ODI in Bangladesh but that came opening the batting. With Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh set to return for the Africa tour and the World Cup, where Connolly fits in the ODI team is uncertain.
He is not in the Test mix in SENA conditions at the moment but did make his debut in Sri Lanka last year as a spinning allrounder at No. 8 and he played both Australia A four-day games in India late last year at No. 5. He has not bowled since the T20 World Cup earlier this year due to a back injury, but is likely to be considered for a similar role for the Test tour of India and further red-ball experience in the country could prove valuable.
Renshaw, meanwhile, has embedded himself in Australia’s ODI team as a middle-order player but has also toured India twice with the Test side in 2017 and 2023 where he played six of his 14 Tests to-date. His experience and skill against spin on the subcontinent makes him a prime candidate to be recalled to the Test side again for a third tour, but whether he needs to go on an A tour given his experience might be viewed as less of a priority for the selectors.
“It’s actually been really fun to think about and work through to make sure that we strike the right balance where guys are continuing to build out their international experience, but also getting the opportunity to make sure they do get a bit of a look at some foreign conditions,” Bailey said.
“Particularly for those ones that are in the mix for touring India in January and February for that that Test series, there’s certainly half an eye on that as well.”
Oliver Peake and Xavier Bartlett are the only other realistic possible crossovers between the ODI team and the Australia A red-ball side, but both are at long odds to be part of Australia’s Test tour next year. Both would also be on the fringes of the ODI squad for Africa with the likely return of Head, Marsh, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Another player who could be considered for the A tour is Jake Weatherald. The Test opener has not played first-class cricket in India although has travelled there to train with a private academy. Weatherald is not in Australia’s ODI set-up and sending him to India for the first game of the A tour is possible given he won’t be needed in South Africa until October 1 for the start of the Test tour if selected.
However, it is understood that the selectors are wary of compromising his preparation for what is likely be extremely seam-friendly conditions in South Africa in early October if he were to play in India in the lead-up.
