‘Captain-in-waiting’: Why Ollie Peake may play Test cricket this year
Sheffield Shield centuries, to echo those he just made in Australia’s Under-19 World Cup campaign, would give precocious teenager Ollie Peake the chance to contend for a Test spot against Bangladesh later this year.
Peake’s 100 from 88 balls was the bright spot in a semi-final loss to England in Bulawayo overnight, his second hundred in successive matches after being somewhat starved of opportunities earlier in the tournament, where he led the team and chose to bat in the middle order.
Ollie Peak on his way to a century against England, his second of the Under-19 World Cup.Credit: ICC via Getty Images
Australia’s selectors have already shown their level of interest in Peake by taking him on last year’s tour of Sri Lanka as an apprentice squad member. Two top-end Tests against Bangladesh in August appear the ideal moment for further young blood to be injected into the team ahead of more vexing assignments to come.
Following Usman Khawaja’s retirement and Travis Head’s elevation to the top of the order, there is the possibility of a spot at five or six. A look at the Shield aggregates for the first part of the season show that no one player put their hand up to demand selection, with the possible exception of Matt Renshaw, who is now part of the Twenty20 World Cup team.
Speaking to this masthead about the timing of his retirement, Khawaja had noted that Australia needed to take the opportunity in lower profile series to inject youth into the team, rather than throwing untried players into Ashes or India series.
“History has shown over time how hard it is for young players to come into the team and play big series like this against India or England,” Khawaja said. “Then looking at the schedule, 20 Test matches in a very short timeframe, the first one starts in six to seven months.
“With my transition, I thought it would be a great time for someone else to come in and play some of the lower scrutinised series, find their way in Test cricket then build up towards some big ones [in 2027].”
Victoria’s coach Chris Rogers will have to find a way to squeeze Peake back into the Shield line-up, having also been handed the services of Matt Short, after he was surprisingly dropped from the Twenty20 World Cup squad.
“If he finished this season really, really well, I think the Australian selectors might look at that opportunity,” Rogers told SEN Radio of the Bangladesh Tests.
“I know they’ve got their eye on him. But he’s had a few challenges in the first-class system already. You expect that with a young player, the standard is very high, so it’ll be interesting to see how he goes.
Peake, a classy left-hander, slashes the ball through the off side against England.Credit: ICC via Getty Images
“So whether it’s in that series or in the medium-term future, I think that’s something we’re pretty confident will happen.
“But it’ll be down to him and seeing the growth he’s showing and whether he can come back into Shield cricket in what are going to be high-pressure games at the back end of the season. If he can score runs then, I think he’ll show the selectors he’s up for it.”
So far, Peake has shown numerous instances of batting intelligence well beyond many of his contemporaries, whether guiding Victoria home against South Australia on a spinning pitch at Adelaide Oval, or conjuring a win for the Melbourne Renegades with a last-ball six in the Big Bash League.
Rogers said Peake’s displays in Zimbabwe would only add to the sense that he has the sort of game awareness to step up to international cricket soon – provided he can make some big scores at state level.
“When you’re the big player and there’s expectation on you, it can be quite daunting, and just play on your mind a little bit,” Rogers said.
“But the fact he goes out and scores runs and gets the job done, and does it in such a good fashion as well, it just sits nicely on his shoulders, and I think there’s a captain-in-waiting there in terms of higher honours.
“We’ve spoken about his game awareness and his intelligence, that really stands out. So to go and do that, and a hundred in a chasing total is tough as well. That’s when you know there’s scoreboard pressure and you have to get the job done.
“The pressure can get to you and you can make mistakes, but it’s the ones who can think clearly, make the right decisions at the right time and problem-solve their way through; they’re the players that stand out.
“He was under immense pressure and he made the right decisions. That’s something you can’t teach, I think it’s innate, and hopefully he’s going to have that for the rest of his career.”
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