Sydney, Mar 14 (UNI) With Australia having lost Matthew Short to injury ahead of their Champions Trophy semi-final clash, a brave call from the team management saw Cooper Connolly slot in as the opener alongside Travis Head.
While Connolly was dismissed early on from Mohammed Shami, the 21-year-old went on to snap the all-important wicket of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma in a tense semi-final chase.
Sharing his experience of the high octane outing in the midst of the Sheffield Shield season, Connolly told reporters, “As a kid, you always want to represent your country, and to walk out there in a semi-final was an unbelievable experience, and I’ll take a lot of learnings from it.”
Connolly was set up by Mohammed Shami in the powerplay as the veteran quick got rid of the left-hander with a gorgeous out-swinging delivery.
“Shami is a world class player for a reason. He’s played a lot of cricket,” Connolly said.
“In the end, it was a great game of cricket and I think we took a lot of learnings as a group from that,” he said.
As India embarked on their chase of 265, Connolly came close to sending Rohit Sharma back in
the hut in the second over but couldn’t hold onto his catch, an ICC report said.
“It’s the game of cricket. You’re going to miss out, you’re going to drop a catch – you’ve got to get on with what’s in front of you,” he said.
“That (drop off Rohit) was completely out of my mind by the time I was bowling, I was just trying to compete as much as I could and hopefully get a breakthrough for the team,” said Connolly who eventually went on to dismiss Rohit Sharma for his first ODI wicket.
Before heading into the Champions Trophy, Connolly also made his Test debut for Australia on the tour of Sri Lanka – another moment he’ll cherish forever.
“Getting my Baggy Green and then to play a game in the Champions Trophy, it was a dream come true … hopefully there’s plenty more to come,” Connolly said.
Connolly had no doubts about his abilities and was willing to work on his game for future challenges.
“I felt like it wasn’t really a surprise. I felt like if I was going to play, I’d earned my opportunity,” he said.
“I guess it’s just about concentrating on what’s in front of me at the moment, not looking too far ahead, and just trying to enjoy playing cricket and hopefully put some scores on the board.
Hopefully work on my bowling a bit and get an opportunity again,” Connolly said.
“Obviously getting a little taste of it makes you want it more,” he added.
