Gonna make a bold prediction and say that Sam Konstas will open the batting for Australia in the Champions Trophy with Head.

Australia’s own Bethell, rapid rise to the top and very talented

He’s clearly made a good impression & is well liked by the core of the group.

Sadly haven’t managed to catch much of the South Africa vs Pakistan game. But what a debut from Corbin Bosch.

5-61 in the first innings with the ball, he bowls genuinely quick. 81* off 93 in the second innings with the bat.

Surprised he’s taken this long to play test cricket.

Saim Ayub is a star in the making. His record in the ODI series vs. South Africa was:

235 runs @ 78.33 with 2 centuries and a highest score of 109.

A dynamic opener, classic left-handed elegance thought the covers and can score 360°.

A superb prospect in all 3 formats!

After speaking about Connolly as my one to watch for the Scorchers on my Substack, it was nice to see him performing.

He’s been given a more senior role and stepped up superbly today, with 64 off 51 balls batting 3 and taking 1/18 off 2 obers.

Excited to see how he improves!

What a year of test cricket for Atkinson:

-Test debut at Lords
-Test hundred at Lords scoring 118
-Three 5fers including 7/45
-One 10fer with figures if 12/106
-One hattrick

Superb cricketer, going to be key for England for many years! 🔥

Brook has now passed 2000 runs, his test record including his current score is:

36 innings, 2063 runs @ 60.6 with nine 50s and seven 100s

Obviously his average will drop a bit if he gets out this innings, but he’s just insane. That is some record in such a short space of time.

Is Kurtis Patterson an outside shout to play test cricket if Australia change their top order?

He has 360 runs @ 72 in 5 innings in the Shield this season, scoring four 50s.

He’s already played 2 tests in 2019 and has a HS of 114*.

He’s now 31, & it’d be a bold move but he’s certainly in form!

For me, Ollie Robinson is the player England need to call up to replace Cox.

Last season he got 871 runs @ 48.83, with five 50s and two 100s. He also got 45 dismissals behind the stumps, the third most in Div 1.

That’s not the kind of form you can ignore. Really hope he gets his chance

Someone I have high expectations for ahead of the BGT is Alex Carey. I feel like he’s going to really kick on in test cricket after an extraordinary Shield season so far:

3 games/6 innings - 452 runs @ 90.4 striking at 72.2 with one 50 and two 100s.

Great form, hope he carries it on against India!

I’d love to see Tom Banton break into the England side again soon.

He had a fantastic season in the Blast in 2024:

- 515 runs @ 46.81 & 151 SR (4 50s)

He’s also worked hard on his red ball game and became a lot more disciplined, which showed last season:

- 891 runs @ 49.5 (5 50s & 2 100s)

Nice to see Williamson back in the runs yesterday in his first game since September.

He scored 60 off 122 for Northern Districts in his first Plunket Shield game since 2019.

Finding form at the perfect time before 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 come to town. Big series for 🇳🇿 who can qualify for the WTC final with a 3-0 win!

I absolutely loved the 2024 season, my first as an ECB accredited journalist, covering games in written and podcast form for The County Cricket Podcast, which I am co-founder of.

I’ve got some exciting stuff in the works for the winter, with an exiting 3 month block of test cricket upon us!🏏

It’s been a year since Australia lifted the World Cup for the 6th time, thanks to a ridiculously good 137 from Travis Head.

It was this win that cemented Pat Cummins as one of the best captains in modern Australian cricket in my mind. Great personality, and a brave skipper. One of the very best🇦🇺