Wall talk: Aussie U19 hopes rest with viral teen

A few weeks before her son turned 14, Teague Wyllie's mum Marnie phoned her cricket-mad teen's mentor Tom Scollay and told him he wanted to spend his birthday facing a bowling machine.

The state-of-the-art 'Pro Batter', a machine that simulates an actual bowler running into bowl that can be adjusted for pace, swing, line and length, was swiftly booked at a Perth indoor centre, about a 30-minute drive from the Wyllies in Mandurah.

Scollay, a former first-class batter who now runs a small business called Cricket Mentoring, has published hundreds of videos on his YouTube page of training drills and net sessions with the likes of Adam Voges and Josh Philippe.

Yet the footage of Wyllie batting in an England shirt (a gift from an English cricketer who had lived with the Wyllies) comfortably handling the virtual bowler that gradually, under Scollay's careful control, reached 160kph has been watched more than just about any other.

"There was no expectation but he was just like, 'Let's go a bit quicker, let's go a bit quicker'," Scollay said of the video simply titled, '14 YEAR OLD FACES 100MPH', that is closing in on one million views. "I'm like, 'You reckon you've got it in you?' And he's like, 'Yeah go on', and he's got his little squeaky voice back then.

"It was never planned and if it was planned, he probably wouldn't have been wearing an England shirt.

"And I'm spewing it was his birthday, because I could have put '13-year-old (faces 100mph)' as the title and it probably would have gone even more viral."

The story illustrates the hunger, work ethic and sheer confidence of a teenage prodigy who now holds the hopes of an Australian Under-19 side eager to defeat powerhouses India in their World Cup semi-final in Antigua on Wednesday (midnight Thursday morning AEDT).

The right-hander is averaging 132 for the tournament and has been player of the match in all three of Australia's victories.

Scollay describes Wyllie as a "cricket nuffie" and believes he has the same insatiable appetite for practice and self-improvement as Test stars Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, noting how he hardly left the nets during a 10-day trip to India in 2019 run by Cricket Mentoring.

Image Id: BEDA8828A13E43D8B0B15F96C19EB17B Image Caption: 'I see resemblances with Steve Smith and Marnus' // supplied

Yet Wyllie has also struck coaches for his willingness to look beyond the obvious for batting inspiration. 

It is fitting that Rahul Dravid, the former Test batter who has masterminded India's world-leading junior male cricket programs that has fed into that country's unmatched depth of international-calibre players, has provided the blueprint for Wyllie to model his game on.

"He is one of the few young players that I've come across in recent times that really understands the history of the game," Australia's talent and pathways manager, Graham Manou, told cricket.com.au.

"There's a lot of characteristics both technically and physically that are going to hold him in great stead. The world could be his oyster.

"He's got an understanding of some of the great players. I was listening to his intro on the broadcast yesterday and he's talking about how his game is very similar to Dravid.

"There's only a few guys that I have come across that have been really aware of modelling their game on some of the great players – not just necessarily within our own four walls.

"He's sort of looked outside the square and Dravid is not a bad one to model your game on, is he?"

Image Id: 36E1201195C04C939AB3D11FFD302FF7 Image Caption: 'He probably would fit in growing up in the 70s and 80s' // Getty

There is an undoubted air of 'The Wall' in Wyllie's attitude to batting.

Even more impressive than the 627 runs at 44.79 he scored as a 16-year-old in his first full season of WA Premier Cricket for Rockingham-Mandurah was the 1,851 minutes spent at the crease; it was nearly two hours longer than the next highest.

Scores of 79, 112, 153 and 38 for WA's second XI followed late last year to put him firmly on the radar for a first-class debut when the World Cup is over.

"I'm a very stodgy kind of opener who just tries to bat the innings," Wyllie told the ICC.

"I wouldn't say there's one particular player that I've modelled my game on, but I consider myself to bat a little like Dravid. I like to bat long periods of time and not give my wicket my way.

"Another is Kane Williamson – the way he likes to manoeuvre the ball around the gaps and manipulate the field. That's probably another player I'd consider myself to be like."

Manou said Wyllie has embraced the role of Australia's anchor at the World Cup, having twice been unbeaten in successful run chases against tournament hosts West Indies, and Scotland.

Scollay admits Wyllie's sheer determination to minimise risk in his batting has actually prompted him to encourage him to practice hitting the ball in the air more during their net sessions.

"He's cut from a completely different cloth," said Scollay. "He probably would fit in growing up in the 70s and 80s, where there was (less) white-ball cricket.

"His dad John instilled it in him to bat long and to never throw his wicket away. As you've seen in the World Cup, he gets a lot of not outs for an opening better, especially in run chases.

"I see resemblances with Steve Smith and Marnus in that he's never satisfied.

"Teague got out for 70 the other day (in the quarter-final against Pakistan) and was absolutely fuming that he'd walked too far across his stumps and got bowled around his legs – he's just never satisfied.

"He is definitely different to the young kids these days. A lot of them come in the nets and it takes 10 balls before they're wanting to lap sweep or hit in the air.

"I don't think I saw Teague ever hit a wall in the air in our first two or three years of practicing together. I sort of have to encourage him to do it to expand his game, to practice it every now and again for when the time comes that he needs to take the game on."

Australia's semi-final against India will be broadcast live on Fox Cricket and Kayo.