'Who is this kid?' The Shaun Marsh disciple set for Aussie debut

Mitch Marsh saw it the very first time he laid eyes on Cooper Connolly batting in the WACA Ground nets.

"Straightaway I thought that he looked like my brother in his stance," Marsh told cricket.com.au. "His cover drive has a lot of Shaun in it. He's a bit more free-flowing with his hands. But straightaway we knew we had a pretty talented kid."

The likenesses were no coincidence. Connolly had idolised Shaun Marsh while he was growing up in Perth's northern suburbs. When he earnt his first state contract in 2021, aged just 17, the elder Marsh brother was still Western Australia captain.

While his ascension to the senior WA team came after Marsh had retired, Connolly had observed his idol closely enough to copy aspects of his pre-ball routine.

"I loved in my first couple of years just watching him play," the 21-year-old left-hander told cricket.com.au this week. "I just took that under my wing and was like 'I'm going to try this and see if it works for me,' and it's stuck ever since."

It is not a perfect match. Connolly's bat tap so clearly modelled on Marsh's comes just before the bowler's release point – Marsh's was delivered earlier and more delicately – while the younger man's hands start higher.

But there's no mistaking the similarities.

As for the cover drive, that comes naturally.

It's a technique that has helped vault Connolly to the verge of an international debut on Australia's current white-ball tour of the United Kingdom, following a series of standout efforts for WA and the Perth Scorchers.

One final Shaun Marsh-ism will become apparent if he gets the nod to play for the Mitch Marsh-led Australian T20 side; Connolly has chosen the WA great's old limited-overs shirt number.

"I've taken No.9," he said. "I sent him a message asking for his thoughts. He said he's happy for me to do that and (replied), 'It'd be an honour for me to pass it over to you'."

Few expected Connolly to get to this stage so quickly, yet the buzz over the big-hitting allrounder with shaggy surfer-blonde hair has been building for some time.

Even before he had become the first 16-year-old since Shaun Marsh to score an Under-19 World Cup fifty, Connolly courted attention playing junior cricket for Scarborough where his father Shane also played and then later coached.

Lance Morris, another Scarborough alumni who made his international debut in February, recalls one of his early first XI games at the club's Abbett Park ground where the juniors' oval overlaps with the seniors'.

"So your back is to the other field's play and there's generally balls whizzing past your ear," Morris told cricket.com.au.

"I was fielding at deep square leg and this young, long-haired kid playing for the Under-17s next door was crunching them through backward square and taking the piss really. I think everyone knew we had something special."

By the time Connolly had risen to join Morris in Scarborough's top side, his ability was clear to other state players too.

"I played against him in a T20," Joondalup's Josh Inglis recalled of a Premier Cricket encounter with Connolly, "and he whacked them everywhere. I was like, 'Who is this kid?'"

Connolly's second U19 World Cup in early 2022 saw him take on the captaincy and by the following summer he had cracked a spot in the Big Bash's most successful team at the business end of their BBL|12 title defence.

Mitch Marsh, who missed that season due to injury, attempted to soothe Connolly's nerves leading into their home final against Brisbane Heat, set to mark just the teen's fourth game at senior domestic level.

"I remember before the game, I sort of said to him, 'Mate if you get a chance tonight, just stay calm and enjoy it'," said Marsh. "He literally turned around and was like, 'Don't worry mate, I'll be there at the end', and he just walked off.

"I wish I had that confidence."

Connolly's heroics to help the Scorchers pull off a miracle win after he arrived at the crease with them needing 40 off from half as many balls put his name firmly on the national radar.

"It makes me smile just thinking about it," said Inglis. "Him and 'Hobbo' (Nick Hobson) embracing in the middle, punching the air, they were so fired up. Just the situation we were in – the game was gone.

"He's very talented but he just takes everything in his stride, he doesn't seem to be overawed by big moments. The way he handles those big moments is probably what makes him so exciting at a young age."

Marsh has noted similar traits.

"Until you do it, you're just talented, right?" he said. "You can see these kids (and think) 'he could be anything' or 'he could do this' or 'I think he's going to be a good player in a few years' time' – but then you get a 19-year-old go out and do that on the big stage."

That is quickly becoming a theme of Connolly's career.

While his first international opportunities will come against the white ball, there is optimism too over Connolly's long-form prospects despite having only made his first-class debut earlier this year.

That moment was supposed to come earlier in the season before he suffered an injury to his toe while pursuing one of his other passions – boating. Connolly had to wait for an equally unusual transport-related mishap (Cameron Bancroft fell off a bike) to earn his WA cap in the Sheffield Shield final.

Again, his composure and rare confidence shone through. Connolly hit his first two balls for four and six en route to a sparkling 90 that helped the state notch their third consecutive Shield title.

"He's not like an overly confident person (in terms of) his personality," said Inglis. "But when he steps on to the cricket field, he just sticks to his guns, he knows what he's good at."

Australia have developed a blueprint for a Test middle-order aggressor. "I look at someone like Travis Head, who just attacks and takes the game on, and it's quite similar to what Cooper does," said Morris.

For now, Mitch Marsh is bullish the young gun who worshipped his brother could follow in the footsteps of another of his long-time teammates.

"If he keeps improving his bowling, like he is, in white-ball formats he becomes a Glenn Maxwell-type," said Marsh. "A middle-order player that bowls really handy spin, they don't grow on trees.

"The sky really is the limit."

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Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood (England games only), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Riley Meredith (Scotland games only), Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

September 4: Australia won by seven wickets

September 6: Second T20 v Scotland, The Grange, Edinburgh, 11pm AEST

September 7: Third T20 v Scotland, The Grange, Edinburgh, 11pm AEST

September 11: First T20 v England, Rose Bowl, Southampton, 3.30am Sept 12 AEST

September 13: Second T20 v England, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 3.30am Sept 14 AEST

September 15: Third T20 v England, Old Trafford Manchester, 11.30pm AEST

Australia ODI squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

September 19: First ODI v England, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 10pm AEST

September 21: Second ODI v England, Headingley, Leeds, 10pm AEST

September 24: Third ODI v England, Riverside, Chester-le-Street, 10pm AEST

September 27: Fourth ODI v England, Lord's, London, 10pm AEST

September 29: Fifth ODI v England, County Ground, Bristol, 8pm AEST