Cooper Connolly Relives Facing Mohammed Shami: 'He Is World Class Player For...

Cooper Connolly Relives Facing Mohammed Shami: 'He Is World Class Player For...

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Last Updated: March 14, 2025, 14:33 IST

With Australia having lost Matthew Short to injury ahead of the semifinal, a brave call from the team management saw Cooper Connolly slot in as the opener besides Travis Head.

Mohammed Shami received praise from Cooper Connolly (Picture credit: AP)

Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly said that Mohammed Shami has played a lot of cricket and is a world-class player while reliving his face-off with the star India pacer during the semifinal of the Champions Trophy last week.

With Australia having lost Matthew Short to injury ahead of the semifinal, a brave call from the team management saw Connolly slot in as the opener besides Travis Head.

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While Connolly was dismissed early by Shami, the former went on to snap the all-important wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma in a tense semifinal chase.

Cooper Connolly flourished with this 66 against the Renegades!#BBL14 pic.twitter.com/A1wQ9c7Xv1— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) March 11, 2025

“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 told the media in Australia, ahead of a Sheffield Shield game.

“Shami is a world-class player for a reason. He’s played a lot of cricket. In the end, it was a great game of cricket and I think we took a lot of learnings as a group from that," Connolly added.

As India embarked on their chase of 265, Connolly came close to sending Rohit back in the hut in the second over but could not hold onto his catch.

“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," Connolly 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," Connolly added.

Before heading into the Champions Trophy, Connolly made his Test debut for Australia on the tour of Sri Lanka as well, another moment he will cherish forever.

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“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.

Born in August 2003 in Perth, the 21-year-old made his T20 debut in the Big Bash League for the Scorchers. He scored 45 runs in two innings off 22 deliveries that season at a strike rate of 204.54.

First Published: March 14, 2025, 14:33 IST

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