In the lead up to the ongoing domestic One-Day Cup I was not convinced that the competition was benefiting from the presence of the rookie-laden Cricket Australia XI.
But that team of gifted youngsters has since managed to change my mind. They might have gone winless in their six matches this tournament, but the CA XI have shown great development after a horrendous debut season last summer.
They are easybeats no more. The experiment by Cricket Australia looked doomed when the new team suffered humiliating defeats in their first two matches last October. They could not have had a ruder introduction to the competition, with their first match coming against a NSW side boasting ten players with international experience, including Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc.
National captain Smith cracked 143no from just 122 deliveries as NSW batted first and made 3-338. Then Starc bulldozed his way to figures of 6-25, leaving the CA XI to be all out for just 59 in what was the largest run-margin in the history of Australian domestic one-day cricket.
Just days later CA XI’s inexperienced batting line-up came across another express pace wrecking ball in Victorian James Pattinson. The Australian Test star took 4-18 and CA XI managed only 79.
Victoria chased that total down in just 11.1 overs with nine wickets in hand.
A week later, WA smashed the CA XI by 246 runs. At this stage, the initiative looked like a blunder by Cricket Australia. They were copping a steady flow of criticism from the fans and several pundits predicted the CA XI would not survive.
But Cricket Australia stood firm and CA XI returned for a second season, this time under the leadership of Victorian legend Brad Hodge, who coached the Gujarat Lions in this year’s Indian Premier League. It would be easy to look at their 0-6 record this tournament and assume CA XI have flopped again.
That is not the case, however. CA XI have been competitive in all but one of their matches.
Their sole disappointing display was in their second match against Tasmania when they made 236 batting first, a total the Tigers reached in just 39 overs with eight wickets in hand.
They swiftly rebounded from that loss, going within five runs of upsetting NSW two days later.
Their three standouts in that match were 18-year all-round spinning all-rounder Arjun Nair, and young batsmen Ryan Gibson and Will Bosisto.
Nair operated with admirable control and eye-catching variation to return figures of 2-53 against a very strong NSW batting line-up. Then Gibson (97) and Bosisto (75) helped bring CA XI to within a whisker of reaching the target of 329.
Nair, Gibson and Bosisto have been among the stars of the One-Day Cup so far. Yet they might not have even played a single game in the competition if it weren’t for the presence of the CA XI.
At NSW, Nair is stuck behind Test spinners Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe (when fit).
Nair is an extraordinary talent – a calm tweaker with a bag of tricks and a classical batsman.
His development is being fast tracked by the existence of the CA XI – the very idea behind the concept. In February he became one of the youngest first-class cricketers in Australian history, debuting as a 17-year-old for NSW.
His incredible rise has continued in the One Day Cup in which he is the second-leading wicket taker among spinners with ten wickets at 24 from five matches.
Nair has had limited opportunities with the bat, but compiled a fluent 68 against Victoria when offered the chance to open the batting. He is among the most exciting young talents to emerge in the Australian domestic scene in the past decade.
Meanwhile, Gibson (293 runs at 49) and Bosisto (251 runs at 42) have had stellar tournaments with the bat.
A patient, well-rounded top order batsman, 22-year-old Gibson opened the Cup with 106 against Queensland. Aside from his 97 against NSW, Gibson also flourished against South Australia, showing a more dynamic side to his batting amid a knock of 68 from 46 balls.
Despite his obvious talent, Gibson is still yet to debut for NSW, which is stacked with batsmen, even when it is without its many Australian players. Again, the CA XI has been of enormous benefit to this youngster, who will have put himself on the radars of the Australian selectors, let alone the NSW panel, with his efforts this month.
Bosisto made his debut for WA three years ago but since has featured for the Warriors only in first-class cricket. Like Gibson, he is a composed batsman who impresses with his patience and ability to rotate the strike. In this age of T20 sluggers, Bosisto stands out because he does not rely on boundaries to keep the run rate ticking over.
Bosisto, Gibson and Nair all appear to have the talent to push for national duty in the years to come. If they do become international cricketers, the CA XI will have played a significant part in that journey.
Sign the man up for a contract next season!
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