Teen cricketer Mahli Beardman picked for Australian ODI squad

Teenager Mahli Beardman has fast bowled himself all the way to England, after being called up as a standby player for Australia’s five-match ODI series* in the UK.

The 19 year old fast bowler from Western Australia recently won player of the match in this year’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup final win over India.

Beardman said it was a “surreal*” moment to find out he would join the 17-player group in Nottingham*.

Beardman is only on standby* but his call-up marks a rapid rise for the teenager, who has so far played just one List A game* for WA but is capable of bowling above 140km/h. He took 3-15 to help Australia under-19s down India in the World Cup final in February.

“It’s pretty surreal, just so unexpected,” Beardman said from Perth airport before departing for the UK.

“I started the morning off with a little message from Tony (Dodemaide)*; I didn’t think it was real to be honest, I thought it might have been one of the boys pranking me.

“But I gave him a call back and got talking and he said come over to England to train and be around the squad.”

Beardman joins fellow WA young gun Cooper Connolly, in the ODI squad after he was asked to stay on having initially only been named for the T20s*. Connolly made his T20 international debut* against Scotland and featured in the second T20 against England.

Left-arm bowler Ben Dwarshuis also joined the squad ahead of the washed-out third T20 in Manchester and will now remain for the 50-over* series, with five matches being played over just 11 days, the first game on Thursday (9.30pm AEST) at Trent Bridge*.

The Australians have been boosted by cricketing greats Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey returning for the 50-over matches.

But the bowling stocks have lost a number of key players to injury, including Nathan Ellis to a hamstring injury, Riley Meredith because of side soreness and Xavier Bartlett because of a side strain.

Pat Cummins is missing from the month-long white-ball tour*, Starc only joined the group this week after missing the T20s and Josh Hazlewood sat out the Scotland series* with a calf injury that will be carefully managed during the ODI series in England.

Left-arm bowler Spencer Johnson also went down with a side strain after initially being named in the T20 squad.

The bowling duties in the series are likely to be spread between Starc, Hazlewood, Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott, with all-rounders Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie and captain Mitch Marsh to provide support.

“There will be opportunities for guys throughout the series, no doubt,” Marsh said after the final T20.

“Five games in 11 days, we’ll have to juggle a bit, but guys will get opportunities and a lot like the T20 series, we’re really excited by that.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• ODI series: One Day International cricket is a form cricket played between two internationally recognised teams. ODIs are one innings matches of 50 overs per side
• surreal: as if a dream
• Nottingham: a city in England where the ODI series is being played, famous for its role in the Robin Hood legends
• standby: a player that is not part of the main squad but could be called upon to do a specific job if needed
• List A game: a classification of the limited-overs or one-day form of cricket that includes ODI games and other domestic competitions where the number of overs in an innings per side ranges from 40-60
• Tony (Dodemaide): the CEO, or head of, Cricket Victoria
• T20s: or Twenty20 cricket is a short cricket match limited to 20 overs, lasting about 80 minutes per innings, with a half-hour interval in between
• debut: first time playing
• 50-over: the standard number of overs played in ODI games is 50 overs per side
• Trent Bridge: the cricket ground in Nottingham where the ODI series is being played
• white-ball tour: a cricket tour of Scotland and England that the ADI series is part of
• Scotland series: the Scotland portion of the white-ball tour

EXTRA READING
Aussies claim U19 World Cup title
Lyon claims 500th test wicket
Australia wins Cricket World Cup

QUICK QUIZ
1. How old is Mahli Beardman?
2. How will he represent Australia in the upcoming ODI series?
3. How fast can he bowl?
4. Which Australian bowlers are out of the ODI squad due to injury?
5. Which other young WA player will join Beardman in the ODI squad?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Summer of cricket
With the cricket season about to get in full swing, it’s important for the Australian cricket team to manage their players to ensure they are fit and healthy for the Australian season coming up. This upcoming series is five full matches in eleven days, so it’s important to share the players around to lighten the physical load.

After reading the Kids News article, what are some common cricket-related injuries?

How does having younger players in the squad help the team?

What recovery should the players undertake after each match?

Do you think the younger players might get a chance to prove themselves on this tour?

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
What might this opportunity mean for 19-year-old Mahli Beardman? He’s only played one List A match in Perth to then join the Australian team in London. How might this change his life?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.