Eighteen-year-old Australian batter Oliver Peake has received a maiden call-up to the Australia A side for their multi-format series against Sri Lanka in July.
Who is Oliver Peake?
Peake has played only one first-class (for Victoria) and one senior T20 game so far, but has impressed in Under-19 cricket. He was part of Australia's U19 World Cup winning squad last year and made a key contribution of 46* in the final against India. In the multi-format tour of India U19 that followed in September-October, Peake made 111 in a 50-over game and 117 in a Youth Test.
Also read: 13-year-old India opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashes 58-ball 100 vs Australia U19
The left-handed batter was also part of Australia's touring party for their Test series in Sri Lanka earlier this year as a development player. Peake's only T20 came for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League in January 2025, where he made 19 off 21 balls batting at No.4. At the 2024 U19 World Cup, Peake scored 120 runs at an average of 60 and strike rate of 80.53.
The 18-year-old has also signed a rookie contract with Victoria for the next season and is highly regarded by Victoria coach and former Australia opener Chris Rogers: "We felt this is a guy that could go all the way, so let's give him the opportunity and see what he's made of... and he took to it like a duck to water (talking about Peake's half-century on first-class debut).
"He just let the ball come to him, and he played a bit of a style that you don't see as often anymore, just because guys are a bit more attuned to a T20 style of batting.
"Ollie has everything he needs to succeed. Langer's not a bad (comparison) in terms of letting the ball come, he scores square of the wicket, unflustered and a little fighter."
McSweeney, Renshaw among other seniors in Australia A squad
Peake will be accompanied by several senior Australian players in the 'A' squad, including Jake Weatherald, Kurtis Paterson, Nathan McSweeney, and Matt Renshaw.
The series will consist of three 50-over and two four-day games between July 4 and July 23. All five games will be played in Darwin, with the first four-day game to be played at the Marrara Stadium and the other four matches at the Marrara Cricket Ground.
"We've picked a balanced squad which provides a number of options, which we expect will be required over the course of the series," chair of selectors George Bailey said on the squad. "Jake Weatherald, Jason Sangha and Kurtis Patterson have all had dominant Sheffield Shield seasons and earned the opportunity to test themselves against international opposition.
"Additionally, there is a strong presence of emerging talent in the squad who will benefit from playing alongside senior players including Nathan McSweeney and Matthew Renshaw who bring substantial experience at 'A' level."
Australia A are also set to tour India later this year, for which Bailey expects certain players who have missed out on selection due to other commitments to be back in contention.
"There are several players with existing opportunities overseas or tailored off-season programs who weren't considered for selection. We anticipate those players will be available for Australia A's tour of India in September as we look ahead to the 2027 Border-Gavaskar Series."
Australia A squad for Sri Lanka A series
Sam Elliott, Matt Gilkes, Bryce Jackson, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney, Jack Nisbet, Mitch Perry, Kurtis Patterson, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Matt Renshaw, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Billy Stanlake, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald.
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