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Who is Jake Weatherald? Tasmania brute who replaced Sam Konstas in Australia's Ashes squad

Soumyajit Dutta

Jake Weatherald [Source: @TasmanianTigers/X.com]Jake Weatherald [Source: @TasmanianTigers/X.com]

Jake Weatherald is the current sensation who is making headlines after beating Sam Konstas and Matt Renshaw in the race for the Ashes squad. Australia recently revealed the 15-member team led by Steve Smith for the first Ashes Test against England. However, the hustle and bustle is about the 31-year-old Tasmanian player who won the knife-edge selection race to be included as the opening batter.

Weatherald has been a monster with the bat in his outstanding, aggressive top-order approach and has come up with several star-studded performances in the Sheffield Shield over the past few years. 

Why Jake Weatherald is a formidable name?

It was Weatherald's consistency that led selection chair George Bailey to pick him, as many are unaware of the southpaw, who has also been in the spotlight for T20 teams like Quetta Gladiators and Adelaide Strikers.

Jake Weatherald burst onto the scene in his debut first-class season in 2015-16, where he scored a mile-a-minute 50 for South Australia against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield final. Since then, Jake played 76 red-ball domestic matches piling up 5,269 runs at an average of 37.63. He faced 9,256 balls in the process while adding 13 centuries and 26 half-centuries to his name. 

Weatherald's humble beginnings

However, Weatherald had his humble beginnings in 2013. The Darwin-born cricketer got his first opportunity in the Western Premier League. He had early successes with notable performance against Papua New Guinea. He then moved on to play grade cricket in South Australia while playing for Sturt as a wicketkeeper-batter. 

Notably, Jake Weatherald was the highest run-scorer in the Premier League and also the highest run-scorer in Australia’s domestic cricket under the age of 25 from December 11, 2015, to December 9, 2016. He was also the runner-up for the 2017 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, as Hilton Cartwright won the accolade. 

Jake earns national call up after 12 years of cricket

It is almost sunset for Jake in cricket if one looks at the span of his career since his debut; however, his maiden Test cap awaits on November 21.

Mike Hussey, an Australian veteran, lauded the selection as a “reward” for domestic players who have been turning the tide at the lower levels.

“It’s a really good selection because he’s done well for Tassie over the last couple of years. He’s the leading run-scorer in Shield cricket so I like to see them rewarding guys who are dominating the level below," Hussey said.

Moreover, though the playing XI or batting order has not been decided yet, it can be understood that it is Jake’s approach to the game that helped him earn a place, adding a stylistic balance to the gritty Usman Khawaja at the top.