Victorian opener likely to partner Test incumbent Sam Konstas for Australia A in India later this month
Campbell Kellaway’s move to an opening batter was more circumstance than desire.
Now, having overcome a tough initiation to top Victoria’s Sheffield Shield run-scoring last season, the 22-year-old admits it’s a role he’s come to love.
Matt Short’s return from international duties for a Shield clash with Queensland last November had created a squeeze in the middle-order and Kellaway shuffled up one spot from No.3.
He’d done it before – for Australia at the 2022 U19 World Cup, at times throughout his junior career and for the state’s second XI – but never in his previous 27 appearances for the Vics’ senior side.
A seven-ball duck in his first innings against the new (pink) ball at the Gabba left him wondering what he’d gotten himself into.
His maiden first-class century (122 from 175 balls) in the second eased these concerns and two more tons to round out last season – one of those in the 50-over format to put Victoria into the final – has him feeling right at home in his new position.
“I got a duck in my first innings, so I was thinking, ‘this isn’t too great’,” Kellaway recalled to cricket.com.au.
“But then luckily I got some runs in the second innings, which was nice to know I can be successful at the top of the order.
“I’m happy to bat anywhere for the Vics, and the same in the Aussie A (side) and at Melbourne Stars, wherever the team requires me to bat I’m pretty happy to.
“But I certainly do enjoy opening the batting at the moment.
Kellaway relishes opening promotion with maiden ton
“I’ve learned a fair bit from Marcus Harris who I open the batting with; he’s been a good mentor for me. He’s obviously been doing it for years; he’s a bit of a senior pro at the Vics so I do enjoy walking out to face the first ball with him.”
Australian opening batters have perhaps never garnered more attention than they are now with David Warner’s retirement at the start of last year leading to a revolving door of partners for Usman Khawaja in the 18 months since, and with an Ashes series looming.
National men’s coach Andrew McDonald and chief selector George Bailey have publicly declared the opening rounds of the new Sheffield Shield season will go a long way to determining who joins Khawaja in the first Ashes Test in Perth in November, and a call up over the winter to open the batting for Australia A has Kellaway right in the mix.
The 22-year-old heads to India later this month for another Australia A opportunity where he’s likely to join incumbent Test opener Sam Konstas at the top of the order for two four-day matches in Lucknow.
Konstas warmed up for the tour with a 146-ball century in a NSW intra-squad game on Monday but his struggles against West Indies two months ago have left the opening spot up for grabs to face England in Perth.
But any thoughts of upstaging the teenager in India are far from Kellaway’s mind with the left-hander focused on helping give Victoria the early running when the Shield season gets underway in the first week of October.
“We’ve got a good team, and squad; a nice blend of youth and talent but also some good experience in there as well to guide a few of us younger players,” said Kellaway from Sydney where he will play for Victoria in three 50-over practice matches against NSW before leaving for India next week.
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“For me, it’s just looking to start the season well for the Vics and also over in Lucknow in the Aussie A games, enjoy the challenges that brings and just see what happens.
“Getting to play some cricket in India is pretty cool.
“I was just over there (in July-August) for the MRF Academy and just to play in those conditions is completely foreign to what we get here in Shield and one-day cricket in Australia.
“Any chance I can get to get over there and experience that is a good thing for my cricket.”
Selectors have named an A squad all aged 28 or younger with an eye towards preparing players for future Indian Test tours, the next of which is a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in early 2027.
Kellaway said improving his play against spin has been a focus throughout his pre-season with Victoria and the two-week MRF training camp in Chennai.
He’s also played a lot of short-form cricket since the end of last summer as he tries to establish himself in the Stars side for KFC BBL|15 after putting pen to paper on a new one-year deal last month.
An East Sandringham product, where Shane Warne also played his junior cricket, Kellaway hit two blazing half-centuries for the Stars Academy during Cricket Victoria’s T10 invitational in April.
He added another for Australia A in the third one-dayer against Sri Lanka A in July before rounding out a busy winter with the Stars in last month’s Top End T20 tournament.
But for now, his focus returns to the red ball, with his two trips to the MRF Academy (in 2023 and 2025) providing a taste of what might be coming at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium where spin claimed 25 of the 31 wickets to fall in the only Test to be played there.
“The second time going (to the MRF Academy), I kind of knew what to expect, what the wickets would be like and how I could adapt my game to spinning conditions,” Kellaway said.
“It was some nice prep for the cricket we’ve got coming up in Lucknow. I’ve got a bit more of a plan of how I want to bat on turning tracks and it’s just about putting that into place.”
Australia A tour of India
September 16-19: First four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST
September 23-26: Second four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST
September 30: First one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST
October 3: Second one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST
October 5: Third one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 4pm AEDT