Which Ashes matchups will decide the 2025\/26 series?<\/a><\/p>\nMahli Beardman, Western Australia<\/p>\n
At just 20 years old, Mahli Beardman is already being touted as a potential Test match seamer.<\/p>\n
The Western Australian fast bowler has impressed in limited appearances – but it’s his trajectory that has insiders buzzing.<\/p>\n
“When you look at the backup fast-bowlers: Michale Neser, Brendan Doggett, Sean Abbott, they\u2019ve been around a while, they\u2019re all over 30-years-of-age,” said O’Keeffe.<\/p>\n
“I would love a wild card, I would love Mahli Beardman, a 20-year-old from Perth, who I think has the trajectory to be an outstanding Test bowler.<\/p>\n
“If I was a selector, I\u2019d pick Mahli Beardman in the Test squad. I think he\u2019s shown in limited appearances that he has the goods.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis Lilly\u2019s been working with him. I spoke to Dennis and he rates him highly. We could have one.”<\/p>\n
Beardman’s raw pace and ability to swing the ball have drawn comparisons to some of the nation’s greats.<\/p>\n
He could be a player that benefits from being taught the ropes by the current trio of quicks in the Test setup.<\/p>\n
Will Salzmann, New South Wales<\/p>\n
New South Wales’ Will Salzmann has made headlines for his impressive first-class debut on a tricky WA deck.<\/p>\n
His performance caught the eye of Australia’s greatest off-spinner of all time, Nathan Lyon, who was the captain of that side.<\/p>\n
“I am very impressed by Will, I thought he was the best batter in the game,” said Lyon.<\/p>\n
“For a young guy to make his debut and holding himself in those tough conditions was really good.”<\/p>\n
Salzmann’s maturity at the crease, coupled with his all-round capabilities, make him a compelling option for Australia’s middle order.<\/p>\n
He’s shown the temperament required for the long format and could be a stabilising force in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
Hugh Weibgen, Queensland<\/p>\n
Queensland’s Hugh Weibgen is still finding his feet in the senior grades, but his potential is undeniable.<\/p>\n
David Warner, who shared a stint with him at the Sydney Thunder, sees a future star in the making.<\/p>\n
“I had a short burst with him last year at the Thunder, Hugh Weibgen, I think he\u2019s going to be a good prospect for the future,” said Warner.<\/p>\n
“[He\u2019s not ready] yet, but I think he\u2019s one name that you could see at the top of the order potentially, even though he\u2019s been batting in the middle order.”<\/p>\n
Weibgen’s strokeplay and right-arm off break suggest that he could evolve into a Test mainstay.<\/p>\n
With the right guidance, he may be the long-term answer to Australia’s opening conundrum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the current generations of Australian Test cricketers begin to show signs of wear, the conversation around a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-216672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}