WA will need to beat Victoria and also rely on both Queensland and New South Wales not claiming victories in their respective matches. Their bid to become the first team to win four straight titles in the six-team era – since Tasmania joined the competition in 1977-78 – does look forlorn in what has been a tough season for a team that has battled inconsistency, injuries and unavailability.
The mercurial Connolly is hoping to give WA a spark in what will be his first Shield match since October. “Always love coming back to play for WA,” he told reporters on Friday. “I actually haven’t played many Shield games, but I’m looking forward to getting around the boys again.
“Just playing some cricket back at home will be nice and hopefully some results go our way and we can play a Shield final.”
He played in an Australia A match against India A before fracturing his hand in an ODI against Pakistan in Perth after he was struck by quick Mohammad Hasnain. Connolly recovered in time for the BBL, where he played a starring role for Perth Scorchers and was named player of the tournament alongside Glenn Maxwell – an x-factor type of player he has been likened to.
Connolly’s BBL form helped him gain selection on the Sri Lanka tour, ahead of Maxwell, and he made his debut in the second Test. With just four first-class matches to his name, there were some eyebrows raised and Connolly had a tough initiation after throwing his wicket away on 4 batting at No.8 while his left-arm spin proved ineffective and he only bowled five overs across two innings.
But Connolly soaked in the experience and the opportunity to learn from his teammates, especially stand-in skipper Steven Smith. “Just taking in his knowledge and seeing what I guess worked for me,” he said. “Just learning as much as I could, embracing it and having fun.
“I felt like it wasn’t really a surprise [making his Test debut]. I felt like if I was going to play, I earned my opportunity. It was an overall great trip to Sri Lanka and I loved it.”
Just a month later, Connolly found himself again in the spotlight after he replaced injured opener Matthew Short for the semi-final against India in Dubai. It was a bold call with Connolly having played just three ODIs previously and he had only opened once before in List A cricket.
“I don’t think my opportunity [in the semi-final] was a surprise,” Connolly said. “I felt like I was picked in that squad for a reason to go out there and showcase some skills.
“To walk out there in a semi-final was an unbelievable experience and I’ll take a lot of learnings from it.”
While the conditions will be different, Connolly is unlikely to find respite in a WACA surface that was looking particularly grassy on match eve. With so much at stake, the pitch might be something similar to the one rolled out last month against South Australia in a match that was the shortest outright result in Shield history.
Having not been snapped up at the IPL auction, this match against Victoria might be Connolly’s last for some time given he currently has no playing commitments in the off-season.
“The dream would be to play the IPL eventually… [but] I’m just concentrating on what’s in front of me,” he said. “Not looking too far ahead, just trying to enjoy playing cricket and hopefully put some scores on the board while working on my bowling.”
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
