Cooper Connolly is hoping to seize a possible Test opportunity in Durban by adopting the aggressive approach of Australia team-mate Travis Head.
The 23-year-old has been a regular presence in Australian squads over the past 18 months and could be handed a middle-order role against South Africa on a pitch expected to offer turn at Kingsmead.
Cameron Green is under an injury cloud with an abdominal strain, while Josh Inglis is unavailable with a broken finger. Connolly is therefore set to compete with the more experienced Nic Maddinson, 34, for a place in the side.
With left-arm spin providing an additional option, Connolly believes his batting will ultimately determine whether he wins selection. He has identified Head as the model for the way he wants to play.
“He’s unbelievable. Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched him play Test cricket, and he’s been that aggressive and changed games. And that’s something I want to be,” Connolly said.
“We’re slightly different players, but that’s sort of how I want to approach my game. Similar to Trav, I want to take the game on. I want to score runs, I want to impose myself. I want to be aggressive. I want to put the bowlers back under pressure.”
Connolly made his Test debut in Sri Lanka in early 2025, aged 21, but acknowledged that he was still learning how to manage the opening stages of an innings against spin.
He has since developed a routine of writing notes in Perth before each assignment, setting out what he wants to achieve and how he intends to approach his batting.
“I think I went in to Sri Lanka a little bit raw and trying to still play the same way, where it sometimes doesn’t work because it spins a little bit more, and you get beaten and stumped or something like that,” he said.
“Committing to a method, for me, in those conditions has been the big one.”
The practice was reinforced by Mitchell Marsh, who told Connolly he regretted not keeping similar notes when he was younger.
Connolly said the process helped him establish key reminders for each innings rather than searching for answers from one match to the next.
“Understanding that yeah, these things that you look back on and have helped you progress to the cricketer you are now, you look back and you go, OK, that’s how I played the game then, and you don’t lose that,” he said.
Connolly regards himself as a batting all-rounder and is continuing to develop his left-arm spin, despite previously believing it required little work.
“I think it’s just understanding that my batting is my one wood, so making sure I’m still knuckling down and nailing all that,” he said. “But then on the spin side, making sure I’m progressing my bowling and I’m ready for any sort of situation, any role … and just being as versatile as possible.”
