Jack Edwards maiden national call-up, Australia ODI squad vs India, news, video

Jack Edwards’ maiden national call-up comes after a turbulent seven-year journey in the domestic set-up, with the New South Wales captain transforming himself from a record-breaking teenager to a fully-fledged all-rounder.

On Friday, Cricket Australia confirmed the 25-year-old has been added to the ODI squad for the series finale against India, which gets underway at the SCG on Saturday at 2.30pm AEDT.

The national call-up comes after Edwards impressed with bat and ball during the recent Australia A tour of India and a breakout summer in the Sheffield Shield, establishing himself as one of the competition’s leading all-rounders.

During last month’s second red-ball match against India A in Lucknow, he top-scored for Australia A with a 78-ball 88, also opening the bowling in both innings. The following week, he claimed a four-wicket haul during a List A match against India A in Kanpur, including the dismissals of white-ball superstars Shreyas Iyer, Abhishek Sharma and Talik Verman.

A couple of days later, Edwards cracked a 75-ball 89 during the series finale, taming the likes of Indian seamers Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. He has also been recognised for his leadership potential, named as captain of New South Wales, Australia A and the Prime Minister’s XI across the last 18 months.

Watch Australia vs India ODI & T20I Series LIVE and ad-break free during play only on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1 >

With long levers, a solid frame and a tall figure, the powerful right-hander boasts a damaging swing, capable of comfortably clearing the mid-wicket boundary rope — he’s become renowned for his middle-order counterpunches with the willow.

“It’s a nice opportunity to be in the Aus A team and compete against a really good India A side in some different conditions over there, so I’m really excited for that,” Edwards told Fox Cricket ahead of the Australia A tour.

“I’ve enjoyed the leadership opportunities I had last year with the Blues and with the Prime Minister’s XI, just trying to take that in my stride. I’ve got some great people and resources around here for me to lean on with that.

“Hopefully just keep improving with that, create a nice environment for the guys to prosper.”

Edwards represented Australia at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, scoring 216 runs and taking five wickets during the 50-over tournament. Later that year he would make his first-class, List A and Big Bash League debuts, setting a few records along the way.

Playing his fifth List A game in October 2018, Edwards thumped a 112-ball 116 against Queensland in Sydney to become the youngest player to make a century in Australia’s domestic one-day competition. A few weeks later he struck his maiden first-class hundred, a stylish 101 against Tasmania at the SCG to become the Blues’ fourth-youngest centurion in Sheffield Shield history.

However, Edwards would need to wait five years for his next Sheffield Shield hundred, slipping in and out of the NSW starting XI over the following few summers due to inconsistent form.

There were glimmers of excellence across those early years, most notably his 122-ball 108 in a player-of-the-match performance during the 2021 One-Day Cup final against Western Australia, but for a while he struggled to live up to expectations.

Cricket Australia still acknowledged his potential, on two occasions sending him to the MRF Academy in Chennai to develop his skills in the subcontinent’s unique conditions — which seemingly paid dividends last month.

Having taken six wickets across his first three seasons of Sheffield Shield cricket, Edwards wouldn’t have been classified as a verified all-rounder early in his career, but he improved his bowling over the years, gradually developing into a skilful seam bowler.

Last summer, Edwards was the Blues’ second-leading wicket-taker of the Sheffield Shield with 29 scalps at 24.03, including a ten-wicket haul in a thrilling victory against reigning champions Western Australia at the SCG.

Having opened the bowling in most matches, he moved down the batting order to No. 7 to lighten his workload, celebrating his third first-class century against Queensland in February. Suddenly, he was one of the competition’s most formidable all-rounders.

“It’s probably been a seven-year journey,” Edwards said of his bowling.

“It’s just the last couple of years we’ve seen the fruition of it, but I’ve worked really hard at it for a long time.

“I realised early on how challenging being a batter can be in Shield cricket against some world-class bowlers.

“I love bowling, love being able to contribute. I bowled a lot of overs last year, which was a challenge in itself with the body being an all-rounder, but I love being able to impact games with bat and ball.”

In April, Edwards was awarded the Steve Waugh Medal, New South Wales cricket’s top gong for men’s player of the season. He also ventured to the United States to represent the Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, scoring 152 runs and taking 14 wickets for the franchise, while injury thwarted his maiden stint for Hampshire in the County Championship.

Although Edwards is unlikely to make his national debut in front of friends and family in Sydney on Saturday — with all-rounder Mitchell Owen occupying the No. 7 spot — he remains an exciting prospect for Australia across formats.

Click here to read article