Sam Heazlett

Sam Heazlett burst onto the scene when he scored a composed 129 on Sheffield Shield debut against a formidable Tasmania attack including four capped players. He also top-scored with an impressive counter-attacking 78 in the second innings in pursuit of a tricky chase of 274, and immediately caught the eye-balls of the cricketing fraternity.

He didn't stop there, and went on to make 649 runs in the season at 40.56; the third-best debut season of all time, and joined the enviable list behind Matthew Hayden and Graeme Hick. He was picked as a surprise replacement for Steven Smith for the tour of New Zealand in early 2017, after having impressed in the A series in 2016 for the National Performance Squad, with an unprecedented average of 72 across five matches. He got his debut and made 4 in the match notable for Marcus Stoinis and his rescue effort as he almost pulled off a chase batting with the number 11, Josh Hazlewood.

He is still very young, aged 22, and has managed to play some innings beyond his years. He does need to improve upon his First-class average, currently hovering around the mid-thirties. However, another exemplary Sheffield Shield season may accelerate his meteoric rise to top-level cricket, and he is a potential candidate for the baggy green, with Australia still struggling to stabilize their middle-order in Test matches.

He was signed by Brisbane Heat for the 2015-16 Big Bash League and has played for them on and off at number three, owing to the plethora of batting talent in the team. He will attempt to seal his spot in the side with more consistent performances in this upcoming 2017/18 edition of the BBL.

Fun facts:

He enjoys surfing at the Gold Coast along with his father.

He is also simultaneously pursuing a career in physiotherapy.

by Rishi Roy

as of December 2017