After a nervous wait to see if they would make it through to the quarter-finals of the U19 World Cup, Australia captain Cooper Connolly says his squad is riding high as they prepare to face an in-form Pakistan for a spot in the final four.
Having comfortably defeated Scotland last Thursday to post their second win out of three group matches, Australia relied on a Sri Lanka victory over the West Indies a couple of days later to secure their place in the Super League stage of the tournament.
And while it didn’t come easy, with Sri Lanka chasing down the target of 251 with 10 balls to spare, Connolly said it was jubilation within the Aussie camp when they were confirmed to finish second in their group.
"We all just followed it individually in our own rooms ... we were quite nervous, all of us were watching it on the live stream and then the moment came, Sri Lanka hit the winning runs and we were all just messaging our group chat with joy," Connolly said.
"I'm just so happy that we made it this far, we're pretty stoked and there's a good vibe around the group."
The squad, who are still learning each other's games and developing continuity as a team after limited preparations, were kept separate after two key players had tested positive for COVID-19, ruling them out of the game against Scotland.
But Australia will be boosted by the return of opening bowler Thomas Whitney and ambidextrous spinner Nivethan Radhakrishnan for the clash with Pakistan, the team's two top wicket-takers benefiting from the nine-day break between games.
The World Cup had been predicted to be dominated by spin-friendly Caribbean pitches but Connolly said the wickets so far had largely been to the Australians liking.
"My first thought was there hasn't been as much turn as everyone thought," Connolly said.
"We were training on these facilities that were turning and then we went out to the middle and there was a bit of pace in the wicket which suited our fast bowlers and suited our batting because we're used to the ball coming on so nicely.
"The wickets are kind of in our favour I reckon with a bit of pace, and we're all used to fast bouncy wickets when batting."
That pace and bounce has also suited Pakistan's seamers, with Abbas Ali and allrounder Muhammad Shehzad each collecting five-wicket hauls in the tournament.
Shehzad also opens the batting and is playing in his second U19 World Cup, alongside captain Qasim Akram who boasts an average above 50 in List A cricket.
And the raw pace of Zeeshan Zameer will also have the Australians on alert: the 19-year-old is contracted with Islamabad United in the PSL and has regularly been clocked at 140kph and above and has been likened to Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was this week named the ICC Test Cricketer of the year for 2021.
Connolly said Australia's focus has been on their own side in the lead-up to Saturday's match and, despite the strength of Pakistan's pace attack, stressed the importance of playing against spin better having reflected upon their sole defeat so far against Sri Lanka last Tuesday, where they lost eight wickets to spin.
"We took a big thing with spin, just trying to play spin a lot better," Connolly said of the Sri Lanka loss.
"We were just getting out to stupid shots, and we just need to back ourselves to hit more ones against them and make them change.
"They just tried to hit the stumps a lot and we couldn’t execute our plan … we just kept missing and they were hitting.
"I haven't really watched too much (of Pakistan), just more concentrating on us.
"If we can play our best brand of cricket, we're a good chance to knock them over."
Key with the bat for Australia will be the form of 17-year-old Western Australian Teague Wyllie, whose unbeaten 101 against Scotland came after an impressive 86 not out against the West Indies in Australia's two victories.
"Teague loves it. I could sit there all day and watch it if he gets going," Connolly said.
"You just have those days when you know he's on and the two games that he's made runs (when) he has walked out I've just known he's on after a couple of shots he played."
A fellow Western Australian, Connolly has not yet fired in the tournament proper with a top score of 23 but believes he is poised for a big score, pointing to his 117 in a warm-up game against India.
"As a captain I'm not performing how I want to, but I feel like I've still got to show a good attitude towards the group," Connolly said.
"Playing that first practice game against India, I've still got some runs in me which is nice.
"I just feel like I need to have good attitude around the group and lead well and everything will take care of itself because I feel like my cricket at the minute is in a good spot, I just haven’t got that big score yet that I need.
"It's a great opportunity to lead my country so I'm just trying to make the most of it and after every game I'm learning and that's all I can ask for."
U19 World Cup quarter-final
Pakistan v Australia, 12am January 29, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
https://www.cricket.com.au/news/aus...kistan-cooper-connolly-west-indies/2022-01-27
