He has touched 151.1 kph . Next Australian headache for the world
‘Going to be an absolute beauty’: Meet the 151km/h teen tearaway stars ‘dont want to face’
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‘Going to be an absolute beauty’: Meet the 151km/h teen tearaway stars ‘dont want to face’
Having just been rolled for 95 in the Sheffield Shield final, Queensland captain Marnus Labuschagne gathered his troops for a pep talk during the innings break.
Standing in the outfield at Karen Rolton Oval, Labuschagne turned to his bowling cartel and declared: “We need a big lift from you. Come in and give us a chance.”
And teenager tearaway Callum Vidler delivered.
he 19-year-old quick, playing just his third first-class match, claimed 4-33 from 12 overs, including the dismissals of South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney and Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey, to keep Queensland in the hunt after a disastrous morning.
Vidler, bowling in excess of 140km/h, got the new ball hooping in his opening spell, during which he removed opener Henry Hunt and McSweeney for a duck, before snaring an additional two wickets in the evening session with short-pitched deliveries.
“Vidler just bowled fast today, had our boys moving around … he was putting the pressure on,” South Australian seamer Brendan Doggett said at stumps.
“I love him, he looks good. He’s fast, he’s wiry, aggressive. I don’t want to face him.
“He’s looking really good, and Queensland’s got a winner there in him, for sure.”
Bulls wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson, who took a stunning one-handed catch to help dismiss McSweeney, confirmed that Vidler’s deliveries were hitting the gloves “very hard”.
“It’s really exciting for us to see,” he said.
“And it’s exciting for Cricket Australia as well, seeing someone like that come through and bowling that sort of pace.
“As he gets older, he’s going to be an absolute beauty for Queensland, and hopefully we don’t see him too much and he goes and plays for Australia.
“Every time he plays – he’s only played a handful of first-class games – he’s learning about his craft.
“But he’s got that thing you can’t teach, which is absolute pace
“I think he’s impressed a lot of people with what he’s done.”
The hosts were 6-158 at stumps on day one, leading by 63 runs. Queensland will need a herculean effort from their batters in the second innings for any chance of salvaging the match, but Vidler has given the Bulls a sniff at an unlikely comeback.
Mentored by former Bulls bowler Andy Bichel, Vidler was clocked at 151km/h during Queensland’s previous Sheffield Shield match, coincidentally against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval. The fiery redhead took up pace bowling in his youth after watching fellow Queenslanders Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris terrorise England’s batters during the 2013/14 Ashes campaign.
Vidler was Australia’s equal-leading wicket-taker during the 2023 Youth Ashes in England with 14 scalps at 16.00. A few months later, he was signed by the Brisbane Heat as a local replacement player, training alongside the likes of Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Michael Neser before flying across to South Africa for last year’s Under-19 World Cup.
And having taken 14 scalps at 11.71 with an economy of 3.79 across the campaign, including a blistering spell of 4-29 against England during the group stage, Vidler helped Australia break a 14-year drought and win the title.
Weeks after returning home, Vidler made his first-class debut in March last year, taking five wickets in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales in Brisbane.
He’s still a work in progress, but Australian cricket fans have every right to feel excited about the tall right-armer.
“I quite enjoy four-day games at the moment, running in all day,”
Vidler told Fox Cricket last year.
“My dream would be to play for Australia in a Test match. There’s something different about Test matches that you don’t get in T20s.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Test cricket and its future, but it’s the ultimate form of the game. As a bowler, there’s nothing better than running in with a red pill all day … well maybe, half a day.”
Vidler joins a growing list of Australian representatives from last year’s Under-19 World Cup campaign who have already announced themselves at the professional level. New South Wales opener Sam Konstas has enjoyed a breakout summer with the bat, headlined by twin Sheffield Shield hundred against South Australia and a dramatic Test debut at the MCG, while West Australian quick Mahli Beardman earned a surprise national call-up for last year’s white-ball tour of the United Kingdom.
Australia Under-19 captain Hugh Weigban helped the Sydney Thunder reach the final during this summer’s Big Bash League, while Victoria’s Harry Dixon clobbered half-century on Sheffield Shield debut in February.
Elsewhere, Tasmania’s Raf MacMillan, New South Wales’ Charlie Anderson, Queensland’s Tom Straker and Victoria’s Oliver Peake have each made promising starts to their domestic careers.
The future of Australian cricket looks bright
