Who is Jake Weatherald, named in Australia’s Ashes Squad
Australia have named Jake Weatherald in their Ashes squad, after a year-long search for a permanent Test opener after David Warner’s retirement.
The selectors have turned to Weatherald after several openers experiments failed to deliver consistent results. Nathan McSweeney was pushed up to open last year. But he lasted just three Tests before being replaced by Australia’s young star, Sam Konstas. Now, Australia have gone back to a specialist opener, a move many see as overdue.
Warner’s exit left a massive void at the top. He opened for Australia for over 12 years, scoring nearly 19,000 international runs and partnering with a long list of batters like like Shaun Marsh, Joe Burns, Chris Rogers, Cameron Bancroft, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Marcus Harris, (late) Phil Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Travis Head and even Glenn Maxwell among many others. Finding a successor of similar calibre was never going to be easy.
But Jake Weatherald’s form this summer has made him the obvious choice. Since the start of the 2024–25 season, the left-hander has piled up 1,391 runs at an average of 53.5, including a standout 183 for Australia A against Sri Lanka A in July.
Born in Darwin, Weatherald moved to Adelaide at 15 to pursue cricket. His early years were marked by raw talent and a lack of drive, something he admits shaped his career.
“When you come from a very small place (Darwin) at the top of Australia, you don’t really have the same understanding and core concept of hard work,” Weatherald said. “There was no pressure, no one pushing you. There wasn’t a pool of elite cricketers around. I was just a big fish in a small pond.”
Weatherald made his first-class debut for South Australia in the 2015-16 Sheffield Shield season. He debuted under the captaincy of Travis Head, who will now be his teammate during the Ashes.
After scoring 58 off 83 balls in the first innings of his debut, he followed it up with 23 off 19 balls in the second innings. South Australia fell short as New South Wales chased down 265 runs and won that match by 5 wickets.
His journey, however, hasn’t been without challenges. Weatherald twice took breaks from cricket to focus on his mental health after being diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
“You spend hours and hours in bed. You don’t want to get up or sit in the sun or see any light. Your thoughts are just nowhere,” he said. “This constant negative bias of everything comes in your mind. I didn’t understand the decisions I was making and my self-loathing continued through my actions.”
Supported by his wife and the South Australian Cricket Association, Weatherald worked his way back through therapy and discipline. Ahead of the 2023–24 season, he moved to Tasmania, having scored 3,837 Sheffield Shield runs at 34.25.
Initially dropped after the first Shield game, he bounced back in remarkable fashion. By the end of the 2024–25 season, Weatherald finished as the leading run-scorer in the competition, amassing 906 runs at 50.33, putting himself firmly in contention for an Ashes debut where he’s contending with the experienced Usman Khawaja for a spot.
Despite his selection, Weatherald’s debut isn’t guaranteed. The final XI could depend on Cameron Green’s bowling fitness. Green has bowled only four overs in competitive cricket this summer following back surgery and a side strain.
Selectors are considering multiple options:
- Moving Green down to No. 6 to make room for Weatherald as opener (with Usman Khawaja) and Labuschagne at No. 3.
- Alternatively, playing Labuschagne or Weatherald as a direct replacement for Sam Konstas, keeping both Green and all-rounder Beau Webster in the lineup.
Either way, Australia are looking for stability at the top and Weatherald’s red-hot form could earn him a Test debut alongside Usman Khawaja.
For a player who once stepped away from the game, Jake Weatherald’s comeback story now has the perfect stage, the Ashes.