Australia’s selectors already had an eye on this teen. He just played a knock that will command attention

2 hours ago 2

By Greg Dundas and Oliver Caffrey

October 7, 2025 — 7.52pm

Victoria’s teen batting prodigy Ollie Peake has rocketed onto the radar of the Australian selectors after his match-winning knock steered his state to a win over reigning champions South Australia in the opening match of the Sheffield Shield season on Tuesday.

Peake might have only turned 19 last month and was playing just his second Shield game, but his 70 not out displayed the composure and skill that have marked him as a future middle-order Test star.

Oliver Peake drives through the covers for Victoria.

The selectors are already well aware of Peake’s talents. He and NSW’s Sam Konstas were in the Australian team that won last year’s under-19 World Cup in South Africa, and both played for Australia A in India a fortnight ago. The selectors also took the Geelong youngster to Sri Lanka with the Australian Test squad earlier this year as part of an unofficial apprenticeship.

But his knock on Tuesday is sure to elevate his standing as Australia considers the generational change of its line-up, in particular the No.4 position occupied by veteran Steve Smith.

On Tuesday, the Vics were in a shaky position at 3-84 following captain Peter Handscomb’s golden duck when Peake walked out to bat with his team needing another 146 runs.

After barely surviving his first ball – and just preventing a hat-trick – the youngster knuckled down for 147 balls to steer Victoria to a four-wicket win at the Adelaide Oval.

Seamer Fergus O’Neill (33n.o) provided great support for Peake in an unbeaten 84-run partnership for the Vics, who lost Sam Harper (29) at an important time when the wicketkeeper was batting well.

O’Neill – who also contributed 64 in Victoria’s first innings – hit the winning runs in the dying stages of day four, upsetting SA in their first match since breaking their 29-year Shield drought in March.

Peake’s father Clinton played for Victoria in the early 2000s.

This was only the youngster’s second Shield game for Victoria, and fifth first-class match, after playing three matches for Australia A this year. With a 52 on debut for the Vics against Western Australia at the WACA in the final game of last summer and a 92 for Australia A in an unofficial Test in Darwin in July, he could barely have made a more promising start to his career in cricket’s long format.

It came after SA quick Jordan Buckingham (3-43) fell agonisingly short of a hat-trick, with Henry Hunt dropping a sharp chance at short leg.

After dismissing former Test players Marcus Harris (13) and Handscomb (0) in consecutive balls, Buckingham had the opportunity to make history.

Peake clipped the hat-trick ball off his legs, but Hunt put down the reflex chance to deny Buckingham and change the momentum of the chase.

In the first innings, Handscomb posted an outstanding innings in a reminder he might not be done at international level.

Handscomb, whose most recent Test was against India in March 2023, faced 180 balls and hit seven fours and two sixes.

Half of his 18 Shield tons have been against SA.

Opener Henry Hunt and Jake Lehmann starred with centuries in SA’s first innings.

But SA captain and Test hopeful Nathan McSweeney endured a horror Shield opener, out for a duck and 6.

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