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Australia's hero in the opening ODI clash against West Indies, Xavier Bartlett revealed that he didn't expect to get selected for the national team.
Bartlett announced himself to the world at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, by grabbing four wickets, including one with his third ball in international cricket, in his debut new-ball spell, helping Australia bundle out visitors for 231 runs. He ended the game with 4/17 which is the second-best figures by an Australian cricketer on ODI debut. After enjoying a dream debut in the 50-over format Bartlett stated that even he didn't expect to play in the national colours with plenty of quality pacers ahead of him in the pecking order. "Oh, definitely not. We've got so many great fast bowlers at the moment. Obviously, [Mitchell] Starc, [Josh] Hazlewood and [Pat] Cummins are probably the top three to ever do it for Australia or in that conversation. And then I only really got my chance through Jhye Richardson's injury and Nathan Ellis was injured as well," Bartlett said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. "There's definitely a long list of people in front of me. But I've just got to keep trying to do my best for Queensland, and if I get an opportunity at the higher level, just try and take it and just sort of almost learn as much as I can as well along the way," Bartley added. Bartlett was a key figure in Brisbane Heat's title win in the Big Bash League earlier this year as he scalped 20 wickets throughout the tournament. Even on the back of his impressive run in the tournament, Bartlett hadn't featured in a 50-over game since 2022, which made his nerves dwindle before the game. "Yeah it did. I spoke to someone on the phone and I was like 'I haven't played a 50-over game in like 15 or 16 months'. Yeah, I mean ... I don't know. It just sort of happened so fast," Bartlett said. "I was injured at the start of this year and didn't have a chance to play any domestic cricket, which was a frustrating time. But you can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel and you've just got to keep trying to work hard because these days don't happen very often in the game of cricket," he added. After Bartlett's impressive run and Josh Inglis's quick-paced 65, Steve Smith (79*) and Cameron Green (77*) played vigilantly and stitched up a massive partnership to see off a comfortable victory in the three-match ODI series. (ANI)
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