The National Performance Squad, also known as the Australia National Performance Squad, is a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

team established by

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Cricket'. It is incorporated as an Australian Public Company ...

in 2014 to give experience for young Australian state contracted players in international

List A cricket List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the num ...

. Since 2016 the squad has played no List A matches, but has concentrated on its winter training program which runs from May to August.

2014

In February 2014, 22 players aged between 18 and 23 were selected to undertake training at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane during the Australian winter, when the weather in southern Queensland is generally mild and dry. Some of the squad also played club cricket in England and Sri Lanka. Seventeen of the players later represented the National Performance Squad in the quadrangular List A tournament in Darwin in July and August 2014, competing against Australia A,

India A The India A cricket team is a national cricket team representing second-tier cricket of India national cricket team. The matches played by India A receive first-class and List A classification. It is a developmental team, domestic players who ar ...

and South Africa A. The National Performance Squad played seven matches, winning one (against Australia A by 52 runs) and losing six. The most successful batsman was

Travis Head Travis Michael Head (born 29 December 1993) is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in all formats and is the current Test Captain (cricket), vice-captain. A left-handed batter and part-tim ...

, who scored 258 runs at an average of 43.00, including the only century, 108 in the second match against South Africa A. The most successful bowler was

Sean Abbott Sean Anthony Abbott (born 29 February 1992) is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in ODI and T20I cricket as a bowling all-rounder who bats right-handed. He was a part of the Australian squa ...

, who took 11 wickets at an average of 16.90, including the side's best figures, 4 for 36 in the first match against South Africa A.

2014 team

(played in 5 matches) * Tom Andrews (3) *

Cameron Bancroft Cameron Timothy Bancroft (born 19 November 1992) is an Australian cricketer contracted to Western Australia in Australian first class cricket, Gloucestershire in English first class cricket, and the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. He ma ...

(7) *

Jason Behrendorff Jason Paul Behrendorff (born 20 April 1990) is an Australian cricketer who played One Day International, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 International, Twenty20 Internationals for Australia national cricket team, Australia and first-class an ...

(2) *

Alex Gregory Alexander John Gregory, (born 11 March 1984) is an English former representative rower. He is a six-time world champion and a two-time Olympic gold medallist at 2012 and 2016 in the Coxless four. Education Alex Gregory was educated at the R ...

(4) *

(6) *

Alex Keath Alexander Robin Keath (born 20 January 1992) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League between 2020 and 2024 and the Adelaide Crows between 2016 and 2019. He formerly played p ...

(6) * Simon Mackin (4) * James Muirhead (4) *

Sam Rainbird Samuel Leigh Rainbird (born 5 June 1992) is a former Australian cricketer. He is a left-arm fast bowler. He is best known for his time with Tasmania and multiple Big Bash League franchises. Before his first contract with Tasmania in 2011, Rain ...

(4) *

Gurinder Sandhu Gurinder Singh Sandhu (born 14 June 1993) is an Australian international cricketer who plays for Queensland in Domestic cricket. He is the first male cricketer of Indian descent to represent Australia in an international tournament. Early lif ...

(1) *

Matthew Short Matthew William Short (born 8 November 1995) is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in ODI and T20I cricket. A right-handed top-order batter who bowls right-arm off break, Short plays for V ...

(6) *

Jordan Silk Jordan Christopher Silk (born 13 April 1992) is an Australian cricketer who plays for Tasmania. Silk was recruited from Sydney grade cricket where he holds the record for being the youngest player to make a century on debut. Silk fielded as a ...

(6) * Kelvin Smith (5) *

Mark Steketee Mark Thomas Steketee (born 17 January 1994) is an Australian cricketer. He plays for Queensland. He plays his club cricket for Valley District Cricket Club in Brisbane. During the 2017–18 season, Steketee represented the Cricket Australia XI ...

(3) *

Ashton Turner Ashton James Turner (born 25 January 1993) is an Australian cricketer who debuted for Western Australia cricket team, Western Australia during the 2012–13 season, and is also contracted to the Perth Scorchers. From Perth, Turner represented We ...

(7) * Sean Willis (4) Silk and Keath each captained the side in three matches, Turner in one match. Sandhu also played three matches for Australia A in the tournament.

2015

In 2015, 13 players trained in Australia over winter, and four others played club cricket in England. There were no List A matches.

2016

In 2016, as well as spending three months at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, the squad visited India and Sri Lanka. The main part of the squad's off-season was participation in the international quadrangular List A tournament, held in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

and

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

in August and September, when they once again competed against Australia A, India A and South Africa. The National Performance Squad played six matches, winning the first two – against South Africa A by 17 runs and against Australia A by 12 runs – and losing the last four. One other match was not played owing to rain. The most successful batsman was

Sam Heazlett Samuel Daly Heazlett (born 12 September 1995) is an Australian cricketer who plays for Queensland in Australian domestic cricket and the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. He made his state-level debut for Queensland in November 2015, and des ...

, who scored 289 runs at an average of 72.25, including the only century, 101 in the victory over South Africa A. The most successful bowler was Tom O'Donnell, who took 6 wickets at an average of 20.16, including the side's best figures, 4 for 28 in the second match against India A, when only four wickets fell.

2016 team

(played in 2 matches) *

Xavier Bartlett Xavier Colin Bartlett (born 17 December 1998) is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in ODI and T20I cricket. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, Bartlett plays for Queensland and Brisbane Heat ...

(1) * Hilton Cartwright (5) * Kyle Gardiner (3) * David Grant (4) * Sam Grimwade (3) *

Sam Harper Sam Harper is an American filmmaker. Career Harper was born into an artistic family with a father who was a painter and a mother who was a writer. After college, he worked as a reporter and associate editor for the advertising industry trade ...

(5) *

(5) * Clint Hinchliffe (3) *

Josh Inglis Joshua Patrick Inglis (born 4 March 1995) is an English-born Australian cricketer who represents the Australian national cricket team as a wicket-keeper-batter in all three formats of the game. Inglis has captained Australia in ODI and T20Is. H ...

(4) * Caleb Jewell (6) * David Moody (4) *

Arjun Nair Arjun Nair (born 12 April 1998) is an Australian cricketer. He is of Indian descent. Nair is an all-rounder who bats in right hand and bowls right arm off-spin. Early life and education Nair was born on 12 April 1998 in Canberra, Australia to ...

(4) *

Michael Neser Michael Gertges Neser (born 29 March 1990) is an Australian professional cricketer. In domestic cricket, he represents Queensland, and the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League, as well as Glamorgan in the County Championship, Royal London One-Da ...

(3) * Tom O'Donnell (3) *

Matt Renshaw Matthew Thomas Renshaw (born 28 March 1996) is an Australian international cricketer. He played eleven Tests for Australia between 2016 and 2018 as an opening batsman, and was recalled to the Test team in 2023. In domestic first-class cricket ...

(2) *

(6) *

Mitchell Swepson Mitchell Joseph Swepson (born 4 October 1993) is an Australian cricketer. A leg-spin bowler, he made his international debut for the Australia cricket team in June 2018, and plays for Queensland and the Brisbane Heat in Australian domestic cric ...

(3) Abbott captained the side to victory in the first two matches before an ankle injury forced him out of the tournament. Short was the captain for the last four matches. Neser also played one match for Australia A in the tournament. In the 2016-17 season that followed, Renshaw and Cartwright played their first

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

, Heazlett played his first

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

, and Swepson toured India with the Australian Test team.

2017

In 2017, 18 players were selected to train in Australia over winter, along with a visit to India. There were no List A matches.

References

External links

List A matches played by Australia National Performance Squad

2014

2014 team

2015

2016

2016 team

2017

References

External links

See also