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

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

team established by Cricket Australia 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 numbe ...

. 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 India. It is the second-tier of Indian international cricket, below the full India national cricket team. The team is currently captained by Priyank Panchal in first-class cricket a ...

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. He is contracted to South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers for domestic matches. He is a left-handed middle-order batsman and a part-time right arm off-spin ...

, 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 professional cricketer originally from Windsor in New South Wales who has represented his country internationally. After playing in junior cricket for Baulkham Hills Cricket Club, he ...

, 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 (7) *

Jason Behrendorff Jason Paul Behrendorff (born 20 April 1990) is an Australian cricketer, currently listed with Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers in Australian domestic cricket. Although born in New South Wales, Behrendorff grew up in Canberra and playe ...

(2) *

Alex Gregory Alexander John Gregory, (born 11 March 1984) is an English rower and a two-time Olympic Gold medallist from 2012 and 2016 in the Coxless four. Education Alex Gregory was educated at the Richard Pate School in Cheltenham, then Bredon Hill Mi ...

(4) *

(6) *

Alex Keath Alexander Robin Keath (born 20 January 1992) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League. He formerly played professional cricket for Victoria in Australian domestic cricket. Early li ...

(6) * Simon Mackin (4) *

James Muirhead James Henry Muirhead AC KStJ QC (24 April 1925 – 20 July 1999) was an Administrator of the Northern Territory and a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. Pre-Northern Territory Muirhead was born in Adelaide and was edu ...

(4) *

Sam Rainbird Samuel Leigh Rainbird (born 5 June 1992) is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-arm fast bowler, and currently plays for Tasmania and the Melbourne Stars. Before his first contract with Tasmania in 2011, Rainbird played Australian Rules Foot ...

(4) * Gurinder Sandhu (1) *

Matthew Short Matthew "Matt" William Short (born 8 November 1995) is an Australian cricketer. He represents Victoria at state level and plays for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL). He previously played for the Melbourne Renegades. Short mad ...

(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 Kelvin Vincent Smith (born March 20, 1984) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of ...

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

(3) * Ashton Turner (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 and Mackay 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 cricketer. He made his List A cricket debut for National Performance Squad against India A on 27 August 2016. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman, he lives in Q ...

(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) *

Clint Hinchliffe Clinton Desmond Hinchliffe (born 23 October 1996) is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and left-arm unorthodox bowler. He made his List A debut for the National Performance Squad against Australia A on 16 August 2016. He als ...

(3) *

Josh Inglis Joshua Patrick Inglis (born 4 March 1995) is an Australian cricketer who plays as a wicket-keeper and right-handed batsman. Inglis was born in Leeds, England, and moved to Australia with his family when he was 14. Inglis was a member of the Aust ...

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

Arjun Nair Arjun Nair (born 12 April 1998) is an Australian cricketer. He is an All-Rounder who bats in right hand and bowls right arm off-spin. He made his first-class debut for New South Wales in February 2016 in the 2015–16 Sheffield Shield against ...

(4) * Michael Neser (3) * Tom O'Donnell (3) * Matt Renshaw (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 A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

, 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