One of Australia’s most successful fast bowlers knows Brendan Doggett well, and says he is primed to capitalise if given the opportunity to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood in Perth
Seven years after Brendan Doggett was first picked in an Australian squad, the ultimate late-bloomer is poised to become the country’s 472nd Test cricketer.
After the untimely hamstring injury to in-form quick Josh Hazlewood, Doggett is set to make his debut when the Ashes get underway at Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday.
The 31-year-old will slot into Australia’s fast-bowling attack alongside star veteran Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, a man with many similarities to his journey.
Just two Indigenous men – Boland and Jason Gillespie – have represented Australia in almost 150 years of Test cricket.
But Doggett is set to become the third, learning more about his Aboriginal heritage in his 20s after first earning a contract with the Queensland Bulls.
Proudly from Toowoomba, the man with 190 first-class wickets has spent the last four seasons helping South Australia rise from perennial battlers to Sheffield Shield champions.
Doggett first received a call-up to an Australian squad in 2018, just months after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Injuries slowed him down, but a move to South Australia in 2021 to become the leader of their attack has paid off.
Doggett has been consistently named in Australian squads over the past 18 months, stuck behind Starc, Hazlewood, and captain Pat Cummins.
But with Cummins and Hazlewood both injured for the start of the Ashes defence, the three-time Shield winner should get his shot.
“He’s one of the quicker bowlers in Australia,” Gillespie, who coached Doggett for South Australia, told ABC Radio on Sunday.
“Got a good motor, he’s a greyhound and is as fit as a fiddle.
“He’s ready to go.
“England will sniff an opportunity (without Cummins and Hazlewood), but I’m confident the Australian seam attack is good enough to get the job done.”
Doggett’s selection will only prompt further ‘Dad’s Army’ jibes from England.
Like Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster did in January, Doggett will join a small club to have made their Test debut for Australia without having played a white-ball international in their 20s.
Before Webster was brought in for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy decider, Bryce McGain was the only member of that age-defying group.
If Jake Weatherald is selected to open the batting with Usman Khawaja in Perth, he will also be making his international debut at 31.
Doggett never made any representative team until he was in his 20s, eventually making his domestic debut for the former CA XI that played in the one-day cup in October 2016.
He was plucked out of local cricket in his 20s, after dominating for Toowoomba Souths.
“His path to a potential Baggy Green is not a common one in the modern game,” Gillespie said.
“It just shows the value of our local competitions, plying away and working on your craft.”
Doggett’s former Queensland teammate, Michael Neser, was added to the squad on Saturday when Hazlewood was ruled out.
If Hazlewood and Cummins still aren’t fit for the second Test at the Gabba, Neser could join Doggett in the XI.
The only two Tests of Neser’s career were with the pink ball, with Australia preferring to play four quicks instead of veteran spinner Nathan Lyon when they last played a day-nighter against West Indies at Kingston.
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1:20pm AEDT
Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3pm AEDT
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT
Australia squad: (First Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
