The experiment paying dividends a decade on

The Cricket Australia XI lasted three seasons in the domestic One-Day Cup competition. 

From 18 matches, they won only twice, and finished bottom of the table in each of their three seasons.

The latest episode of Stories After Stumps looks back at those years with a seven-team tournament and speaks to those who were part of the inaugural CA XI squad.

These were the fringe players, the up-and-comers. After each state submitted their squad of 15 to Cricket Australia, the CA XI were allowed to select from the players outside the best XI. Meaning the 13th, 14th and 15th best players from each state became CA XI players. 

South Australia's Alex Gregory was named the side's foundation captain, but when Australia's Test tour to Bangladesh in 2015 was cancelled due to security concerns, his role was in jeopardy. 

As Test squad member became available for Western Australia, it became apparent former Under-19 World Cup captain Will Bosisto wouldn't get much game time for WA. He was snapped up by the CA XI and took the reins as the team's first skipper. 

"I remember hearing of the concept and feeling quite excited," Bosisto tells Stories After Stumps.

"It was perfect timing for me in some ways - to go from not getting a chance to play in the One-Day comp to being able to play and even captain that season."

But on-field results were mixed at best. Although they defeated Tasmania in only their third match, heavy losses to full-strength NSW, Victoria and Western Australia humbled the team of mostly 20-to-22-year-olds.

Mitch Starc, Steve Smith, James Pattinson and Shaun Marsh were just some of the international-level players who dominated the rookie team in a brutal introduction to List A cricket. 

Critics came hard for the team and the concept, but Cricket Australia's then-National Talent Manager Greg Chappell was a huge advocate for the idea and as he had done his whole life, went into bat for his team. 

"You don't get better in the nets," Chappell told reporters after the side's first two heavy losses. 

"I have no doubt there'll be two or three players that will come out of this group who will be very good players for Australia going forward."

As the years have passed by, Chappell was proven to be correct. In fact, he may have underestimated the group. In recent summers, the number of international players emerging from the CA XI has gone from a trickle to a steady stream. 

Hilton Cartwright was the first to reach the Test team, making his debut in 2017. Following him was Marcus Harris (2018), Mitch Swepson (2022), Matthew Kuhnemann (2023), Beau Webster (2024), Josh Inglis (2024) and Brendan Doggett (2025). 

Matt Short (2023) and Xavier Bartlett (2024) have also played for Australia, began regular members of the country's white-ball sides. 

In total: Nine Australian representatives and seven Test cricketers. 

Listen to the full episode ''Out Of Our League" on the player above or by searching for Stories After Stumps on all podcast platforms.