Weatherald cuts loose to dine out on full English

Consider the recent trend of right-arm bowlers having success coming around the wicket to left-handed batters, and then consider this statistic: when presented with that scenario in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield, Jake Weatherald averaged 282.

For the past three years or so – "ever since I got better, actually" – Weatherald has been visualising his innings pre-match.

At the Gabba on Thursday, well before the toss in this second NRMA Insurance Ashes Test, Weatherald was out in the middle of the Gabba, trying to picture how proceedings might play out when his time came to face the England attack.

But surely he couldn't have imagined they would have fed his strengths in the manner they did across 26 wild overs on Friday.

The 31-year-old's dashing 72 from just 78 balls marked his maiden Test half-century and showcased exactly why he has been selected at the top order of this seemingly increasingly aggressive Australian outfit.

But he was also the beneficiary of an England fast-bowling performance that Stuart Broad described as "erratic" and, more pointedly, Matthew Hayden called "horrific".

In his recent renaissance as a prolific long-form batter, a little-known factor in Weatherald's success has been his ability to put away right-arm bowlers from around the wicket.

Heading into this Ashes campaign, Weatherald averaged 52.19 against right-arm pace bowlers from the start of the 2024-25 summer. Narrow that parameter to around the wicket only, and his average soars to 81.83.

And then there's the 282 stat: amid a Shield-leading 906 runs last summer, a tick over 31 per cent of his runs were plundered against the righties coming at him from around the wicket.

After Jofra Archer blasted him out second ball in Perth, it seemed as if England's attack, made up exclusively of right-arm quicks, would continue an over-the-wicket approach.

But when that tactic didn't draw immediate dividends in the second innings, England changed their angle, coming at him from around the wicket. Brydon Carse, who troubled almost the entire Australian order with his steep bounce on day one of that Test, managed to buck the trend, dismissing Weatherald when he angled into the leftie and enticed a top-edged swivel pull that ballooned to Ben Duckett at cover.

In Brisbane, Gus Atkinson began over the wicket to the second-gamer, while Archer, despite his success against him from over the wicket in Perth, started around.

After the 10th over, England bowled exclusively around the wicket to the left-hander, and he cashed in, adding 43 runs in 50 balls, with four fours and a six coming behind point.

Offering width to any high-class batter is fraught with danger, and Weatherald pounces on it more than most with his favoured shot; only Jake Lehmann has scored more runs from the cut in the past two Shield seasons.

A self-deprecating Weatherald playfully suggested that his cutting carnage was down to limited strength and ability.

"When you're short like me and can't hit the ball down the ground with my technique, (the cut shot is) one of those things you've got to cash in (on)," he said. "A place like (the Gabba) is quite good for that … but at the same time, (it's) one of those places where the short ball can work quite well.

"So I would say that I score a lot of runs playing square-bat shots. But at the same time, I've probably got out a lot of times doing that as well."

Weatherald's wicket came in the same fashion as in the first innings of the first Test, albeit from a different angle, when a searing 142kph Archer toe-crusher trapped him lbw from around the wicket.

"His full ball is a lot quicker than his other balls, which caught me in both games so far," Weatherald told ABC Sport. "(My toe's) pretty sore. I was trying to look tough."

It means two of his three dismissals in Test cricket have come from bowlers coming around the wicket, but still it is clear he enjoys the angle: from a small sample size so far, he has an average of 24 and a strike-rate of 72.70 when right-armers come at him from over the wicket, and an average of 33 and strike-rate of 85.70 when facing right-armers around the wicket.

Of course, amid the dizzying rise and the pre-match visualisations and the battles with Archer and co, Weatherald is trying to maintain some balance.

"Stats would say that around the wicket, I do enjoy it there," he conceded. "But at the same time, I try not to get too caught up in stats – obviously a lot of bowlers bowl over the wicket, so I just try to make sure I'm mentally in the right space to go, 'I can score (from) both sides'.

"I think just from the way the game was moving and how the ball and the wicket was playing, (England) were adjusting to what was going on … next innings, I'm sure they'll go full (to me) again, and then adapt from there."

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

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 (second Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, 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