New coach James Hopes is confident he has the right mix to snatch some silverware in 2026-27
Fresh faces, former glories: Bulls finding perfect blend
With a squad boasting a genuine blend of the age-old 'youth and experience', the Queensland Bulls are right in the sweet spot.
Solid campaigns over the past two seasons (third in the Sheffield Shield in 2025-26 and runners-up in '24-25) give new head coach James Hopes a platform to build on, and a belief they can challenge for titles despite the emerging profile of their list.
Hopes joined the Bulls at the end of July, following the exit of Johan Botha after two seasons. The legendary allrounder boasts a winning history with Queensland Cricket, having claimed seven trophies across the three formats as a player, and two Sheffield Shield titles as an assistant coach.
Queensland squad for opening match v Victoria: Marnus Labuschagne (c), Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Hayden Kerr, Dylan McLachlan, Oli Patterson, Jem Ryan, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen
But he isn't looking to the past.
"I've got a very good understanding of the older guys in the squad already – there's still a good chunk who I played with," the 47-year-old tells cricket.com.au. "I feel like I know what they need to do to play good cricket, and I don't want any preconceived ideas on what some of these young guys can do.
"I've also spent a lot of time planning against them in the last few years (while coaching) with Tassie, so there's no surprises in what we've got here.
"What went wrong over the last couple of years? Well last year they were riddled with injuries, but they weren't the only state. I don't think they've been too far off – they made a Shield final (in 2024-25), last season they were only a win out of making the one-day final. They've been competitive.
"So I'm not going to read too much into what's gone on the last couple of years. I just know in this game sometimes changes are made, and I was happy to come home."
The Bulls eschewed any interstate warmup games ahead of the new season, Hopes content with his players getting match practice via Queensland's T20 Max competition and an intra-squad 50-over game at Allan Border Field last Wednesday.
Men's season previews
NSW | Queensland | South Australia
And he inherits a squad that knows how to win. Eight of them are already Shield champions, while young guns Tom Straker, Callum Vidler and Tom Campbell won the Under-19 World Cup under Queensland's Hugh Weibgen in 2024.
"I've reminded the senior group of players that they've won multiple Shield titles," Hopes says. "I think they sometimes lose sight of that fact. I've said to them: 'You guys aren't in a rebuilding phase here – you've got a real good young group with you now so you're actually in a really exciting phase, and this can be accelerated by what you do'.
"I don't think this group's that far away from (multiple trophies). And we're not going to hide behind injuries; I've got belief that every player in our squad can step up at some point and win a game for Queensland. If we don't believe that, well we do push ourselves into what we call a 'rebuilding phase', but in six-team tournaments, there's no rebuilding – you're trying to compete to win all the time."
2026-27 squad
Head coach: James Hopes (new)
Squad: Tom Balkin, Xavier Bartlett*, Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Cameron Gannon, Lachlan Hearne, Hayden Kerr, Marnus Labuschagne*, Angus Lovell, Dylan McLachlan, Michael Neser*, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Jem Ryan, Jack Sinfield, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Tom Whitney, Jack Wildermuth, Adam Zampa*
Rookies: Tom Campbell, Steven Hogan, Charlie Lachmund, Oli Patterson
Ins: Adam Zampa (NSW), Cameron Gannon (WA), Dylan McLachlan, Oli Patterson, Steven Hogan, Tom Campbell, Charlie Lachmund, Tom Balkin (upgraded rookie), Jem Ryan (upgraded rookie)
Outs: Gurinder Sandhu, Zanden Jeh, Benji Floros, Lachy Aitken, Max Bryant, Usman Khawaja (retired)
*Denotes Cricket Australia contract
Last season
Sheffield Shield: Third
One-Day Cup: Third
Possible XIs
For first one-day game (v Victoria, September 19): Jack Clayton, Hugh Weibgen, Marnus Labuschagne, Lachlan Hearne, Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon, Dylan McLachlan (wk), Hayden Kerr, Mitch Swepson, Jem Ryan, Oli Patterson
Sheffield Shield (at full strength): Angus Lovell, Matthew Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Jimmy Peirson, Jack Wildermuth, Michael Neser, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Cameron Gannon
Players in representative squads
Australian ODI (Sep 15-30): Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa
Australian Test (Oct 9-31): Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw
Inside word with new coach James Hopes
The young quicks
Hopes and pace-bowling coach Hamish Bennett have in their stables no fewer than seven promising fast bowlers aged 19-23: Tom Balkin, Charlie Lachmund, Oli Patterson, Jem Ryan, Straker, Vidler and Tom Whitney.
Right-armer Straker, 21, is the most experienced of the group, having made 21 domestic appearances including 13 Shield matches across the past two seasons.
There continues to be much excitement about the lightning-quick Vidler, but along with Straker, it is Ryan and Whitney who loom as the most likely pair to appear in the early Shield rounds.
"Jem Ryan's very good," Hopes says. "Not as quick as Vidler, Balkin, Patterson, but he's not slow by any means; he's in the mid-130s, and he's a big boy. He reminds me a lot of a young Scott Boland, that kind of player, so he'll get his chances in the red-ball game this summer and hopefully some one-dayers along the way."
Balkin, 22, debuted in all three formats last season and showed he too can ramp up the pace, hitting speeds in excess of 145kph for the Heat. Left-armer Patterson was also a hit with the Heat and made his one-day debut in February.
"It was probably the silver lining to so many injuries last summer, that all these guys got a little taste," Hopes says. "I think every state has the dream that they can manage their quicks through, but especially with our squad, so many kids, if we can give them doses of cricket throughout the summer and they're still standing at the end, it'll be a great result."
The veteran quicks
With Michael Neser a regular in Australia's Test squad, and Mark Steketee still returning to full fitness after major hamstring surgery, Hopes has been reassured by the savvy acquisition of veteran Cameron Gannon from WA.
"I've known Cam 17 years now," he says. "He made a tough decision to leave Queensland but was involved in a very successful West Australian team, and has come back with good ideas about things. I also got him down to the Hurricanes and we won there with him too, so Ganno's got a tendency to win wherever he goes.
"Over the last couple of weeks, he's flicked the switch. He was building, but now the 'game Ganno' is here. The no-fuss approach, the way he works batters over – he knows what he's been brought here to do, and he's boots-and-all in, trying to do it."
Steketee is tracking ahead of schedule as he looks to bowl for the first time in a match in almost 18 months. The 32-year-old has an outstanding first-class record and Hopes knows being able to call on him regularly will be beneficial in a number of ways.
"If we can plug (Steketee) in from Shield game three, four onwards," he says, "then we've got another guy who can protect the young guys."
The team balance
In the Shield, Hopes will utilise Hayden Kerr, Xavier Bartlett and Jack Wildermuth for their all-round capabilities to effectively play five bowlers, with wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson likely in the top six.
That will allow selectors to pick leg-spinner Mitch Swepson alongside four quicks, thus lightening the workload on whichever young quick gets the nod. There's a second consideration that Hopes acknowledges.
"We do have a real good contingent of young fast bowlers," he says. "But the trick is managing them and getting through the season without throwing our older guys completely under the bus."
With Wildermuth experiencing a back issue and Bartlett involved with the national one-day setup, Kerr looks likely to get first crack in the role. The 30-year-old took seven wickets at 30.57 and averaged 25 with the bat in four Shield matches last summer.
"It's a good opportunity for Hayden to be that allrounder, without Jack (Wildermuth) being available," Hopes says. "He's underrated. I think there's something there, and when we've got players away with Australia, I hope someone like Hayden ends up being the beneficiary, because he's done the hard yards."
Meanwhile in the one-day game, the Bulls look set for a new opening batting combination, with Jack Clayton and potentially Hugh Weibgen teaming up.
Queensland are currently in their longest-ever one-day drought, having not won since they claimed the title twice in 2013.
They will be boosted for their opening matches by the presence of skipper Marnus Labuschagne, who missed selection in Australia's ODI squad for Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Batting stocks
With the retirement of Usman Khawaja and without Test squad members Matt Renshaw and Labuschagne, Queensland's batting order will be light on experience. Yet Hopes simply sees that as a chance for players he believes are well placed to make an impact.
"(The Shield top six) is shaping up pretty well," he says. "Angus Lovell gets an opportunity now to cement himself as our senior opener. It's just that second opener position (we're deciding on) – Hugo Burdon will be in the mix.
"Obviously, 'Clayts' (Clayton) will be the lynchpin at three or four. Lachie Hearne will be in and around there, Jimmy Peirson, and Hayden Kerr.
"Hugh Weibgen is almost 22 now. Coming out of Under-19s everyone was like: 'This is the next guy'. He's got a taste now, and he's had moments – like that one-day hundred last year – where it was like, 'Yes, this guy's really good'. We're now coming to the point where he might actually get a proper run at consistent games."
Highly rated rookie bats Steven Hogan (19 today) and Tom Campbell (21, also an off-spinner) look set to begin the season honing their craft in the practice nets, with Hogan likely to take part in the National Under-19 Championships in Brisbane in December.
A 'readjustment' for batters
"All the commentary around how batting conditions have been hard, that's actually real – it has been tough for batters," Hopes says. "But the modern player tends to want to play the game in fast forward – 'we'll get them before they get us' – and that's the influx of short-form cricket now, which is fine.
"If this year the wickets come back to being a little bit flatter, I think there's going to be a readjustment period for guys having to play the game a bit slower, and that's going to be challenging.
"A grind-out win might happen once a year now – back in the day you'd be grinding out five games over the four days. So that's something they're potentially going to have to get used to."
The Banker
"'Sweppo' (leg-spinner Swepson) is our banker," Hopes says. "I haven't been around him for a few years now – I tried unsuccessfully to get him to the Hurricanes a couple of years ago. But I've been impressed just by how good he is – he's real good.
"I know he got the opportunity in Pakistan (and Sri Lanka, with the Test side), but he's better now than he was then.
"Watching him train, he's got such a good understanding about what he does. He's bowled a lot of overs, and he captains the team when Marnus isn't here, so he does a lot for us."
Injury list
Neser is working his way back to full fitness after a hamstring injury but will be in South Africa with the Test squad when the Shield season gets underway. Steketee, too, is on the comeback trail from hamstring surgery, having missed the entire 2025-26 Shield campaign.
Wildermuth's back issue is being carefully managed, while Queensland's support staff is also taking a cautious approach with the timelines of Vidler, who is recovering from a back stress fracture. The 20-year-old won't play red-ball cricket before Christmas but could appear in maroon for the Bulls prior to KFC BBL|16.
"When he's good to go, he's good to go," Hopes says of Vidler. "There was a hope that these first two one-dayers might be on the table, but it's probably one-dayers three and four looking a little bit more likely.
"Even if it's not then, if we get to the end of the year and he's played a handful of games – whether that be T20, one-day cricket, Shield cricket – well, perfect.
"With 'Vids', it's fast. I probably didn't appreciate it enough, until I saw it live a few weeks ago, just how quick he can bowl. He wasn't going flat stick, and he was easily in the 140s, and it was like: 'This is going to be proper quick when he's up and going'.
"But he's 20, so it's tough to say … I think he's going to be really cool in short spurts until he can take the workload of doing it all the time."
Veteran wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson will miss the opening match of the season with a hamstring complaint.
Team to beat
"I think you can throw a blanket over it for who makes the Shield final," Hopes says. "South Australia is obviously the benchmark at the moment, winning the last couple, and it's just going to take another team to have that kind of run.
"They've got their rotation of five or six (quicks), and I know how 'Ryno' (SA head coach Ryan Harris) works, he'll be developing underneath them, so when people are moved on, it's just a conveyor belt, and that's what we've got the potential to do here with our young group."