Jake Weatherald Joins South Australia Cricket Team

Adelaide, April 28 (ANI): Jake Weatherald has unexpectedly returned from Tasmania to join South Australia, who are the defending champions of the Sheffield Shield. The team has added seven new players to their squad for the upcoming season, as reported by cricket.com.au.

Weatherald is a centrally contracted player with Cricket Australia, which means he can choose his state team without being restricted by salary caps. However, since he still had two years left on his contract with Tasmania after extending it last April, he needed their approval to move.

After struggling to secure a place in Tasmania’s red-ball team during the 2023-24 season, Weatherald had an impressive summer in 2024, scoring 906 runs—including three centuries—to earn a spot in the Australian Test team.

The 31-year-old made his Test debut in Perth last November and played in all five Ashes Tests during Australia’s 4-1 series win against England. He scored 201 runs at an average of 22.33, with his highest score being 72 in the first innings at the Gabba.

Weatherald expressed gratitude to Cricket Tasmania for the opportunity to play and improve his game under their coaching program, which helped him achieve his goal of representing Australia in Tests.

South Australia’s squad for the upcoming season includes experienced players like Travis Head and Alex Carey, along with several new additions, including Weatherald. The team has welcomed four new players and said goodbye to six others as they prepare for the new season.