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Australia's Champions Trophy 2025 campaign ended on Tuesday after they suffered a big loss to India in the semifinals in Dubai. Australia chose to bat first and was bowled out for 264 in 49.3 overs before India easily overcame the target and advanced to the Champions Trophy final for the third time in a row. To strengthen their spin bowling options, Australia added batting all-rounder Cooper Connolly and Tanveer Sangha to their playing XI.
Ian Healy on Cooper Connolly
Matt Short missed the game because of an injury, so Connolly started. But the rookie's nightmare came when India pacer Mohammed Shami dismissed him for a nine-ball duck after he failed to score. Connolly has come under fire from legendary Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy for continuing to aim for big shots despite the difficult conditions.
"I got so angry. (Opening partner) Travis Head was gesturing about how slow the wicket was to his partner (in Connolly). Cooper Connolly just kept swinging. In those conditions, you have to work the ball around into gaps and not swing (for the fences). He faced nine balls for nought. A duck and he played and missed at the first eight and then nicked the ninth," said Healy on SEN Radio.
Instead of trying to hit boundaries, Connolly ought to have dropped anchor and worked for his runs, according to Healy.
"Mohammad Shami was the bowler and I was just getting so angry. It was such poor thinking and when you’re batting in tough conditions, you have got to work hard. He was swiping away, square on the off-side and just not watching the ball at all," Healy said.
Healy, who participated in 119 Test matches and 168 One-Day Internationals, asserted that Connolly was concentrating on the gap in the field rather than the ball.
"There were three and a half hours of hard work (to be had there) and it was just reckless thinking rather than getting the ball on the bat and using your footwork. Connolly’s footwork was absent, his shot selection was poor, and his technique of the shot was poor because he wasn’t watching the ball. His head was watching the gap (in the field) where he thought the ball was going to go and he kept missing it all the time," he said.
