Brendan Doggett spent last Wednesday wrapped in several jumpers inside a draughty Bellerive dressing-room, pads on, bat in hand, waiting to salvage South Australia’s Sheffield Shield chase. Travis Head wandered past and picked the perfect moment to plant a seed. Josh Hazlewood, Head said, had just strained a hamstring in Sydney and Doggett had “better get ready for the first Test in Perth”.
“He was winding me up a bit,” Doggett told reporters in Perth on Monday. “It’s not really what I needed at the time.” A pause, then a grin. “When Heady told me, of course your brain’s going a million miles an hour, and you’re sort of thinking what might happen.”
What happens, almost certainly, is that Doggett becomes Australia’s 472nd Test cricketer on Friday. The selectors have not rubber-stamped the XI, yet every hint points to the 30-year-old Queensland-born quick filling Hazlewood’s boots against Pakistan at Optus Stadium.
Fast-bowling debuts have become collectors’ items for Australia. Since Scott Boland’s dramatic introduction at the MCG in December 2021, Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood have guarded the new ball with near-monopoly. Boland himself has never played a Test in Perth; the ‘big three’ have ticked off all five matches there between 2018 and 2024.
With Hazlewood out and Sean Abbott also nursing a side strain, Doggett’s main competition was Michael Neser. Neser, though, was only drafted into the squad late on Sunday night and was still boarding a flight while Doggett loosened up at training on Monday. Unless a last-minute niggle intervenes, he will share the attack with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
The opportunity carries cultural weight, too. If picked, Doggett will become just the second Indigenous man after Boland to play Test cricket for Australia. It is a milestone he welcomes quietly, preferring the focus to stay on the cricket. “I probably don’t take as many wickets as them,” Doggett joked when asked how he differs from the senior trio. “They’re tall quicks. They get a lot of bounce. I’m obviously just a little bit skiddier, but try and move the ball off the wicket both ways and try to swing the ball away from a right-hander.
“I try and emulate them as much as I can. Hopefully a little bit of a point of difference for me might help. But we’ll wait and see.”
That skiddier trajectory has served him well of late. In Hobart he collected 5 for 66, shaping the ball at lively pace. National selector Tony Dodemaide, watching from the stands, noted the way Doggett hit the seam and sustained pressure – traits Australia value highly on a Perth pitch that rewards discipline as much as outright speed.
Bowling coach Daniel Vettori explained the appeal in simple terms. “Brendan’s pace is up, he’s had consecutive seasons without major injury and he’s learned how to build long spells. We like that combination.” Vettori, ever cautious, added that a final decision would be made after Wednesday’s main session.
Australia’s planning documents spoke often about managing their senior bowlers through to the Ashes next winter. Two weeks into the home summer, those best-laid plans already need tweaking. Hazlewood’s hamstring is expected to sideline him for at least the first two Tests, and the medical staff will tread lightly with a 34-year-old who has logged heavy workloads across formats.
Perth, therefore, becomes a live examination of depth. Doggett has 138 first-class wickets at 25, respectable numbers but compiled mostly under the radar. Can he translate them to Test cricket? Former fast bowler Ryan Harris thinks so. “He’s got a lovely wrist position and he doesn’t panic if the wicket’s flat – that’s half the battle in Perth,” Harris said.
Cummins, who sounded relaxed after Monday’s nets, is ready to throw the new ball to the debutant. “Brendan’s earned his spot,” the captain said. “He bowls quick, he swings it, and he’s desperate to play for Australia. That’s all we want.”
If, as expected, Doggett receives his Baggy Green on Friday morning, the moment will be quietly historic. But for the man himself the goal remains straightforward: bowl his overs, hit his areas, help Australia go one-nil up. The number 472 may stay with him forever, yet what matters most to Doggett is the scoreboard at stumps.
