5 interesting facts about Jake Weatherald, the uncapped opener picked in Australia's squad for 1st Ashes 2025 Test

Tasmania batter Jake Weatherald has been named in Australia’s 15-member squad for the first Ashes 2025 Test against England. The match is scheduled to begin on Friday, November 21, in Perth.

Cricket Australia announced the squad on Wednesday, November 5, confirming that Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of the injured Pat Cummins, while Marnus Labuschagne makes his return to the lineup.

Australia’s squad for the 1st Ashes Test: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.

Following the announcement, much of the spotlight has fallen on uncapped opener Jake Weatherald, whose consistent domestic performances have earned him a maiden Test call-up. On that note, here’s a look at five interesting facts about the 31-year-old batter selected for his first Ashes Test.

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#1 Jake Weatherald topped the run charts in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season

Tasmania endured a disappointing 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season, finishing fifth on the table with 35.92 points after winning three, drawing two, and losing five of their 10 matches. However, amid a challenging campaign, Jake Weatherald stood out with the bat, finishing as the leading run-scorer of the season.

The left-hander played in all 10 matches, scoring 906 runs in 18 innings at an impressive average of 50.33, including three centuries and three fifties, with a highest score of 186. Overall, Weatherald has featured in 76 first-class matches, amassing 5,269 runs at an average of 37.63, with 13 centuries and 26 fifties to his name.

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#2 Most runs for Adelaide Strikers in BBL history

Jake Weatherald made his Big Bash League (BBL) debut with the Adelaide Strikers in the 2016-17 season and remained with the franchise until the 2024-25 season. For the upcoming 2025-26 season, he has been signed by the Hobart Hurricanes.

Weatherald has left a lasting legacy with the Strikers, remaining the leading run-scorer in the franchise’s history. He appeared in 93 matches, scoring 2,176 runs at an average of 25.60 with a strike rate of 131.24, including 15 fifties and one century.

He was also a key part of the Strikers’ only championship-winning campaign in BBL history during the 2017-18 season, where he made history in the final against the Hurricanes by becoming the first player to score a century in the tournament’s summit clash, finishing 115 off 70 balls as the Strikers won by 25 runs.

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#3 Made his first-class debut under the captaincy of Travis Head

The southpaw made his first-class debut for South Australia in the 2015-16 Sheffield Shield season, under the captaincy of Travis Head, who will now be his teammate in Australia’s squad for the 2025 Ashes opener.

Jake Weatherald marked his debut with a half-century, scoring 58 off 83 balls in the first innings, and followed it up with 23 off 19 balls in the second innings. Despite his efforts, South Australia fell short, as New South Wales chased down 265 to win by five wickets.

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#4 Represented South Australia from 2016 to 2022 before joining Tasmania

After making his first-class debut for South Australia in 2016, Jake Weatherald remained with the team until the 2022-23 season. During this period, he played in 60 matches, scoring 3,837 runs at an average of 34.25, including 19 fifties and nine centuries.

From the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield season, the southpaw joined Tasmania and has since featured in 14 matches, amassing 1,195 runs in 25 innings at an impressive average of 45.96, with six fifties and three centuries to his name.

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#5 Credits his wife for helping him recover from mental health struggles

As Jake Weatherald earns his spot for the 2025 Ashes opener, the southpaw’s journey has not been without challenges. He took mental health breaks from cricket in 2020 and 2022, and the 31-year-old credits his wife, Rachel Pearce, his partner of 15 years and a health professional based in Adelaide, for helping him regain balance and find fulfillment both on and off the field.

Earlier this year, in August, he spoke to ESPNcricinfo, saying:

"When I went through my dark times, and the times where I was going through all the mental struggles outside of cricket, she was someone who went, maybe cricket is a trigger, but maybe also there's other life stuff, and how am I going to help you through it? She was able to identify a lot of things and bring to light a lot of stuff that I didn't know about myself, in terms of how I could help myself out, what I could do to be healthy.” "I was able to take on experiences in a more holistic way, instead of being like, this is do or die. I've tried to make it like it's just a great opportunity to play cricket, perform, hopefully do some cool things and meet some amazing people. She gave me the ability just to compete and enjoy it like I did as a kid really,” he added.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Australia will hand the Tasmania batter his debut cap in the opening Test against England or not.

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Edited by Dev Sharma