Ollie Peake: The boy who slept in his cricket gear emerges as Ash’s hope for Australia

AAfter five-year-old Ollie Peake went to bed at his family home in Geelong, his mother, Sarah, came into his bedroom to check on him. He was fast asleep in his cricket gear. She removed his helmet and gloves before tucking him in for the night.

The next morning she asked her son why he was sleeping in his kit.

‘He looked at me with his beautiful, cheeky grin and said, ‘You didn’t know Mom, but under the covers I also had my sanitary towels on!’ He slept in his sanitary towels,” Sarah Peake laughs at the memory.

Now 19 and captaining Australia in his second ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, Ollie grins shyly in response to his mother’s story as his father, Clinton, looks on. The family is at the team hotel in Windhoek, Namibia, where Australia came through the group stage undefeated; the two Super Six victories that followed in Zimbabwe – one of which came after a crucial Peake century – mean they will face England in the semi-finals on February 3.

The stylish left-handed batsman may have been destined to play cricket from an early age, but his rise was both rapid and remarkable. While many cricket fans discovered him recently, thanks to his outrageous last-ball six to win a BBL match for the Melbourne Renegades against the Perth Scorchers, others have followed his progress through youth pathways and into the senior Victorian squad.

With ten Sheffield Shield appearances to his name, influential voices – including former Australia captain Ricky Ponting – have already penciled Peake in as a starter for the 2027 Ashes in England.

“That still feels far away to me,” says Peake. “I’m just trying to focus on keeping my place in the Victorian team and winning games there because in a year’s time I already feel like that team is already my best friends, which is quite special.

“We have a great culture there and we are building something special. In Australia there are only six teams, and each team is incredible and has Test stars who have played for Australia, are in the mix, or are up and coming. It feels like anyone who plays on any given day is good enough to get to the next level.”

If Peake speaks of his career with a maturity beyond his years, it is at least partly due to his father’s influence. Clinton also captained the Australian Under-19 side and still holds the record for the highest individual innings in a youth international, set in 1995 when he scored an unbeaten 304 in a youth Test against India at the MCG.

Clinton played a handful of games for Victoria during a golden era for Australian batting in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and his own experiences have made Ollie aware that the road to international cricket is littered with talented youngsters who fade away after being dubbed the next big thing.

“When you’re young and naive, you don’t realize how good each level is,” Clinton says. “So hopefully Ollie, as a second-generation cricketer, has his eyes wide open that nothing can be taken for granted, and that the present is a gift, and you want to be grounded in what you’re doing now because you never know how long it’s going to last.”

“I just try to make sure I ask a lot of questions and keep myself grounded,” Ollie adds. “I try not to pay too much attention to each performance anyway. On the scale I know it’s probably been a bit of a dry season for me compared to what I’m probably used to in junior or even premier cricket. But I try to look at things in the long term and enjoy each day as it comes.”

As an aging Australian Test team moves towards transition, attention is quickly shifting to the next generation and Peake’s status as a serious prospect was confirmed when he was invited to join the Test team in a development role during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka last summer.

“It was really exciting,” he says. “I remember being really nervous. I felt like I had imposter syndrome, like, why are they taking me? It definitely took me a few days to get into it and talk to people before they talked to me.”

“I think that’s all part of it, observing and watching all the masters at work. It’s a golden generation of Australian cricket and there haven’t been that many losses in the last 10 years. It’s been great to see how they go about it and how confident they are in their game.”

Peake has ambitions to play international cricket in all formats, but he is unequivocal in naming Test cricket as his ultimate goal.

“I think the Ashes would be the coolest series to be a part of, but another thing that really appeals is playing in the subcontinent. Australian sides traditionally struggle there and to get into the heat in India or Sri Lanka or wherever and just encounter a lot of spin bowling as it bumps and bounces along the ground would be pretty cool too. Overseas experiences are very appealing and, yeah, that’s the dream.”

For now, his sights are set on Australian success in Zimbabwe. Peake won his first Under-19 World Cup medal as a 17-year-old injury replacement, and is now the senior professional in charge of his country.

“The feeling is becoming more and more familiar with each victory,” he says. “It feels like the faith is growing. That faith has definitely grown in my mind, and it feels like everyone thinks we have what it takes.”