He is the joint leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield 2024/25 and was impressive in the Big Bash League. We take a look at Australia's future star Fergus O'Neill.
Melbourne Renegades’ final group match of the BBL 2024/25 was a mixed bag for Fergus O’Neill. He was taken off the attack in the first innings for stepping onto the danger area multiple times but later smashed a couple of boundaries to cap off their season with a stunning chase.
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That wasn’t the highlight of his season, however, with the Victoria pacer producing impressive performances for the Renegades. Fergus O’Neill played eight matches in the tournament and picked up seven wickets at 6.94.
Amongst all the bowlers the red Melbourne side tried, only left-arm Jacob Bethell had an economy of under 7 rpo. For seamers, all of the other three regular features Kane Richardson, Will Sutherland and Tom Rogers conceded at over 8 rpo.
The six-feet-five tall right arm seamer has been a consistent performer for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield since making his debut in October 2022. A brief look at his numbers show he has been terrific in red ball cricket.
Fergus O’Neill has played 24 matches in First Class cricket, snaring 94 wickets at a magnificent average of 19.91, including four five-wicket hauls. In his debut Shield season, he picked 27 wickets at 24.92.
In the following year, he was the leading wicket-taker for Victoria and fifth highest overall, with 42 scalps at 19.90 apiece.
And as for the current Sheffield Shield season, O’Neill sits at the top alongside New South Wales’ Jackson Bird, having taken 22 wickets at 19.31. At the start of this season, O’Neill had an opportunity to bowl against Steve Smith and he bowled some probing lines before dismissing the superstar batter.
In November, he made his mark for Australia A, when he took 4 for 55 in the second innings at Mackay. He continued his form and ran riot in their clash against Queensland at the MCG, picking 5 for 51 and 4 for 22 in two innings, though he ended up on the losing side.
The 23-year old fast bowler has the potential to be a star for Australia across formats. He has the height, he has shown good control, has the skills to make the most of the helpful conditions and he has the numbers to back it up.
Australia’s current seam-bowling stocks don’t look great. Apart from the quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, they have Michael Neser, Sean Abbott, Jhye Richardson, who are generally picked as back-up options. Neser and Abbott are in their 30s while Richardson’s entire career has been marred with injuries.
In the domestic circuit as well, there aren’t many young fast bowlers who are doing consistently well or even showing good promise barring Lance Morris.
With such poor stocks and age on his side, there is a decent chance O’Neill could get a call-up in the near future. He has already become a BBL star and this could just be a start. All he needs to do is keep himself fit and continue knocking the door.
