Weibgen feels wait was worth it: 'I've got to know my game'

The first-class debut of a former Australia Under-19 captain at the age of 20 wouldn't normally feel like a slow arrival, but Hugh Weibgen has had to wait quite a bit longer than most of his 2024 World Cup-winning team-mates.

Sam Konstas has already played five Test matches, while Ollie Peake has played three times for Australia A. Harry Dixon, Tom Straker and Callum Vidler have all been selected in Australia A white-ball teams while Mahli Beardman has been on a white-ball tour with Australia. Raf McMillan has played first-class cricket while Charlie Anderson also played List A cricket last year.

Weibgen had to bide his time until this season to get his List A debut for Queensland but it was worth the wait as he thrashed 115 not out from 94 balls in just his second game batting at No. 6 to guide his side home to a chase of 323 having walked into bat at 38 for 4. It was an innings that impressed a lot of astute judges around Australia.

The other benefit of the wait is that he enters Sheffield Shield cricket for the first time against Tasmania in the form of his life, having had the chance to develop his game away from the spotlight.

"I love seeing all those team-mates going really well," Weibgen told ESPNcricinfo. "Of course you want to be on those tours with them. But I think the slower build for me has been good. I've got to know my game a little bit. I went to England. I don't think many people do that often anymore, which I thought was so beneficial for me."

Weibgen did not quite escape the spotlight entirely during an English summer where he played for Sunbury Cricket Club in the Surrey Premier League. It's hard to go unnoticed when you pile up 1307 runs at 72.61, with five centuries, striking at 105.92 for the summer.

But he also made waves on social media when England quick Gus Atkinson was sent back to the Surrey League to get some overs in coming back from injury ahead of a Test return against India. Video quickly circulated of Weibgen driving him for four down the ground with ease on his way to one of his five centuries.

Weibgen credits Sunbury coach John Maunders, former Middlesex and Leicestershire batter, with his development across the season.

"He was brilliant for me," Weibgen said. "I lived with a really good family that was just 100 metres from the club. Each day I walked over and got to work with the coach. I also learned to balance things out a bit more, have some fun.

"I really enjoyed my time over there. Got to do a bit of travel. It was a brilliant experience. Even if it was just putting my own clothes in the washing machine or just growing up slightly, I just thought it was a really good experience for me."

Weibgen also credits Queensland batting coach Wade Townsend, former South Australia and Canada batter John Davison and Valley stalwart Adam Lockhart-Krause as key mentors who have all had an influence on his game to date. Davison has also helped him develop his offspin bowling, which another string to his bow.

But he has also got to play club cricket with Australia Test opener Usman Khawaja at Valley in Brisbane and has gleaned some valuable advice from him.

"Uzzie has been really good to me," Weibgen said. "Uzzie is just massive on me being myself. Be open to ideas and exploring new things but really training hard and then just trusting yourself and backing what you do well in a game. So I really love working with him a little bit, and he's very calm and relaxed as well. So that's pretty cool to watch."

Khawaja was equally full of praise for Weibgen, with the pair set to play together for Queensland for the first time. When asked by ESPNcricinfo recently which lesser-known domestic player could be a star of the future for Australia, Khawaja named Weibgen as one of his picks.

"He's a terrific player," Khawaja told ESPNCricinfo. "Has all the shots. Has a really good head on him. I expect big things from him."

Weibgen knows the step up to first-class cricket won't be easy. But he does take some confidence from the early performances of Konstas, Dixon and Peake especially as he ventures into the unknown.

"Seeing them go really well gives me confidence," Weibgen said. "I've played in a lot of teams with them.

"I know it will be a pretty good challenge. There'll be some people I come up against that have a whole lot of experience. But, yeah, it definitely does give me some confidence."