Ollie Peake's subcontinent education: 'I was absolutely cooked'

Since breaking into Australia's Under-19 World Cup squad after being originally named as a non-travelling reserve last year, Ollie Peake has ticked off landmarks like items on a shopping list.

In a space of 17 months, Peake has won the Under-19 World Cup, made his Big Bash League (BBL) debut for Melbourne Renegades, marked his Sheffield Shield debut for Victoria with a half-century, and has even had a stint with the Australia side as a development player on their tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year.

Peake, an 18-year-old left-hand batter, is currently in Chennai training at the MRF academy in the lead-up to red-ball four-day matches in Lucknow with the Australia A side. This is his third trip to the subcontinent, and he seems to have a reference point for what to do in these conditions, which are usually favourable to spin.

"I guess the first time we came over here [with the Australia Under-19s], you have to play the bowling differently to Australian spinners because the conditions are more extreme," Peake said. "Batting for ten minutes, I was absolutely cooked at the time. So, I had to learn how to sort of take a bit more pressure off mentally and try and relax a bit more. And then sort of worry about technique after that because if you can't bat for more than 10 minutes, then you're not going to have too much hope.

"But, yeah, at the moment, trying a few different things like getting lower in my stance, try and be really proactive on my feet to the best I can. And that's something that all the boys are all doing pretty well. And then evolving with a few sweep shots and reverse-sweeps and stuff like that to counter the bowler's best balls as well."

Having coped with Chennai's unforgiving heat and former Ranji Trophy champions Saurashtra during a three-day red-ball fixture at the MRF ground, Peake has been trying to find ways to accumulate runs in risk-free fashion.

"I've picked up heaps of stuff in the last five or six days," Peake said. "The training has been really intense and super beneficial as well. "Apart from different sweep shots, I'm in the process of trying different stuff like how to defend more off the back foot, score off the back foot a lot more. So, I'm just trying to sort of find ways to mitigate risk and score quickly when the conditions are really extreme."

Peake believes his time with the senior Australia side in Sri Lanka is a key step in his progress.

"It was a pretty cool experience going over there and learning off guys who I've watched on TV for ten years," Peake said. "A lot of the stuff that I got out of the trip was not necessarily in the nets batting; it was more talking to people about their pathway and how they approach spin bowling and what they do outside of cricket as well. I found most value just talking to people, having dinner and that was really beneficial."

Peake is still a teenager and has played just six professional games so far in senior cricket, but selectors see him as a player with immense potential and the Geelong cricket community sees him as their next hero after Aaron Finch.

"It [Geelong] is a cool place to grow up," Peake said. "I think everyone's aspiring to be like Finchy in Geelong and dad [Clinton Peake] was lucky to play with him for a few years for Geelong cricket club and yeah, to learn off dad as well at Geelong has been great and the community is unreal.

"The cricket club is really giving and really generous with their time. I think I've been there my whole life, so it's pretty cool to try and turn into Finchy and for kids to look up to me in a way is a cool thing in a bit of a full circle moment."

When he was growing up Peake also played first-team football for Geelong Grammar before an injury seemingly ended his football ambitions. At Geelong Grammar, Peake was mentored by the late Troy Selwood, and he credits the former Brisbane Lions midfielder for shaping his sporting career.

"A lot of my best mates are actually footy players, so I can still sort of connect with AFL and I guess live vicariously through them in a way and get my footy kick out of that," Peake said. "Troy was a massive mentor for me. He really helped me with that sort of balance, life balance, which inevitably helps with your chosen sports performance and he was huge for me from Year 10 to 12. But I did love my footy growing up."

Clinton has been in his son's shoes before - in 1995 at the MCG, he became the first player to record a triple-century in youth Tests - and continues to be a sounding board for Ollie.

"We train in Geelong and whenever I feel like I'm not really batting too well, he [dad] is probably someone that I can go back to," Peake said. "I do it less frequently now but after I walk away from a session with him, I feel ready to go to play against anyone.

"I reckon probably my best skill in cricket is sort of the way that I think about the game, not necessarily having a really good pull shot or cut shot or cover drive. It's more mental skills. So I think it's been trained along the journey. I think dad's been a massive help for that."

Peake's elevation to the Australia A team may seem rapid from the outside, but for him it's reward for his behind-the-scenes grind for a number of years.

"Not a blur as such but, yeah, it's definitely going from one thing to the other," Peake reflected on his rise. "It feels like it's all happening pretty quick. I absolutely love playing cricket and travelling the world. You couldn't really ask for too many better things, could you? But I don't think it's a fluke by any degree.

"I think it sort of goes back to Covid, when I was training every day and banking up hours and it just feels like everything sort of clicked. Very fortunate to be able to represent all these different teams."

It may not be too long before Peake makes the step-up to the main Australia team, especially if he has a successful tour of India with the A team in September.