Liam Scott made his debut for the Adelaide Strikers in last years BBL season. A tall and proven all-rounder boasting quick pace and a powerful batting game, Scott is paving the way for Australia's next generation of cricketing talent.
"That first contract that you sign you start to realise all those dreams and the hard work you put in is now becoming a reality."
Throughout his junior career, Liam Scott represented both NSW and Australia, however it was that special moment when he signed the contract with the South Australian Redbacks that he knew that he had made it.
Scott, having lived in Sydney for all his life, had to make the trip to Adelaide following his final year at Trinity Grammar School.
At the ripe age of 18 and with a young head on his shoulders, Scott was met with open arms by Australian representative and South Australian captain Travis Head.
"When I moved to South Australia he was pretty influential and helped me out a lot, so I'm pretty thankful for what he's done for me."
In his past season as a South Australian Redback, coach Jason Gillespie installed Scott to the pivotal number three position in the batting lineup, among his role model and now great mate Travis Head.
While this was an incredible achievement, Scott continued to prove his worth to the South Australian system as he made his much anticipated BBL debut for the Adelaide Strikers.
In a matter of two years, 20-year-old Liam Scott has transitioned from a Sydney Tiger to a South Australian representative . As a young cricketer who has broken records and toured internationally, Scott is one of Australia's brightest and best young talents.
Believe it or not, cricket was not Scott's first-choice sport as a junior.
"My family was pretty soccer orientated, my old man played, I grew up playing and my brother grew up playing a lot of soccer."
Scott began to play cricket for the social aspect of the sport. Yet it was after getting picked in numerous representative teams where Scott tried to make a name for himself.
"It was at the age of 16 where I thought that I actually had a crack at this, I'm half decent and hopefully I can make a career out of it."
While Scott believed that he was "half-decent" at the age of 16, he had already represented NSW at the National under 15's Schoolboys Carnival where he broke a prestigious record as captain of the team.
The Carnival was scheduled for Brisbane as Scott found his way into the NSW side as a product of the Ryde-Hunters Hill Pirates Cricket Club. Scott captained the side and scored a record 275 runs at an average of 58 including an incredible 109-run-blitz, ironically against current state side South Australia.
In breaking the previous record held by Param Uppal of 268 runs, Scott then gained selection into the under 16 Schoolboy's side to tour Dubai against Pakistan.
After a plethora of international tours and a few grade seasons under his belt, Liam Scott was signed by the South Australian Redbacks.
"In my third 4-day-game I was debuting at the WACA."
In 2019, Scott was signed by the South Australian Redbacks from Sydney's grade competition. He started playing in South Australia's Premier Cricket Competition for Glenelg Cricket Club, and after consecutive centuries, Scott was selected to make his debut.
On the 29th of November 2019, Scott made his much anticipated debut. Scott was listed in the number seven position behind South Australian captain, Alex Carey. South Australia selected a lineup including past and present Australian representatives Callum Ferguson, Travis Head and Adam Zampa.
"My first ball in first class cricket was to Shaun Marsh who at the time was in his 20th season of domestic cricket, he had played more seasons than I had been alive."
The match was scheduled against Western Australia in Perth. The Western Australian state side was lead by captain Ashton Turner and included Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Bancroft.
South Australia fell short and Scott unfortunately started his Sheffield Shield campaign with a loss, yet there were positives to take from the contest.
In the first innings, Scott was economical ending the innings with figures of 0-61 of 23 overs. Following his economical shift in the first innings, Scott was rewarded with his first career wicket in the second innings, finishing with 1-45 off 11 overs.
It was an eye-opening match for Scott which changed his perception of himself and his cricketing ability.
"Bowling to those types of players gave me an indication to where my cricket was at and what i need to achieve and do to compete when playing at this level."
Scott's next test would see him swapping the red and the white with the green and gold to battle for the World Cup title in South Africa.
"It was probably the best two months of my life, the friendships I made... it was a whole new experience in itself playing against people from all over the world."
The under 19's World Cup squad was announced at the end of 2019. The tournament would be scheduled for 2020 with their first match coming up against West Indies on the 18th of January. Liam Scott was selected to increase their batting firepower amongst other stars Frazier McGurk and Mackenzie Harvey.
Australia finished second in their group behind West Indies. Yet they were knocked out by grand finalists India in the quarter final. An unfortunate ending to a World Cup which saw plenty of superb individual performances.
Scott started the campaign opening the batting, but as the tournament continued he saw himself moving into the middle order. He finished the tournament with 107 runs to his name at an average of 21.4. This included a 66 run inning in his final match against Afghanistan and 35 runs in a tough match against India.
With ball in hand, coaches Chris Rogers and Ryan Harris chose to implement Liam Scott's talents straight after the opening spell's. Scott was economical throughout the competition ending the tournament with an economy rate of 3.1 whilst collecting four wickets.
"It's those sorts of experiences and little moments along the way that you cherish forever."
A bright spark in a tournament which saw Australia bow out early, Scott's form would see him starting a fresh stage of his career in the twenty-twenty format.
In 2016, Carlos Braithwaite hit four consecutive sixes to win the World Cup for West Indies against England while Liam Scott was studying at Trinity Grammar. Four years on, Scott was making his debut for the Adelaide Strikers against Braithwaite and the Sydney Sixers.
"Playing against world class players, that's the pinnacle of your sports, getting thrown into those situations and trying to learn and do the best you can."
Scott made his debut in match 11 of last seasons BBL10. Playing the Sydney Sixers, he got a taste of what it is truly like playing against international cricketers such as Carlos Braithwaite and Jason Holder. The Sixers triumphed over the Strikers in a game which saw Dan Christian dominate with bat in hand.
"I want to play international cricket, it's the pinnacle of any sport."
After two seasons built upon success, driven from pure heart and determination, Liam Scott has created an impressive cricketing resume for himself which continues to grow longer and longer.
Now having made his debut for both the South Australian state side and BBL franchise the Adelaide Strikers, Scott looks to a future of international cricket as he paves the way for the next generation of Australian cricketing talent.
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