Quick Answer
Billy Stanlake is an Australian fast bowler who plays for Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes, and holds a genuinely unique record, he is the tallest person to ever represent Australia in international cricket, standing at 204 cm. He has taken 7 ODI wickets and 27 T20I wickets for Australia, including a devastating spell in a 2018 tri-series where he removed three New Zealand batters in his first eight deliveries. In the BBL specifically, he had claimed 53 wickets across three different clubs as of his most recent confirmed tally, and remarkably, after years out of the picture, he was recalled to Australia’s ODI squad again in 2026.
His career is really a story about extreme physical gifts meeting an equally persistent run of injuries. Stanlake earned a surprise Australian call up in January 2017 after playing just two First-Class games, four List A matches, and seven BBL games in his entire career, purely on the promise of his height and raw pace. This article covers his full biography and every major number from his career, including a specific look at his BBL record. You can follow all the latest cricket news and player coverage on CRIC INFO 365.
Billy Stanlake: Full Biography at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Billy James Stanlake (Billy Stanlake) |
| Born | 4 November 1994, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia |
| Age | 31 |
| Height | 204 cm (6 ft 8 in), the tallest player to ever represent Australia internationally |
| Weight | Not publicly confirmed |
| Batting Style | Left-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm fast |
| Playing Role | Bowler |
| Family | Father Warren Stanlake, a former AFL player for Footscray; brother Jack Stanlake played AFL for Gold Coast Suns |
| ODI Debut | 13 January 2017, vs Pakistan (cap 218) |
| T20I Debut | 17 February 2017, vs Sri Lanka (cap 85) |
Teams Billy Stanlake Has Played For
| Team | Format / League | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | First-Class / List A | 2015/16 to 2022 |
| Adelaide Strikers | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2015/16 to 2019/20 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2017 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | Indian Premier League (IPL) | 2018 |
| Melbourne Stars | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2020/21 to 2021/22 |
| Derbyshire | County cricket (England) | 2021 |
| Tasmania | First-Class / List A | 2022/23 to present |
| Hobart Hurricanes | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2023/24 to present |
| Australia | ODI, T20I | 2017 to present |
Billy Stanlake grew up on the Fraser Coast of Queensland before his family moved to the Gold Coast, where he began his cricket journey after first playing Australian rules football alongside his older brother Jack.
Who Is Billy Stanlake and How Did His Career Start?
Billy James Stanlake (Billy Stanlake) was born on 4 November 1994 in Hervey Bay, Queensland. He bowls right-arm fast, generating unusual bounce from his height, and bats left-handed as a genuine tailender.
His path to cricket started in Australian rules football, following in the footsteps of his father Warren, a former AFL player for Footscray. According to Wikibuff’s detailed biography, Stanlake played Aussie Rules through his early years on the Fraser Coast before switching to cricket once his family relocated to the Gold Coast, representing clubs including Broadbeach Robina and Gold Coast District.
His junior cricket career showed real early promise. He was named in Australia’s squad for the 2012 Under 19 World Cup, but a foot injury kept him out of that tournament entirely, an early sign of the fitness challenges that would recur throughout his career. He bounced back for the 2014 Under 19 World Cup, where he posted the best bowling average and economy rate among all Australian bowlers, taking 5 wickets at an average of 19.40 and an economy of 3.34.
How Did Billy Stanlake Earn a Surprise Australian Call Up?
This is genuinely one of the most remarkable fast tracked selections in recent Australian cricket. Stanlake made his First-Class debut for Queensland on 14 November 2015, against South Australia, taking 4 wickets for 63 runs in the second innings to secure victory. He also made his BBL debut that same season, for Adelaide Strikers, bowling at 140 km per hour and conceding just 18 runs from his three overs, prompting former England all rounder Andrew Flintoff to remark that he would likely bowl even faster in the future.
According to ESPNcricinfo’s account of his rise, by the time he received his surprise call up to Australia’s ODI squad in January 2017, Stanlake had played just two First-Class games, four List A matches, and seven BBL games in his entire career. He made his ODI debut on 13 January 2017 against Pakistan, and his T20I debut followed on 17 February 2017 against Sri Lanka, both based almost entirely on the promise of his extreme height and raw pace rather than a long track record.
What Was Billy Stanlake’s Signature International Moment?
His impact was immediate enough that Cricket Australia handed him a national contract for 2017-18, partly to help manage his workload given his fitness history. He played BBL and T20I cricket exclusively that summer, and became a key part of both Adelaide Strikers’ BBL title and Australia’s T20I tri-series win over New Zealand and England.
The standout moment of that stretch came in Hobart, during the opening game of that trans-Tasman tri-series. According to contemporary reporting from The Cairns Post, with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins all unavailable, Stanlake was handed the new ball and removed Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, and Tom Bruce inside his first eight deliveries, blowing away New Zealand’s top order. England’s own players were reportedly scrambling to work out a plan to counter him before facing him in the very next match. Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting went on record saying Stanlake had the potential to become one of the all time great fast bowlers.
What Happened During Billy Stanlake’s Form Dip and Injury Struggles?
His momentum did not last uninterrupted. In 2018, he joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and played a significant part in Australia’s limited overs tours of England, Zimbabwe, and the UAE, along with an Australia A tour of India. But his form dipped through the 2018-19 home summer, where he played just 1 ODI and 2 T20Is.
He returned to Sheffield Shield cricket in March 2019, playing two matches for Queensland, but lost his Cricket Australia contract for 2019-20 shortly afterward. His last T20I appearance came on 8 November 2019, against Pakistan, and it would be years before he featured in Australia’s set up again in any format.
How Did Billy Stanlake Rebuild His Career at Tasmania?
Stanlake moved to Tasmania ahead of the 2022-23 season, and joined Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL from 2023-24 onward, joining a pace bowling group that already included Nathan Ellis, Chris Jordan, and Riley Meredith. According to Hobart Hurricanes’ own club reporting, he was a genuine contributor to the club’s historic BBL|14 title winning campaign, taking 6 wickets from 6 games before a shoulder injury cut his season short.
That form was rewarded with a call up to the Australia A squad for matches in Darwin, and he re-signed with Hobart Hurricanes for a further two seasons on the back of it. Remarkably, his long road back to the very top of Australian cricket has continued since, with his official playing record now showing a most recent ODI appearance on 30 May 2026, against Pakistan, confirming a genuine recall to Australia’s senior ODI squad years after his previous appearance in the format.
What Records and Honours Does Billy Stanlake Hold?
- Tallest player to ever represent Australia in international cricket, at 204 cm
- Fast tracked into Australia’s ODI squad after just two First-Class matches, one of the most unusual selection stories in recent Australian cricket
- Best bowling average and economy among all Australian bowlers at the 2014 Under 19 World Cup
- Removed three New Zealand batters inside his first eight deliveries, in a memorable T20I spell in Hobart in 2018
- Part of Adelaide Strikers’ BBL title winning squad, in the same season he broke into the Australian T20I side
- 53 BBL wickets across three different clubs, Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Stars, and Hobart Hurricanes, as of his most recent confirmed tally
- Recalled to Australia’s ODI squad in 2026, years after his previous international appearance
What Do Billy Stanlake’s Full Career Numbers Look Like?
The figures below are taken from his most recent official career statistics across every format.
Batting Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Catches / Run Outs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1.33 | 1 / 0 |
| T20I | 19 | 2 | 9 | 7* | 9.00 | 1 / 0 |
| First-Class (FC) | 13 | 22 | 71 | 13* | 8.88 | 3 / 1 |
| List A | 48 | 29 | 30 | 8* | 3.00 | 7 / 0 |
| Domestic T20s | 93 | 20 | 437 | 37* | 8.60 | – / – |
| IPL | 6 | 1 | 5 | 5* | – | 1 / 0 |
| Under 19 World Cup | 5 | 3 | – | – | – | – / – |
Bowling Record
| Format | Wickets | Bowling Average | Economy | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 7 | 51.57 | 5.55 | 3/35 |
| T20I | 27 | 20.15 | 7.77 | 4/8 |
| First-Class (FC) | 40 | 26.93 | 3.20 | 4/35 |
| List A | 59 | 36.10 | 5.32 | 4/24 |
| Domestic T20s | 96 | 26.99 | 8.11 | 4/8 |
| IPL | 7 | 28.57 | 8.33 | 2/21 |
| Under 19 World Cup | 5 | 19.40 | 3.34 | – |
His T20I best bowling figures of 4 for 8 came in Zimbabwe against Pakistan, described by Hobart Hurricanes as him ripping apart the Pakistan top order, and remains the standout bowling performance of his entire international career.
What Does Billy Stanlake’s BBL Record Look Like Separately?
The Domestic T20s row above combines his BBL career with other domestic T20 appearances, including county T20 cricket for Derbyshire. His BBL only figures have been tracked closely by his own clubs across his career, most recently by Hobart Hurricanes.
| Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | 53 | 29.89 | 8.07 |
A note on this table, the wicket tally of 53 and the average and economy figures come directly from official Hobart Hurricanes reporting, tracked through to the end of BBL|14. The match count of approximately 58 is estimated by combining that same club’s earlier confirmed total of 52 matches with the 6 additional games he played in BBL|14 before his shoulder injury. Since BBL|15 has been completed since that snapshot was taken, his current BBL totals are very likely higher than shown here. For the most accurate, fully up to date BBL numbers, his live profile on ESPNcricinfo is the best place to check.
FAQs
Has Billy Stanlake played international cricket for Australia?
Yes. He has played 8 ODIs and 19 T20Is for Australia, debuting in both formats in 2017, and was recalled to the ODI squad again in 2026 after a long gap.
What is Billy Stanlake’s height?
204 cm, or 6 feet 8 inches, making him the tallest player to ever represent Australia in international cricket.
What is Billy Stanlake’s most famous cricket moment?
Removing three New Zealand batters inside his first eight deliveries during a T20I tri-series match in Hobart in 2018, while Australia’s usual frontline quicks were all unavailable.
Why did Billy Stanlake lose his Australian contract in 2019?
A dip in form during the 2018-19 home summer, where he played just 1 ODI and 2 T20Is, led to Cricket Australia not renewing his contract for the following season.
What is Billy Stanlake’s BBL record?
53 wickets across three different clubs, Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Stars, and Hobart Hurricanes, as of his most recently confirmed club reporting, with his current total likely higher since further BBL seasons have been played since.
Which IPL teams has Billy Stanlake played for?
Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2017 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018.
Is Billy Stanlake related to any other professional athletes?
Yes. His father Warren Stanlake played AFL for Footscray, and his older brother Jack Stanlake also played AFL, for the Gold Coast Suns.
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