Quick Answer
Tom Straker is a young Australian fast bowler who plays state cricket for Queensland and is contracted to Adelaide Strikers in the BBL, best known for a match winning bowling display at the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He took 6 wickets for 24 runs in the semi-final against Pakistan, the best bowling figures ever recorded in a Under-19 World Cup semi-final or final, better than the 6 for 25 set by Kagiso Rabada back in 2014. He then took the final wicket of the tournament final itself, sealing the title for Australia.
In first-class cricket he has taken 29 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 35.59, and in List A cricket he has 10 wickets from 8 matches.
He has not yet played a senior match for Australia at Test, ODI or T20I level. He signed with Adelaide Strikers ahead of BBL|15 to add pace bowling depth to the squad, though there is no public record yet of him featuring in an actual BBL match. This article covers his full story and every number attached to his name so far, format by format. You can follow more player profiles and match coverage on CRIC INFO 365.
Tom Straker: Full Biography at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Tom Straker |
| Born | 19 March 2005, Caringbah, Sutherland Shire, New South Wales |
| Age | 21 |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm medium, fast-medium |
| Playing Role | Bowler |
| International Caps | None (Test, ODI, T20I) |
| U19 Debut | January 2023, Australia U19 vs England U19 |
| First-Class Debut | 8 October 2024, for Queensland vs Western Australia |
| List A Debut | 25 September 2024, for Queensland vs Tasmania |
| BBL Status | Signed by Adelaide Strikers ahead of BBL|15, no confirmed BBL appearance recorded to date |
Teams Tom Straker Has Played For
| Team | Format / League | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Under 19s | Youth international | 2023 to 2024 |
| NSW Metro | Youth domestic | 2023 |
| Queensland | First-Class / List A | 2024 to present |
| Adelaide Strikers | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2025-26 to present |
Tom Straker grew up in Caringbah, in the Sutherland Shire area of Sydney, New South Wales. Despite being a product of NSW youth cricket, he signed his first senior state contract with Queensland rather than his home state, a move that immediately marked him out as a player other states were competing hard to sign.
Who Is Tom Straker and How Did His Career Start?
Tom Straker is a right-arm fast-medium bowler who bats right-handed, mainly used lower down the order. He made his first mark for Australia at Under-19 level, debuting against England U19 in January 2023, and by July that year he had earned a spot on Australia’s Under-19 tour of England.
According to Wikipedia’s page on Tom Straker, he was part of the NSW Metro side that won the Australian national Under-19 title in December 2023, before being picked for the senior honour of playing at the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. That tournament is where his name first became widely known in Australian cricket.
In April 2024, rather than staying with his home state, Straker signed a rookie contract with Queensland. He made his List A debut for Queensland Bulls on 25 September 2024 against Tasmania, and his first-class debut followed on 8 October 2024, against Western Australia at the WACA. According to Queensland Cricket’s own player profile, he played five Sheffield Shield matches and three One-Day Cup matches in that first season alone.
What Were Tom Straker’s Best Moments So Far?
The clear highlight of Straker’s young career remains the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In the semi-final against Pakistan, he was named Man of the Match after taking figures of 6 for 24, according to cricket.com.au’s player profile. Those figures stand as the best ever recorded in a Under-19 World Cup semi-final or final, ahead of the previous record of 6 for 25 set by Kagiso Rabada in 2014, a name most cricket fans will recognise as a genuine international star for South Africa.
Straker did not stop there. In the final itself, against India, he took the last wicket of the match to seal the title for Australia, giving him a genuine claim to being one of the players who finished the job on the biggest stage available to him at that level.
His move into senior cricket has been steadier, as is normal for a young fast bowler adjusting to a much higher standard. His 2024-25 debut season with Queensland produced solid, if not headline making, returns across the Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup. Ahead of BBL|15, Adelaide Strikers signed him specifically to add pace bowling depth, according to cricket.com.au’s BBL|15 season preview, which described him directly as an “emerging Under-19 World Cup-winning quick” brought in to strengthen the squad after the club lost fast bowler Brendan Doggett to Melbourne Renegades.
What Do Tom Straker’s Full Career Numbers Look Like?
The figures below cover his complete bowling and batting record across First-Class, List A, and the 2024 Under-19 World Cup, based on official statistics current as of early 2026.
Bowling Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best Bowling | 4 Wicket Hauls | 5 Wicket Hauls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class (FC) | 13 | 24 | 29 | 35.59 | 3.08 | 4/32 | 2 | 0 |
| List A (LA) | 8 | 7 | 10 | 36.40 | 6.70 | 3/54 | 0 | 0 |
| ICC U19 World Cup (2024) | 6 | 6 | 13 | 11.00 | 3.27 | 6/24 | 0 | 1 |
Batting Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class (FC) | 13 | 17 | 5 | 128 | 36* | 10.67 | 25.35 |
| List A (LA) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6* | 6.00 | 20.69 |
| ICC U19 World Cup (2024) | 6 | — | — | 11 | 8 | 11.00 | 39.29 |
Reading these two tables together tells a clear story. Straker’s bowling average and economy in the Under-19 World Cup, at 11.00 and 3.27, are genuinely outstanding numbers for any bowler at any level, driven almost entirely by that one semi-final spell. His senior first-class bowling average of 35.59 is a much more normal return for a young quick still learning the demands of longer format cricket against grown men rather than fellow teenagers, and his economy rate of 3.08 in first-class cricket shows he has kept things tight even while his wicket taking has been less dramatic than his junior days.
His batting has never been the focus of his game. A first-class average of 10.67 and a strike rate barely above 25 make it clear he is picked purely as a bowler, with his 36 not out standing as a rare longer stay at the crease rather than a sign of genuine batting ambition.
What Is Tom Straker’s BBL Record?
This is the part of his story that is honestly still being written. Adelaide Strikers signed Straker specifically to finalise their squad ahead of BBL|15, joining a pace attack that already included Hasan Ali and Luke Wood, and he has remained part of the squad list through BBL|16 as well.
However, based on team news, match previews, and squad announcements through the BBL|15 season, there is no public record of Straker actually taking the field in a BBL match to date. He has appeared consistently in Adelaide Strikers’ named squad for matchday selection, but not in the list of players contributing runs or wickets in any match report or form guide covering the season. In practice, this makes him a squad member and development bowler behind the club’s more established pace options, rather than a fixture in the starting eleven so far.
That is not unusual for a fast bowler his age brought in as depth cover rather than a first choice pick, and it lines up with how Adelaide Strikers themselves described the signing, as a move to boost bowling depth rather than to hand him an immediate starting spot. If and when he does make his BBL debut, that will be a genuinely new chapter in a career that has, so far, been defined far more by junior cricket than by franchise T20 cricket.
What Does Tom Straker’s Story Say About the Path From Junior Star to Senior Cricketer?
Straker’s career so far is a useful reminder that junior cricket success and senior cricket success are two different challenges. Very few bowlers at any level produce figures as good as 6 for 24 in a World Cup semi-final, and fewer still follow it up by taking the final wicket in the final itself. That run alone would be enough to get most young fast bowlers a long look from state selectors, and it clearly did exactly that for Straker, earning him a rookie contract with Queensland within months.
What comes next is harder, and his numbers show it. A first-class bowling average in the mid thirties is a workmanlike return, not a spectacular one, and his batting shows he is there purely to bowl. His BBL situation, contracted but not yet capped for the format, is also a normal part of the pathway for a young quick still building physical durability and consistency at a level far more demanding than junior cricket.
The gap between his Under-19 World Cup numbers and his early senior numbers is not a red flag. It is simply what the jump from junior stardom to a full professional career usually looks like, especially for a fast bowler still only in his early twenties.
FAQs
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Has Tom Straker played international cricket for Australia at senior level?
No. He has not played a Test, ODI or T20I, though he has represented Australia extensively at Under-19 level.
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What is Tom Straker’s biggest achievement in cricket so far?
Taking 6 wickets for 24 runs in the semi-final of the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, the best bowling figures ever recorded in a Under-19 World Cup semi-final or final, and then taking the winning wicket in the final itself.
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Which state does Tom Straker play for?
Queensland, despite growing up in New South Wales and coming through NSW junior cricket pathways.
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Has Tom Straker played a BBL match yet?
He has been signed and contracted to Adelaide Strikers since BBL|15, but there is no public record of him having featured in a BBL match to date.
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What is Tom Straker’s first-class bowling average?
35.59, from 13 matches and 29 wickets, with best figures of 4 for 32.
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Is Tom Straker considered a batter or a bowler?
A bowler. His first-class batting average is 10.67, well below his bowling numbers, and he is picked purely for his pace bowling.
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Who held the Under-19 World Cup bowling record before Tom Straker?
Kagiso Rabada, whose 6 for 25 in 2014 stood as the best figures in a Under-19 World Cup semi-final or final until Straker beat it in 2024.
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