Big Bash League: The rise of Mahli Beardman from tearaway country speedster to the brink of Australian debut

Mahli Beardman is the latest graduate from a very special school. The legendary Dennis Lillee has assumed a role later in life as a fast bowling whisperer to some of the country’s best and brightest quicks, with Australian legends Mitchell Johnson and Pat Cummins among his students. When a family friend of Beardman’s spotted the then-13-year-old peppering a bin down the side of his house at brisk pace, he relayed the news onto Lillee’s close friend Rod Duggan, who passed on the message to the one-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket’s history. But Lillee initially proved a tough nut to crack. “DK had a rule that he wouldn’t work with anyone until they were at least 16, so I had to do a little bit of waiting and a little bit of work, but at about 15 I convinced him to finally have a look,” Beardman told The West Australian in 2024. “We went down to the South Perth nets and had a bowl down there, got along really well with him, and ever since then he has just become a massive mentor for me and such a good man to have in my corner.” With Lillee by his side, Beardman — who spent parts of his childhood in the State’s South West and Pilbara — has enhanced his status as Australian cricket’s brightest fast bowling talent by emerging as a central figure in Perth Scorchers’ hunt for their sixth Big Bash League title. He played a key role in Australia’s victorious under-19 World Cup campaign in 2024 and has earned three call-ups to Australian white-ball squads, including for an upcoming Twenty20 series in Pakistan, where he is set to make a long-awaited senior international debut. Only days after being told he would head to Lahore for games which will precede the Twenty20 World Cup, Beardman led the Scorchers into the BBL grand final by bagging figures of 3-20 in their 48-run win over Sydney Sixers in the Qualifier. Thrown the ball by skipper Ashton Turner with his side needing to defend a modest total of 148, Beardman took no time at all to hit speeds as quick as 144km/h. He proved too fast for Sixers stars Josh Phillipe and Moises Henriques in his first spell before returning later in the innings to claim the massive scalp of Steve Smith, perfectly executing a plan to make one of the competition’s form batters hit to Optus Stadium’s long square boundaries. Beardman said he had no doubt the performance was the best of his fledgling career. “That’s definitely the pinnacle so far,” he said. “There was immense support from the crowd, and the energy was incredible. I’m so grateful for the win. “If you can float in and not force it and let it come, that’s when you’re going to bowl your fastest. I think if you go searching for pace, it’s not something that comes naturally. It’s a really fine line.” Beardman’s teammate Finn Allen said the way Smith had treated the young tearaway was indicative of his ability. “If you see the way that Smudge went about playing him, you could see there was a real sign of respect there. So I think for him, that’s a really huge thing going forward,” Allen said. “If you look at him from the start to the end of the tournament, you know, he’s learnt so much.” Perth came into the season pinning their hopes on a young attack without departed club legends Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye and deprived of Lance Morris, who has been sidelined for the duration of the summer by back surgery. Experience in their bowling stocks has been further thinned by Jhye Richardson being only intermittently available through the early stages of the season due to Test duties and injuries taking Joel Paris and Ashton Agar out of action at the back end. Having long been set for more responsibility, Beardman endured a tough start to his campaign, giving away 28 runs from his two overs in their rain-shortened season-opener against Sydney Sixers and being dropped for their historic run-fest against Brisbane Heat. But since returning to the side on Boxing Day, he has cemented his place and is peaking at the right time of the season, bagging eight wickets across his last four appearances. Scorchers star Laurie Evans said he was delighted to see how Beardman had grown over the course of the tournament. “He’s just got better and better as he’s gone through. He’s got quicker, he’s bowling with more confidence,” Evans said. “He’s showing excellent tactical ability, obviously with Ashton Turner stood next to him, being able to deliver the skills that he’s being asked to deliver to each individual batsman. (The Qualifier) was a great example of that — Steve Smith, it was a huge wicket and a brilliant moment in the game.” Regardless of the result of Sunday night’s Big Bash League final, Beardman may not have too much time to celebrate, with his departure for Pakistan set for 6am on Monday. While an international debut may beckon for the rising star, he said his prior experiences within the set-up would hold him in good stead. “I’ve been very lucky, that’s an incredibly welcoming and warm group, so I’ve been super fortunate there,” Beardman said. “If that comes, obviously it’ll be an incredible achievement, but it’s not something I’m going to go searching for. When it’s ready, it’ll happen.”