Who is Mahli Beardman? 21-year-old pacer tipped to lead Australian bowling attack in the future originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
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Australia’s Mahli Beardman announced himself to his home crowd with a debut to remember.
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His journey from a small Western Australian town has been shaped by famous names.
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Many now believe the young quick could become the face of Australian pace bowling.
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The heir to Starc and Cummins! Meet Mahli Beardman, the 21-year-old speed gun leading Australia’s next pace era
Mahli Beardman took five wickets on his ODI debut against England on Friday and broke a record that had stood for 38 years. He became only the second Australian man to take a five-wicket haul in his first ODI, and he did it in front of his home supporters at Perth Stadium.
The damage began early, as Beardman picked up the big wicket of England captain Harry Brook and then removed former captain Joe Root soon afterwards. England had slipped to 55 for 4 after 14 overs on the pacy Perth surface, and the visitors never really recovered from that point.
Beardman then finished the job in style by adding Jordan Cox, Sam Curran and Liam Dawson to his list, which brought up his maiden fifer.
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For a bowler who had spent most of the year fighting a back injury, it was a remarkable way to arrive in international cricket. His story, which starts in a small town in Western Australia and passes through the hands of some of the biggest names in fast bowling, helps to explain why so many people believe he could become the next pace star for his country.
Australian captain Mitch Marsh had confirmed the young bowler’s place in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, and he spoke warmly about someone he knows well from Western Australia.
“He’s an amazing talent, a ripping young kid; an easy one for me being West Australian, he’s straight in,” Marsh said, “but looking forward to seeing him out on a fast and bouncy Perth Stadium wicket.”
The captain then spoke about the bowler’s attitude, which he believes can’t easily be taught, and about how he handles pressure. He added:
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“For a young kid, he really understands his game early on (in his career). He loves to bowl fast, he’s always on record saying that all he wants to do is bowl fast, and that’s an attitude that you can’t always teach.”
Mahli Beardman age, birthplace and early life: from Dunsborough to Cowaramup in Western Australia
Beardman was born on August 31, 2005, in Dunsborough in Western Australia, and he grew up in the rural town of Cowaramup. He is a right-arm fast bowler who stands 6 ft 1 in tall, and he regularly clocks speeds above 140 km/h and has the ability to extract bounce and swing from the new ball.
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His love of fast bowling started when he watched Mitchell Johnson during the 2013-14 Ashes, and the Western Australian tradition of quick bowlers has stayed with him ever since.
In an earlier interaction with the media, he had said, “We’ve got a rich history of fast bowling in Western Australia (WA), where I come from. I grew up watching Mitchell Johnson.”
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Who coached Mahli Beardman? Dennis Lillee mentorship and why Dale Steyn is his idol
Few young bowlers can say that a legend of the game has coached them, but Beardman can. From the age of 15, he has been personally mentored by Australian pace great Dennis Lillee, who helped him to sharpen his tactical thinking.
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He said: “I was lucky enough to be coached by Dennis Lillee. That’s something that has been passed down. Now we’ve got Jhye Richardson, Lance Morris, all of these boys with good airspeeds.”
Away from home, his favourite bowler is South African legend Dale Steyn, whose cold stare and aggressive knee-rock first attracted him to that style of bowling. Beardman says that the same attitude is what he tries to bring to his own cricket.
He said: “We saw how well he competed. As soon as you cross the white line, there’s aggression and everything is heart on sleeve. That’s something that I try and implement in my cricket.”
Mahli Beardman Under-19 World Cup 2024: Player of the Match in the final against India
Beardman’s first real moment on the world stage came at the 2024 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. He had also represented Australia at the 2022 edition, but it was in 2024 that his searing pace became obvious to everyone.
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He took 10 wickets in the tournament at an average of 10.50, and he was named Player of the Match in the final for his figures of 3 for 15, as Australia beat the India side led by Uday Saharan to win the title. He removed three of the hosts’ top four batters in that spell.
His youth career also included 10 matches for Australia, made up of one Test and nine ODIs, and he was the leading wicket-taker for Western Australia during the 2023-24 national under-19 championships.
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Mahli Beardman domestic career: Western Australia debut, Perth Scorchers and BBL 15 heroics
Beardman made his One-Day Cup debut for Western Australia at just 18, in November 2023, and he announced himself by taking the wicket of New South Wales captain Moises Henriques at Cricket Central. His progress was so fast that in mid-2024, with only one List A match to his name, he was added to Australia’s white-ball squad for a tour of England.
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He made his Big Bash debut for Perth Scorchers at the end of BBL 14, just a season after he had joined WA on a rookie contract, and he became a regular in the side during BBL 15.
He took 13 wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 8.08, and he helped the Scorchers win a record sixth title. In the qualifier, a mesmerising three-over spell brought him the wickets of Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Josh Philippe, which changed the course of the game. He followed that up a few days later with 2 for 29 in the final against the Sixers.
Mahli Beardman T20I debut vs Pakistan, back-stress injury and comeback
That impressive form earned him a spot in the T20 squad for the trip to Pakistan. He made his debut in the opening match in Lahore on January 29, 2026. He took 2 for 33 in four overs, though Australia lost by 22 runs.
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His rise was then halted when he pulled up sore in the warm-ups for the second match and was diagnosed with a back-stress injury. He spent the next seven months away from the game, and he has been open about how difficult it was.
He said: “Injuries are always frustrating. [Didn’t feel like] I would lose pace, but there is always an unknown. The timing of it wasn’t horrendous. I ended up getting most of my rehab done through the pre-season, which was good. It’s only my third game back now, so still feeling a little bit underdone.”
He then explained how he used the time away from the field, both physically and mentally.
“During that time, it was just about spending a lot of time in the gym and trying to get stronger. And then, when I got away from cricket, I just made sure that I was fresh mentally,” he added.
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He returned for Western Australia’s domestic season in September and played two One-Day Cup games before travelling to India with Australia A.
There he took five wickets in two matches, including 4 for 23 in the first one-dayer, with the scalps of Test-capped batters Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal.
“The plan was pretty simple: just hold a hard length. I thought they [India A] had some success early with the short ball. We tried the same, and from there we were crafty with the crease, angles, seam positions and things like that,” Beardman said after the game.
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Learning from Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood: Why Beardman is tipped as Australia’s next pace star
Beardman has also used his time as a standby player to learn from the best. He travelled with the Australian squad as cover on the 2024 tour of the UK and again during the India series a year later, which gave him a chance to speak with Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins.
He said: “I try and be as much of a sponge as possible and try and soak up as much knowledge as I can.”
He was struck by how simple the senior bowlers keep things, despite their experience.
He added: “They’ve been awesome from a technical aspect, and just trying to find some clarity. Being so mature and having played so much cricket, they’ve got a really simple outlook on the game.”
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Those three bowlers are now entering the later years of their careers, and the selectors have moved quickly to prepare for what comes next. He was handed a debut against England in the first ODI and is seen as the spearhead of the next generation.
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Why Mahli Beardman’s debut suggests Australia have found their next pace star
One five-wicket haul doesn’t make a career, and Beardman himself would probably be the first to say so. Yet the way he bowled in Perth tells us more than the figures do, because he took the wickets of Brook and Root with pace and discipline rather than luck.
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That is the kind of quality that Australia look for in a bowler who might one day lead the attack.
What stands out most is the way he has handled setbacks. A back-stress injury sidelined him for seven months, and many young quicks struggle to regain their rhythm after a break like that.
He returned calmly, did the work in the gym, and arrived in the national side in good shape, which speaks of maturity beyond his years.
If Beardman keeps that attitude, and keeps learning from Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, then the comparisons with the great Western Australian quicks won’t seem unfair.
The real test will come in the tougher series, on flatter pitches, when batters have worked him out. For now, though, Australia have every reason to feel excited.
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