He survived Starc’s sledging and bouncers. Now he’s a potential Test opener

“I hope you don’t have aspirations to play at a higher level, mate,” was more or less the sledge from a cranky Mitchell Starc in the middle of the SCG.

Weeks after that encounter, 23-year-old opener Campbell Kellaway is increasingly viewed as someone who will play at a higher level soon enough.

Especially if he keeps holding his own against short-ball barrages like Starc’s SCG assault earlier this month, and the ill-advised efforts of the England Lions’ fringe Test seamers at Manuka Oval on Saturday.

Kellaway built a fine knock of 82 for the PM’s XI (from a total of 8-308) against capped Test bowlers Josh Tongue, Matthew Potts and Josh Hull, continuing a run of form against quality attacks that includes an 88 against India A and a match-winning 147 against Tasmania.

The Victorian’s most impressive effort, though, may well have been a grafting 51 against Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon at the SCG three weeks ago, when Starc “went in for the kill” after hitting Kellaway on the finger with a short ball on day one.

Proof of Kellaway’s rising stocks comes in an appearance alongside fellow youngster Ollie Peake on The Grade Cricketer podcast (being in the TGC studios is increasingly a pitstop to making it), where he recalled Starc’s mid-pitch sledge and the veteran’s grudging acknowledgement of higher honours ahead.

Kellaway held his own against Starc a week before he destroyed England with a match-winning 10-wicket haul in Perth, a knock Victorian coach Chris Rogers said heralded his status as a potential long-term “successor” to Usman Khawaja.

When England seamer Hull (one Test, 201 centimetres tall and bowling at nearly 140km/h) dropped short with a short leg and men back for the hook in Canberra, Kellaway helped himself to two sixes and 22 runs from two overs.

“For me, if they’re challenging me up around my shoulders and head, it means they’re not challenging my forward defence,” Kellaway said.

“So I guess it’s a good thing in that sense. I’m trying to learn on the go and learn from my experience facing Starcy’s bowling short at me the other week, and other times that I’ve faced that challenge.

“I played a couple more shots today, which was nice to get a couple out of the middle. I’ll learn from it again.”

As for his showdown with Starc, Kellaway took plenty from his efforts, along with a few bruises from one of the best left-armers in cricket history.

“I’d be lying if I said the beans weren’t going there at some point,” he said with a grin.

“I think you’re not human if they aren’t, but no, I love the challenge. It was a bit of a tricky wicket, so it made it a little bit up and down. He pinned me on the finger a few times, and I hope when I face a challenge like that in the future, I’ll be better for it.”

Kellaway opened alongside Sam Konstas (who scored 36 against the England Lions) a year on from flaying India to all parts of Manuka for the PM’s XI, his 107 shooting him into a storied Boxing Day Test debut just weeks later.

Australia’s line-up is ageing, and a successor for the 38-year-old Khawaja is needed at the top of the order sooner rather than later, though Kellaway is likely still another 12 productive months away from Test contention.

But his name is increasingly mentioned in conversations alongside the likes of Jake Weatherald, Matt Renshaw, Konstas and, after his Perth pyrotechnics, Travis Head, as a potential opening option.

Having Rogers, who played 25 Tests as a late-blooming opener, describe him as a “ready-made Test player” doesn’t hurt either.

“Buck [Rogers] is awesome. He’s been a great mentor for me,” Kellaway said of his state coach.

“Obviously, he’s done it all before. He’s gone on the journey that I guess I’m trying to go on. I’m trying to learn off him as much as I can. The selectors have given me an opportunity to play my first PM’s XI game, and I’m just trying to put my best foot forward.”

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