Billy Stanlake is an Australian cricketer who represents his national side in limited overs international cricket. He was born on 4 November 1994 in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. He is a right-arm fast bowler with a left-handed batting style. Standing at six feet and eight inches, he is the second tallest cricketer to ever represent Australia in international cricket.
Stanlake used to play Australian rules football in his early years. He then switched to cricket and started playing for the Queensland Under-19 team in the year 2013. He took fourteen wickets in three matches of that tournament, with two five-wicket hauls. Stanlake was named in Australia’s squad for the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, but a foot injury kept him out of action. He was then selected for the 2014 Under-19 World Cup and had the best bowling average and economy rate among the Australian bowlers. He took five wickets at an average of 19.40 with an economy rate of 3.34 runs per over. He started his domestic career playing for the Queensland state cricket team in the 2015-16 season. Stanlake has been an integral part of the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League but has now moved on to Melbourne Stars. 204 cm tall Stanlake has played 39 BBL matches and taken 34 wickets in the competition so far.
The lanky pace bowler was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League. He was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise to play in IPL 2018 and there he played a sum total of 4 matches. He did not feature in the 2019 edition but will be waiting for his chances come 2020.
Stanlake made his ODI debut for Australia against Pakistan on 13 January 2017. He bowled just three overs in that match as he left the field due to illness. He has played just seven ODIs until now, with a seven wicket against his name.
Stanlake received his maiden T20 International cap on 17 February 2017. Playing against Sri Lanka, he had a disappointing bowling performance as he went wicketless and conceded 41 runs. Stanlake had a mediocre T20 international record until the start of 2018. His impressive performances in the 2017-18 Big Bash League earned him a spot in the Australian team for the T20 tri-series against England and New Zealand in 2018. He took seven wickets at an average of 18.43 in four matches. Stanlake has taken 27 wickets in the 19 T20Is he has played so far.
Billy is the second tallest Australian cricketer, ahead of him is former cricketer ‘Phil Alley’ whose height is 6’10”. Before cricket, he used to play ‘Australian rules football’ (Rugby) like his father who played for the ‘Footscray Football Club’ in the ‘Victorian Football League’ (VFL).
