Credit: Google
It was no ordinary occasion when recently on July 20, 2025 Australia entered the first T20I of the five against the West Indies. Besides being the series opener with five big games lined up in the Caribbean, the Australian national team entered the ground with a big spring in their step.
That was not because they were to play a brand new contest at the very ground where they made a horrible lightwork of their opponents, albeit in the Test played just a few days ago. It was because about to log horns against the West Indies, beaten and battered and still recovering from their shambolic 27 all out just days earlier, was a new force on the ground.
The name- Mitchell Owen. His habit- terrorising bowlers!
And terrorise he most certainly did in just his first-ever T20I in an Australian shirt. There's always a certain amount of threat when it comes to hitters squaring up against bowlers in the game's shortest format. But then the threat for the bowlers becomes rather rancid when you square off against a lanky lad known for his six-hitting prowess.
Mitch Owen not only reduced the West Indian bowling to tatters in just the series opener in Jamaica, but hardly looked the part of a youngling in the bright Australian yellows.
He didn't hit, he smashed bowlers- spinners and medium pacers alike- on his way to a courageous and timely 50 that came off just 27 odd deliveries.
It's one thing to begin your journey with your country on a fluent note, which Mitch Owen certainly did in the duration of his stay at the wicket that lasted for just 4.3 overs. But it's certainly something else when you tear apart a two-time World Cup winning side in that very format, which it loves.
On July 20, the right handed Aussie didn't deal in boundaries. He dealt in sixes. Six of them. Moreover, Mitch Owen nearly toppled his senior in the Australian side, Cameron Green, in scoring the most runs for Australia in what eventually became a successful run chase.
Green made 51 and Owen hardly broke a sweat in this sublime knock of 50
Resultantly, all the hardwork that Roston Chase and Shai Hope had put together in conjuring a 189 run total was destroyed in the end and in a manner that was so hapless when you looked at the West Indies that you felt for the hosts but also relished the Australian's charge.
But the first outing for Australia wasn't just the only thing to be noted where Mitch Owen was concerned. He'd score another fine knock of 37 and 36 in the games that followed.
Given his relative comfort of looking absolutely unperturbed despite playing his first ever series with superstars around him, Mitch Owen's success has found greater reception. And recognition, shall one put it that way!
He's been picked for the limited-overs side facing South Africa very soon.
But what ought to be noted is that his rise is hardly a surprise for Australia. His prominant efforts with the willow in the Big Bash League's season 14, wherein he hit 2 centuries during Hobart Hurricanes' success was remarkable. And as one can now see, impactful in that such stints got him the elevation needed to break into the competitive annals of proper white-ball national duties.
Here he is. Unflustered. A lover of big blows. A smasher of the white ball. A doer, not a talker. Someone who was born in Hobart and is now making headlines in all of Australia and even beyond.
FAQs
How many T20 runs has Mitch Owen scored so far?
He has already plundered 1085 runs from just 53 games.
When did Mitch Owen make his Australia national debut?
Owen marked his debut on 20th July in the West Indies playing for Australia in a T20I
