7-year-old Archie Schiller on Wednesday received the ‘Special Baggy Green’ as he is co-captaining Australia, alongside Tim Paine, in the Boxing Day Test against India. He was named in their extended 15-member squad ahead which was announced on Tuesday.
The young lad suffers from a heart ailment and dreams of captaining Australia. The move was made possible by the Make-A-Wish Australia Foundation on Sunday, the day when he celebrated his seventh birthday.
Archie is a leg-spinner and received his debut cap from his favourite cricketer, Nathan Lyon. He also accompanied skipper Tim Paine for the toss and advised the team ‘to hit sixes and take wickets’.
Here’s the video:
The young leg-spinner also practised with the Australian team during a training session at the Adelaide Oval earlier this month. When Archie was just three months old, it came to light that he had faulty heart valves. Weeks after his birth, he underwent an urgent surgery lasting more than seven hours in Melbourne.
And six months later, he underwent a second surgery before he went under the knife again in last December.
Head of the game, Paine said the decision to make Archie the co-captain was their way of fulfilling his long-cherished dream.
Obviously Arch has been through a really tough period and his family. When his dad asked him what he wanted to do, he said 'I want to captain Australia'. I think it's been picked up along the way and we're rapt to have someone like that around. He adds a bit of perspective I think,” said Paine.