Archie has been named in the cricket squad for the Boxing Day Test match.
The Australia national cricket team will have a very special player in their squad for the first time at this year’s Boxing Day Test.
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When the squad meets up ahead of the third Test against India, they will be joined by Archie Schiller, a young boy who will turn seven a few days before Christmas.
The young cricket fan received the news of his inclusion in the extended squad in a phone call from Australia coach Justin Langer himself.
Archie, from Barossa Valley, Australia, received the call from the United Arab Emirates as the national team played against Pakistan.
Archie, who bowls leg spin, will also meet up with the team on Tuesday ahead of the Adelaide Test match.
If that seems like a meteoric rise, it’s worth noting that there’s nothing Virat Kohli and co could throw up that’s a bigger challenge than Archie has already been through in his short life.
The cricket-mad youngster has a long-term heart condition, and has undergone 13 surgeries so far, the first of them an open-heart procedure when he was just three months old.
Archie was contacted through Make-A-Wish Australia, which offered him the opportunity to be a part of the squad.
Langer told cricket.com.au: “I reckon he’ll be treated like (uncapped opener) Marcus Harris – come in for the first time in the change-rooms, meet all the boys and like always when you come into that inner sanctum of the Baggy Green, it’s like joining the brotherhood.
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“Archie will be joining the brotherhood.
“He’s been through some tough times, spent a lot of time in a hospital bed, so any way that we can help to put a smile on his face, it’s the very least we can do for him.
“Just being out on Adelaide Oval, in the sunshine, under a nice blue sky and running around with his heroes – who, to a man, were all really moved by his story – it should be terrific for everyone.”
HOBART, Australia (AP) — Venus Williams lost 6-4, 6-3 to Tatjana Maria in the first round at the Hobart International on Tuesday, less than a week before her appearance at the Australian Open.
The 45-year-old Williams received a wild-card entry for the first Grand Slam event of the year. She also had a wild card to play in Hobart, where she lost to sixth-seeded Maria in a match lasting almost 1 1/2 hours.
Williams also lost her first-round match at Auckland, New Zealand last week.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, who is 576th in the world rankings, broke 38-year-old Maria's serve in the opening set. But Williams dropped serve twice, handing the set to Maria, who is 42nd on the WTA rankings.
Tournament officials said the match featured the highest combined age — 83 years — of a singles match in the history of the WTA.
“The crowd was amazing. Usually I play a really big game and it’s fun to watch,” Williams said. “I felt I couldn’t play that with the wind. I felt bad I wasn’t able to give that performance I usually give. I was in control until I wasn’t ... I just need to keep going and doing that and earn my stripes. I’ve been away a while.”
Maria, who has two children and has won three of her four titles since becoming a mother, hoped the pair could send a message to younger players.
“For all the little girls out there ... that they have time and can improve and play (for) longer,” she said. “I’m a professional tennis player but I’m also a mom and we have a normal life."
Williams has made the Australian Open singles final twice — in 2003 and 2017 — losing to her sister Serena both times.
The Australian Open begins Sunday. Williams has not played at Melbourne Park for five years and will break the age record held by Kimiko Date, the Japanese player who was 44 when she contested the 2015 Australian Open.
In another first-round result in Hobart, two-time major winner Barbora Krejčíková lost to Peyton Stearns. Krejčíková, ranked 55th and unseeded in Hobart, lost to Stearns 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4).
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Venus Williams of the U.S. adjusts her visor while playing Magda Linette of Poland during their singles match at the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in, Auckland, New Zealand Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)
Venus Williams of the U.S. prepares to serve to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)
Venus Williams of the U.S. hits a backhand to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match of the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)
