Wes Agar

Career

Agar began his senior grade career in Victorian Premier Cricket for the Monash Tigers, also known as the Richmond Cricket Club, making his first XI debut at sixteen. Double stress fractures in his back interrupted his 2014–15 season, but he still won a premiership with the Tigers' second XI. At that stage he lacked the pace and physical build for higher success. In 2015 he moved to South Australia seeking more opportunities, joining Adelaide University's grade cricket team for the 2015–16 season with only $500 to his name and working part-time on a dairy farm to stay in Adelaide.

Move to South Australia (2015–2017)

Despite his youth, he increased his bowling speed to as high as 130 km/h, becoming the second fastest uncontracted bowler in South Australia at the time. Selected for South Australia in the under-19 national championships, he took ten wickets at an average of 22.60, including 5/37 against Tasmania. In December 2015 he was named in Australia's squad for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup; Australia later pulled out, but Agar had played three matches while in the squad in the United Arab Emirates.

His form earned him a place in the 17-man National Performance Squad for two months at Australia's Centre of Excellence and a rookie contract with South Australia. He made his List A debut on 2 October 2016 in the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, taking eight wickets in five matches, and subsequently signed with Big Bash League franchise the Adelaide Strikers, making his Twenty20 debut on 10 January 2017. After the 2016–17 season he did not sign another contract with South Australia and returned to Victoria, though he remained with the Adelaide Strikers for BBL07.

Return to South Australia (2019–present)

He played his only match of that tournament against the Perth Scorchers, whose team included his brother Ashton; Wes bowled two balls to Ashton, who scored two runs. Agar returned to South Australia in mid-2019 and made his first-class debut on 18 October 2019 in the Sheffield Shield. In consecutive List A matches in late 2019 he took 5 for 69 against Queensland and 5 for 40 against Western Australia. He ended the Sheffield Shield season with 33 wickets in eight matches at 24.21, the most of anyone from South Australia and equal-second most in the competition.

He also took 17 wickets in 12 matches for the Strikers in the Big Bash League. His domestic form earned him the 2020 Bradman Young Cricketer Of The Year award. In June 2021 he was named in Australia's limited overs squad for tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh, and made his ODI debut on 20 July 2021 against the West Indies, scoring 41 runs off 36 balls. In February 2024 he was called up to the Twenty20 International squad against the West Indies as a replacement for Josh Hazlewood, though he did not play.