Sam Heazlett quickly established himself as a prominent figure in first-class cricket, leaving a lasting impact when he made his debut against Tasmania in 2015-16 by scoring an impressive 129 and 78 in the match. Throughout that Shield season, Heazlett exhibited his batting prowess by accumulating a total of 649 runs at an average of 40.56. This debut season performance ranks as the third-best in Queensland’s history, following in the footsteps of prominent cricketers like Matthew Hayden and Graeme Hick. To the surprise of many, Heazlett received an ODI call-up to represent Australia against New Zealand in 2017, despite having only six list-A appearances to his name at that time.