CONNOR ESTERHUIZEN STEPS UP TO UNICORNS ROSTER AS CONNOLLY REPLACEMENT
The San Francisco Unicorns have confirmed a change to its Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 roster, with 24-year-old South African batsman and wicketkeeper Connor Esterhuizen officially joining the squad as a replacement for Australian international Cooper Connolly.
The latter hs been advised by Cricket Australia to take a rest period following a busy schedule in recent months that has seen him represent his country at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, on the recent ODI tour of Bangladesh, while also managing franchise commitments for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League and Punjab Kings in the IPL.
The MLC window has been identified as the optimal time for his recovery, with Esterhuizen stepping up to the full roster, having previously been part of the Unicorns set-up as a travelling reserve.
The South African is available for immediate selection and is set to bring explosive batting and wicketkeeping acumen to the Unicorns’ line-up. Esterhuizen earned his first international caps in the T20 format earlier this year in a successful tour of New Zealand where he topped the batting charts with a 50 average across five matches. He also adds valuable franchise experience from the SA20, where he has been commanding with the bat during impactful stints with the Pretoria Capitals and MI Cape Town, while he was also called up to the Gujarat Titans as a replacement in IPL 2026.
Unicorns’ head coach Cam White commented on Connor Esterhuizen’s call-up: “Squad management is part and parcel of modern franchise cricket. Conor has been on the ground with us in our lead up to MLC 2026 and will step up to the full roster as a highly capable replacement for Cooper Connolly, who will be taking some much-needed rest following his recent international commitments.
“Connor brings first-rate skill with the bat in this format, having performed to a high level in the competitive SA20 over the past couple of years, and will complement our top order batting line-up well, offering both power and youthful energy in the coming weeks.”
