By Tyler Lewis
It was this feeling and a mountain of runs in last summer鈥檚 Sheffield Shield which led him to India鈥檚 spin friendly conditions.
It鈥檚 been a long and arduous road for the left-handed opener but he has since emerged from left-field as one of the batters nipping at the heels of the Australian top six.
Weatherald is part of a budding group taking on Sri Lanka in a series of matches in the Northern Territory which starts on Friday.
Prior to the Aussie A series 鈥 and in hope of a greater nod 鈥 Weatherald took himself to the subcontinent, to train and acclimatise to the unique conditions.
It was there he prepared himself in 鈥渂ody and mind鈥 for the proposition of playing for Australia.
鈥淚鈥檓 always looking to develop; it鈥檚 sort of a curse and a blessing at the same time,鈥 Weatherald said.
鈥淚 felt as though the way I played pace bowling was really good this year 鈥 If I do the right things I am confident I can face high quality bowling and score from it, playing spin was an area I was never really able to give a lot too.
鈥淭he opportunity to practice against spin bowling was a big draw to go over to India but also to develop a method that would be good in spinning conditions.
鈥淪o if I do go away and play an A series in India, or a Test match, I am not just sitting there going, 鈥業鈥檝e never been here before, I have no experience in spinning conditions鈥.
鈥淚t was to ready my body and mind to have all bases covered if there ever was an opportunity.鈥
Weatherald topped the Shield run charts last summer and hit them at the second-best strike of any other recognised batter.
He credits his career-best form to 鈥渁 combination of things鈥 鈥 but orders experience and mental clarity above all else.
That progression, Weatherald says, has allowed him to understand his game and become comfortable with the risk of getting out.
鈥淎s a cricketer you鈥檙e sort of daunted and restricted by getting out,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 think what experience has given me is if you do shut down and don鈥檛 look to put pressure on good bowling, especially how the wickets have come in Australia.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e come quite conducive to new ball bowling and bowling in general, if you鈥檙e not willing to put pressure on bowling you鈥檙e just going to find a way to get out.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 able to even score off good balls I feel as though the bowlers think, 鈥楳y margin for error is really small here鈥.
鈥淚t鈥檚 keeping it a little bit simple, always looking to score in my areas but also if the day is on where I am scoring quickly not shutting myself down and going, 鈥極h, I shouldn鈥檛 be scoring this quickly, I鈥檝e got to bat for long periods of time鈥.
鈥淚f the opportunity is there, I am going to take it 鈥 no matter if it鈥檚 the first ball of the game or if it takes me 30 balls to score, my mindset is the same.鈥
Weatherald has taken the road less travelled to Australia A selection.
He was out of the South Australian setup, prioritising his mental health, before taking in a sea change in Tasmania.
Amid those ups and downs, Weatherald says he has always held ambitions to play for Australia.
鈥淚 think cricketers are rated on how they play Test cricket, I鈥檝e always been driven to play as much red-ball cricket as I possibly can and just had to figure out a way of doing that,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard battle to find the balance between being a white-ball cricketer or red-ball cricketer and then the expectation of being successful, playing for Australia.
鈥淚t鈥檚 self-sabotaging at times, you don鈥檛 want to be too focused on the end point when if you鈥檙e not good enough at the starting point you鈥檙e not going to get there.
鈥淔or me, it was: 鈥楲et鈥檚 focus on what I can control and that鈥檚 the way I train, the way I go about my game. From there hopefully everything else takes care of itself, if I don鈥檛 play for Australia or don鈥檛 go on to do anything else, that鈥檚 fine, at least I tried the right things鈥.鈥
Weatherald is watching the Aussies closely and is buoyed by the opportunities presented to those performing.
He understands a lot must go right for him to earn one more promotion 鈥 but is confident he can take that chance if it鈥檚 ever offered.
鈥淢ost would be lying if they said it wasn鈥檛 on their mind, especially with all the stuff going on in the Australian team, there鈥檚 opportunities being provided to those who are doing well,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 am not sure what the future holds, I鈥檝e still got to take a lot more opportunities but from a belief point of view I believe I am good enough to play.
鈥淎t the same time I have to prove that with performances in the Australia A stuff and have to have a bit of luck as well, other players might have to miss out for me to come in.
鈥淓verything has to sort of work out, move the right pieces at the right time, but to be this close is an amazing feeling anyway to be suggested I could be around that mark.鈥
The Aussie A side kick off their five-match tour with a one-day match against Sri Lanka on Friday morning.