Australian fast bowler Brendan Doggett says he is fully fit after injury setbacks and is relishing the opportunities presented by Australia's packed international schedule over the next 18 months.

The Worimi man created history last year when he made his Test debut during the first Ashes Test in Perth, becoming just the fifth First Nations player to represent Australia. Eight months on, the significance of that achievement has fully sunk in for the South Australian quick.

"It's funny, you don't really put much thought into it," Doggett told National Indigenous Times outside the MCG on Friday.

"I was reading an article a few weeks ago, and it was like the five most impactful things that happen in Australian cricket to do with Indigenous people, and it's just listed off Jason Gillespie, Faith Thomas, Scott Boland and Ash Gardner, and then I was on there as well.

"I was like, 'geez'. So it's a small group, but it's an absolute honour, and it's something I'm really proud of."

When Doggett walked onto Optus Stadium last November to receive his Baggy Green, he did so alongside Scott Boland, marking the first time two Indigenous cricketers had represented Australia together.

The pair both featured in the historic 2018 Aboriginal XI tour of England, which marked 150 years since the first Australian side toured the old enemy — a team made up entirely of First Nations players. To share the field in Australia's Test side, in front of a packed stadium for the opening Ashes Test, is something Doggett now appreciates even more.

"For Scotty and I to do it together, you know, we've been part of the Australian Indigenous team for the last probably six years," Doggett said.

"So to take it to the highest level of the game — in a big Ashes series — yeah, it's something to be really proud of, and probably something I didn't really recognise was such a big feat."

The 2025-26 season marked a dream realised for the 32-year-old after almost a decade in first-class cricket and several years on the fringes of the national side. After weathering an early assault from England's batters in Perth, his seven wickets played a key role in Australia's victories in the opening two Tests.

He made way for returning captain Pat Cummins in Adelaide, before injury curtailed the remainder of his summer, including South Australia's successful defence of the Sheffield Shield.

However, after building his bowling loads in Brisbane throughout the off-season, Doggett says he is ready for what looms as one of Australia's busiest Test schedules in recent memory.

It begins with Bangladesh's tour next month before series against South Africa and New Zealand, a major tour of India, the World Test Championship final and finally, an away Ashes campaign.

"I think it's just exciting," he says. "You know, I'm a cricket lover to start off with, so the more cricket, the better."

Doggett knows better than most how difficult it has been to break into Australia's Test bowling attack, with Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc forming one of the world's premier pace trios for almost a decade.

But with injuries beginning to take their toll — Cummins missed four of the five Ashes Tests last summer, while Hazlewood sat out the entire series — Doggett believes Australia's unprecedented run of 21 Tests will require contributions from far more than the first-choice XI.

"Trying to crack into the Australian Test team as a bowler has been a pretty hard job for the last four or five years," he says.

"So the opportunity is going to be there. We're going to have to rotate. There's a lot of conversations around managing everyone throughout these next 18 months. So for me, it's pretty clear-cut just to make the most of them when they come.

"I think the conversations have sort of started from even last summer through the ashes...everyone's got a role and is going to be required at some point.

"So, there's definitely that squad mentality of you're going to have to get through this with more than just 12, 13 blokes — that's what makes it exciting. You're going to see some new faces and some new lineups that Australia will be rolling out."

Having spent much of his brief Test career employing short-ball tactics on Australian pitches, Doggett knows the reward at the end of the next 12 months is an Ashes tour of England, where conditions are traditionally well suited to his style of bowling.

"It was a dream come true for me to debut and play, or be part of, an Ashes series here at home. And now, the next best thing is doing one away," he says.

"I think everyone's going to be priming themselves to get on that tour, it's going to be at the back end of a big 12 months. So yeah, hopefully everyone's in good shape, and we can put our best team out there."

Speaking during NAIDOC Week, Doggett said the meaning of the week was personal and different for everyone. For him, it is an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge Indigenous culture.

"I think Australian Indigenous culture is so unique," he says, "and it's just a great way to celebrate it".

Despite being only the fifth First Nations cricketer to represent Australia, Doggett hopes the game can continue to increase Indigenous representation, reflecting the wealth of talent on display each week across the winter football codes.

"It's awesome this time of year, getting to watch the AFL and all the Indigenous talent," he says.

"So that's somewhere where we can go with cricket. Hopefully, we can start producing some more Indigenous cricketers for young Indigenous kids to see and aspire to be."