Just like his father Craig who debuted in international cricket at a young age, Alister too, got into the scheme of things earlier that one would have expected. Even before he left high school, the youngster had a rookie contract from Queensland to his name.

14 wickets at the National Under-17 Championships in 2007-08 by the young right-arm fast-medium bowler paved way for a state Twenty20 debut in the next season. A first-class debut followed in 2009-10 against the touring West Indians, where he took three wickets. The talented fast bowler earned a surprise call-up to the national side when in 2012; Clint McKay was ruled out of the ODI squad for the series against Pakistan with an injury.