He only stepped off a plane from Holland last week, but ACT Comets all-rounder Ethan Bartlett wasn't going to miss the chance to audition for a spot in the Big Bash League.
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Comets players will be hoping to impress selectors from the Sydney Thunder in their opening round of the Twenty20 Sydney grade competition at Campbelltown on Sunday.
Professional contracts will be up for grabs, with the Comets in the "Sydney Thunder Conference" of the tournament while the Sydney Sixers will also be casting their eye over potential players.
Bartlett is coming off an impressive season in the Cricket ACT first-grade competition where he helped Wests/UC win both the two-day and Twenty20 titles.
He has also returned this week from a five-month playing stint with a Dutch club side in The Hague.
The Comets proved to be a stepping stone to the BBL last summer, with Jono Dean and Ben Oakley both playing for the Adelaide Strikers and Blake Dean securing a contract with the Thunder.
Bartlett said the recruitment of those players showed that the BBL was a realistic goal for others in the Comets' system.
"It makes you realise it's probably not that far away if guys we play with week in and week out are playing in it," Bartlett said.
"We'll see what happens. It's not something I'm specifically targeting, but if an opportunity came up it would be exciting."
Having struggled with injuries for the past couple of years, Bartlett has played almost non-stop for 10 months, apart from a three-week break between seasons.
It was the first time he had played in Holland after having previously played in England during the Australian winter.
Bartlett also had the opportunity to get one over Comets and Wests/UC teammate Adam Hewitt, who was also in Holland, playing for a club in Utrecht.
"Hewitt was at another club about 40 minutes away and we played against each other," Bartlett said.
"I cleaned him up one of the games, so more fun for me than him."
An interesting selection in the ACT squad is George Munsey, a 21-year-old from Scotland who has joined North Canberra Gungahlin this season.
ACT squad: Dean Solway (Queanbeyan), Blake Dean (Weston Creek Molonglo), Vele Dukoski (Eastlake), Michael Spaseski (c) (Eastlake), Adam Hewitt (Wests/UC), George Munsey (North Canberra Gungahlin), Ethan Bartlett (Wests/UC), Andrew Stead (wk) (ANU), Mick Delaney (Weston Creek Molonglo), Shane Devoy (Tuggeranong), Joshua Bennett (Eastlake), Scott Murn (ANU).
SUNDAY: Match one v Bankstown at Raby Oval at 12.15pm. Match two v Campbelltown at Raby Oval at 3.30pm.
