The future of Canberra cricket is in good hands with opening batsman Henry Hunt and spinner Ben Taylor selected in the provisional Australian squad for the under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.
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Queanbeyan batsman Hunt had an exceptional national championships, scoring 408 runs at an average of 51, with the highlight being a splendid 128 against Victoria Country.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Taylor, who plays for North Canberra Gungahlin, took seven wickets at 30 to build on his selection in this year's under-19 Ashes series in England.
The provisional squad of 20 players will be cut to 15 by December 28 with the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh from January 22 to February 14.
The last time two players from the ACT were selected in the Australian squad for an Under-19 World Cup was Adam Ritchard and Will Sheridan in 2006.
"I just tried to play with plenty of intent and I wanted to make the most of the first 10 overs with the new ball," Hunt said.
"If you make the Australian under-19 team, you're going to play alongside some class cricketers and guys who are going to go on to play first-class cricket, but it's all about enjoying the moment. I'm just excited and stoked to be surrounded by some very talented cricketers."
The duo were rewarded for ACT/NSW Country's impressive performance in finishing second at the under-19 national championships in Adelaide this week.
ACT/NSW Country won their first seven games before losing to NSW Metro in the final. It was the best performance for an ACT team at the under-19 national titles since Australian Test spinner Nathan Lyon captained the side in 2008.
Cricket ACT high performance coach Kyle Piper said Hunt and Taylor were on the right path after testing themselves against the best under-19 cricketers in the country.
"Once you are identified at that age group, it's not just potential any more," Piper said. "The advantage that quite a lot of those guys have got is they have already have Futures League experience [playing for the ACT Comets].
"When they go to under-19s, they are comfortable that they have already played some tough cricket rather than it being a rude shock."
There is a full round of Douglas Cup games on Saturday followed by the Gallop Cup one-day final between Weston Creek Molonglo and Queanbeyan under lights at Manuka Oval on Sunday.
Creek will be out to make amends for their two-run loss to Queanbeyan in the Twenty20 final.
ACT PREMIER CRICKET - DOUGLAS CUP
Saturday: North Canberra Gungahlin v Weston Creek Molonglo at Harrison N.o 2 Oval; Wests/UC v Ginninderra at Jamison Oval; Eastlake v Tuggeranong at Kingston Oval; Queanbeyan v ANU at Freebody No. 1 Oval. Games start at 11am.
