Comets coach Mark Higgs jokes it could come down to a "flip of the coin" to decide whether in-demand teenager Matt Condon plays for the ACT or NSW later in the summer.
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Condon, an 18-year-old opening batsman, will battle on with a broken thumb and play for the ACT Comets in Western Australia in the four-day Futures League match beginning on Monday.
But Condon has also been splitting his time with Sydney grade cricket club, Easts, the NSW Second XI and has been drafted into the Sydney Sixers Academy, a feeder squad to the Big Bash League.
Higgs said Cricket Australia had relaxed laws enabling Condon, originally from Batemans Bay, to transition between NSW and the ACT.
"Last year there was a rule in place that said you couldn't do that, but this year it's changed a little bit," Higgs said. " More importantly, it's about the opportunity it gives individuals, I think Cricket Australia realise that and the opportunity was there for Matt to play both. He hasn't actually played a Futures League match [for NSW] yet, but he's played a Second XI game.
"He's had a good taste of high-performance cricket at the next level."
Condon has been a cricket commuter this summer, recruited by former ACT and Australian representative Michael Bevan to play with Easts in Sydney. He lives and trains in Canberra, but travels to Sydney for two day-matches of a weekend.
"I was pretty stoked to get an email from [Bevan] and a few other clubs chasing me," Condon said. "I picked Easts and [Bevan] was a massive part of that. He was my favourite player growing up, I really looked up to him.
"I'm loving it at the moment, I've got a few opportunities, so hopefully I can get some runs on the board and push for higher honours."
Condon is part of the Sydney Sixers' set-up, which already includes Canberra products Ryan Carters, Brad Haddin and Nathan Lyon in the contracted BBL squad. Condon and Comets captain David Dawson are part of the Sixers' Academy and are in with a shot to be added to the supplementary BBL list.
The Comets have made two changes from their opening round Futures League loss, allrounder Nathan Price coming in for unavailable batsman Kevin Jacobs, while Eastlake speedster Josh Bennett replaces Nathan McAndrew.
Former Comets skipper and Adelaide Strikers batsman Jono Dean has again been overlooked, despite scoring a total 191 runs from 106 balls in two separate ACT T20 matches on the weekend.
"I guess we're looking for that multi-day cricket," Higgs said. "He'll get his opportunities to perform in that form of it, it's good to see him scoring runs."
