He's about to finish high school and has his P-plates, but that won't stop ACT Comets young gun Matt Condon from taking on Australian representatives Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon and Moises Henriques.
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The 17-year-old batsman will continue his rapid rise when he faces a star-studded NSW Blues line-up in Sunday's one-day match at Blacktown. The Blues will use the 50-over encounter as a dress rehearsal for their Ryobi Cup campaign in October. For the Comets, it's a chance to test themselves against quality opposition.
''I'm pumped for it, not every day you get to play against blokes of that calibre,'' Condon said.
''This time last year I didn't think I was a chance, but obviously I had a pretty good season so it's all gone well for me lately.''
Condon has answered every challenge put in front of him in the past year.
He was the leading run scorer in the ACT two-day competition with 628 runs at at an average of 41.87, including a crucial innings of 94 in the grand final to help Wests/UC lift the trophy. He also made 86 in a one-day match for the Comets against Newcastle last weekend.
Comets coach Mark Higgs has been impressed with Condon's work ethic and desire to succeed.
''It's a big effort for him to be the leading run scorer in first-grade last year as a 16-year-old, I don't think that's been done for a long time, if ever,'' Higgs said.
''He was the player of the carnival at the schoolboys carnival, so we thought we'd push him and put him in the senior squad early.
''If he's not driving down from Mogo to hit balls here, he's hitting a lot of balls at home.''
Condon has just returned from a tour of Britain with the NSW combined high schools side, where he took on the under-19 Scotland team and several English under-19 county sides.
''We won six out of 10, played against some pretty decent teams so it was a great experience,'' Condon said.
''The wickets were really dry and spinning, so it wasn't seaming as much as you'd expect in England.''
Along with team success, the game against the Blues is a chance for Comets players to put themselves in the shop window for the Big Bash League.
Sydney Sixers coach Trevor Bayliss and his Sydney Thunder counterpart, former Sri Lankan Test batsman Chandika Hathurusinghe, will both be casting an eye over potential recruits.
Comets captain Jono Dean has already secured a contract with the Adelaide Strikers, while paceman Ben Oakley (Strikers) and all-rounder Blake Dean (Renegades) were on the supplementary list last season.
