Brisbane Heat batsman Sam Heazlett is in a unique position leading into his Prime Minister's XI debut next week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Prime Minister's XI match has traditionally been a stage for players on the cusp of Australian selection to press their case for an international call-up.
Then there is a handful of youngsters plucked out of domestic cricket that Canberra fans would have seen little of, but can expect to hear plenty more from in the future.
Queensland native Heazlett fits both categories.
Heazlett was yet to earn a Queensland one-day cap when he became a shock choice to replace Australian captain Steve Smith in the Chappell-Hadlee trophy series last month.
The 21-year-old is now in the strange position of playing for the Prime Minister's XI with an Australian cap to his name, while remaining a relative unknown on the domestic landscape.
Heazlett played four games for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League this summer, and is now looking to replicate the juggling act of an international cricketer at Manuka Oval on Wednesday night.
"It's going to be a good way to see if I can adapt from playing Shield cricket this week and going into Twenty20 cricket a couple of days later," Heazlett said.
"Australian cricketers have to do that throughout the whole year - they've got to go back and forth between one-dayers, Twenty20's and Test matches, so it'll be good to get that practice in trying to adapt as fast as possible."
Heazlett was a late call-up after Victorian teenager Will Pucovski was ruled out with concussion and says getting another crack at an international opposition will be "invaluable".
"Every game is a chance to impress," Heazlett said.
"It's a pretty high-level game against good competition, so if you can do well there and perform well, it definitely puts your name up there for selection for rep cricket."
Heazlett scored four on debut for Australia and his selection was put under the microscope by past players given his lack of domestic one-day experience.
But the criticism didn't affect Heazlett - the selections weren't up to him, and his List A [one-day] record spoke for itself.
Heazlett's record of five List A games for the national performance squad late last year rendered 289 runs at an average of 72.25.
"I wasn't expecting to be chosen for the Australian squad for the one-dayers just yet, but I guess I can't control selections," Heazlett said.
One player left behind as Heazlett boarded the plane to New Zealand was Tasmanian veteran George Bailey, and now the pair will link up for the Prime Minister's XI.
The duo join skipper Adam Voges under the watchful eye of Michael Clarke, who Heazlett once played alongside for the Cricket Australia XI when Clarke was on the comeback trail from injury.
Heazlett hasn't had much to do with Clarke since their brief encounter at Allan Border Field "a couple of years ago", and playing under the former Australian captain has him bursting with excitement.
