The 17-year-old in no stranger to this arena, having represented his state on numerous occasions. This time around, I was actually really lucky to be selected in the team as I missed out on everything leading up too it as of my finger injury,” he said.

“I was put straight into the team as I was ruled out of the country carnival and the state challenge, which is what they pick the team from.

“The recovery is going well, as I'm back playing cricket again which I'm extremely happy about. I still have some trouble in the field though with the ball hitting my finger.”

In Adelaide, the Ulladulla High School student will be playing for the ACT/NSW Country team.

“Considering we have a strong team, the main expectation is if we all play well, there’s no reason we can’t give the tournament a shake,” he said.

“I feel like we have a big shot at winning it but I believe NSW Metropolitan are the favourites.”

Gilkes, who plays each weekend for the Western Districts in Canberra, ranks this selection as one of his best to date.

“It's definitely one of the biggest selections in underage cricket, as playing at the under 19s national championship is the pinnacle of underage cricket,” he said.

Gilkes and his team won their opening match against Northern Territory before falling to NSW Metropolitan.