IT HAS been a big week for Riley Ayre, on and off the field.
The 19-year-old was selected as part of the Cricket Australia XI to play in the national one-day competition starting next month.
It will be Ayre’s first taste of state cricket.
The left-arm spinner from Denman in the Hunter Valley joined Sutherland two years ago and has made stunning progress, thanks largely to his own hard work and dedication.
He made his first grade debut in October 2013 while making the weekly 520-kilometre trip south to play for Sutherland on weekends.
Ayre was selected for the Australian under-19s squad for a series in Perth against England under-19s in April before earning selection in a spinner’s camp at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane in May.
A trip to India with the performance squad followed.
Ayre told the Leader he was delighted about his call-up.
‘‘I was pretty excited,’’ he said.
‘‘It came as a surprise, I really wasn’t expecting it. I was pretty stoked when I found out.
As well as his Cricket Australia XI selection, Ayre finally took the plunge and moved to the shire last week, saying goodbye to those long trips up and down the M1.
Ayre said playing with Sutherland had been a huge help to his development.
‘‘Playing this standard of cricket each week has been great,’’ he said.
‘‘I just want to keep doing well and take any opportunities that come up.’’
The Cricket Australia XI is made up of players from around the country who narrowly missed out on selection in their respective state’s 14-man limited-overs squads.
South Australian all-rounder Alex Gregory will captain the team, which has been introduced as the competition’s seventh team in 2015-16.
Cricket Australia national talent manager and former Australian captain Greg Chappell said big things were expected of Ayre.
‘‘[He’s a] tall left-arm orthodox spinner who is largely self-taught,’’ he said.
‘‘[He] came through the under-19s program and impressed everyone with his quiet determination and ability to learn. He continues to improve and I’m sure he’ll impress when he gets opportunities during the tournament.’’
Ayre will hope to be in the team for their first match of the competition against NSW at Bankstown Oval on October 5.
