Jake Doran, a 16-year-old, batsman from New South Wales, has been chosen to play against England in their tour match in Alice Springs that follows the first Test in Brisbane. Doran has been named in the 12-man squad for the Cricket Australia Chairman's XI and the former Test spinner Michael Beer will captain the side for the two-day match.
Most members of the side are fringe state players, with Beer the only man in the group who has played at international level. Alister McDermott, Josh Lalor and Kane Richardson will be the main pace options, while Beer, James Muirhead and Ashton Turner are the spinners in the outfit.
The top order will be made up of Tasmania's Steven Cazzulino, Western Australia's Marcus Harris and the Victorian pair of Michael Hill and Alex Keath. However, much interest will surround the teenager Doran, who last month became the youngest player to represent the New South Wales second XI since Doug Walters.
Doran, a left-hand batsman who plays for the Fairfield-Liverpool club in Sydney's grade competition, is the younger brother of sometime New South Wales spinner Luke Doran, and is considered one of the brightest young batting prospects in the country. Doran, who was a particularly strong performer during this year's Under-19 tournament against India and New Zealand in Darwin, said he wanted to be the kind of batsman who could thrive in the longer format.
"So far for me I've always looked at the long form of the game, I've always tried to develop that and especially in the off season that was my main focus, my main goal to pursue that long-term format," Doran said. "Test and three-day, four-day match play. If I can get on top of that the other two formats will come because my game play suits those two as well. The three formats I"ve always liked but mainly Test I've always looked up to."
Greg Chappell, Cricket Australia's national talent manager, said the squad boasted an exciting list of up-and-coming players.
"England has been one of the most successful international teams in recent years and the Chairman's XI team contains some of the most exciting young cricketers in the country," Chappell said. "Kane Richardson and Luke Robins are both products of the very successful youth development program in the Northern Territory, while Josh Lalor is one of two indigenous cricketers on state contract lists, with Daniel Christian being the other.
"This will be a great leadership opportunity for captain Michael Beer, who made his Test debut for Australia at the previous home Ashes series in 2011, and at age 29 still has a lot to offer. This is a great opportunity to bring elite cricket to Alice Springs. Traeger Park is a high-class venue at which we expect top-class cricket will become a regular visitor."
CA Chairman's XI Steve Cazzulino, Michael Hill, Marcus Harris, Alex Keath, Jake Doran, Ashton Turner, Kane Richardson, James Muirhead, Michael Beer (capt), Josh Lalor, Alister McDermott, Luke Robins (NT).