Sydney University captain Nick Larkin has been named in the Cricket Australia XI squad to play two four day, first-class matches against the touring England team in the lead-up to the first Ashes Test in Brisbane this month.
The Cricket Australia XI will play a game at Adeaide Oval starting on 8 November, and a second match at Riverway Stadium, Townsville, from 15 November.
Larkin has earned his place with exceptional early-season form: in the Toyota Futures League for ACT/NSW Country, he hit 189 and 129 not out against NSW Metropolitan, and his first two innings for Sydney University produced 51 and a remarkable 140 from only 138 deliveries against Hawkesbury.
The squad of twelve, which includes five players from New South Wales, is: Jake Carder (WA), Jackson Coleman (Vic), Michael Cormack (SA), Daniel Fallins (NSW), Ryan Gibson (NSW), Nick Larkin (NSW), Simon Milenko (Tas), Tim Paine (Tas), Will Pucovski (Vic), Gurinder Sandhu (NSW), Jason Sangha (NSW) and Matthew Short (Vic).