One week ago, Zane Keighran was focused on trying to help Victoria Country win the School Sport Australia 15-and-under Cricket Championships.
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Playing cricket for his country in Dubai against Pakistan was the last thing on his mind.
While Victoria Country didn’t finish as high as Keighran and his team-mates would have hoped at the Brisbane carnival, the Golden Square teenager earned selection in the Australian under-16 cricket team to play in Dubai next summer.
The Australian under-16 team will also play in the national under-17 cricket championships in September.
“It’s pretty amazing, I didn’t expect anything like this to happen at all,’’ Keighran said on Monday.
“It’s a privilege.”
Keighran earned selection in the Australian under-16 squad after making a team high 210 runs for the carnival, including a brilliant 106 not out against the ACT.
Keighran’s 106 not out was off just 101 balls and included 19 fours, with his entire innings watched by Australian cricket great Greg Chappell.
“One boundary was quite short, so I targeted that side of the ground a fair bit,’’ Keighran said.
“When I got to 100 I didn’t know what to do.
“I just raised my bat and went to my batting partner (Mornington’s Patrick Rowe).
“He (Rowe) played a big part in getting me to 100. When I got to 50 he said he was going to try to get me on strike as much as he could because he thought there was 100 there for me.”
Keighran was one of two Victorians named in the 13-player Australian under-16 squad.
“We’ll have a training camp at the Cricket Australia Centre Of Excellence in Brisbane in September before we go to the national under-17 carnival,’’ Keighran said.
“It looks like the trip to Dubai will be in December or January. I never thought I’d get to do anything like this in my life. It will be nice and hot over there.”
For now, Keighran’s focus returns to Golden Square where the Bulldogs first XI and under-18 teams are battling for spots in the finals.
