Karl Carver is preparing for an appearance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Sunday after helping Australian grade side Dandenong Panthers reach the state final.
Yorkshire’s left-arm spinner is preparing for the new summer Down Under alongside four team-mates in Harry Brook, Jordan Thompson and Matthew Waite (all Sydney) and Josh Shaw (also Melbourne).
Dandenong will play Carlton Blues in the state final, which will be a curtain raiser for a Big Bash clash between Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat.
The Panthers, with whom Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale spent a winter in 2013/14, have also qualified for the national finals in Adelaide in early March, although it is highly unlikely Carver will be available due to county commitments.
Carver, 22-years-old, starred in a tense semi-final win over Prahran at the weekend.
Defending four runs off the last over (the target was 134) with their opponents eight wickets down, Carver claimed the last two wickets to get them through to the Stars Conference final, which they went on to win against St Kilda as Carver added two more wickets.
They will face Renegades Conference champions Carlton on Sunday.
Carver is playing for Dandenong as one of two guest overseas players alongside former Sri Lanka international Suraj Randiv.
They are also spearheaded by former England international quick Darren Pattinson, while ex-Lancashire batsman Nick Speak is their coach.
In six matches so far, Carver has taken nine wickets and scored 95 runs, including a top-score of 47.
While Carver is guesting for Dandenong in T20, he is playing more regular grade cricket for Moorabbin in the South/West first grade of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association.
He has scored 409 runs and taken nine wickets in 11 appearances across all formats so far.
