Cricket: Newcastle City all-rounder Aidan Cahill embarks on World Cup adventure in West Indies

Seems somewhat standard for that time of life and given the current climate, however, this cricketer's summer holidays are going to look much different than most.

The Newcastle City all-rounder is scheduled to depart for the West Indies on New Year's Day, having been selected to represent Australia at the Under-19 World Cup.

"I actually don't know how to feel about it," Cahill told the Newcastle Herald while having one last hit at Learmonth Park this week.

"I'm still pinching myself a little bit. It's awesome."

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Melbourne will be Cahill's first port of call, joining his teammates for a training camp.

The national age-group squad then travels to the Caribbean and quarantines ahead of practice matches before a tournament opener against the hosts at Guyana National Stadium on January 14.

Sri Lanka and Scotland, who replaced New Zealand after they withdrew last month from the 50-over competition, round out Australia's group.

The knockout stage starts on January 26 with the final set for February 5.

Australia last won the title in 2010 after previous success in 2002 and 1988. Jason Sangha, a former Wallsend player now with NSW and the Sydney Thunder, captained the side to the 2018 final.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Cahill said.

"I have no idea what to expect really, but hopefully we can go pretty far into the tournament and give it a good crack at winning," he said.

Lambton-based Cahill, who was born in South Africa and moved to Australia the best part of a decade ago, was given the nod earlier this month following a series of trials in Adelaide.

While admitting "that was a good feeling", there were a few nervous moments awaiting the official call.

"They just phoned everyone when they got back home, on the day everyone left, and told them if they were in or out," he said.

"I was actually still at the airport in Melbourne on a connecting flight to Newcastle. I was with a couple of other guys who got called before the Melbourne flight, but I had to wait until afterwards."

Cahill said the Under-19 World Cup had been on his radar ever since making the under-17 Cricket Australia XI in 2019, "but more so in the last year".

In terms of using the prestigious tournament as a springboard.

"Playing at an under-19 World Cup can help boost your chances of a rookie contract or BBL contract, but there's also people who play and you don't hear from for a while or maybe ever again," he said.

"It's just about trying to play my best cricket and see what happens afterwards, I'm not too worried about that for now."

The Newcastle senior representative, who featured in last season's NSW Country Championships final win and T20 Regional Bash commitments, made his Sydney first-grade debut for Northern Districts recently.

He remains keen to finish the current NDCA campaign at home with second-placed City.

"I miss a couple of rounds ... but we haven't lost a game yet so we should be looking good heading into the final part of the season," Cahill said.

"Hopefully we can make a big push and give it a real good crack."

SQUAD: Harkirat Bajwa (VIC), Aidan Cahill (NSW), Cooper Connolly (WA), Joshua Garner (VIC), Isaac Higgins (SA), Campbell Kellaway (VIC), Corey Miller (NSW), Jack Nisbet (NSW), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (TAS), William Salzmann (NSW), Lachlan Shaw (NSW), Jackson Sinfield (QLD), Tobias Snell (QLD), Tom Whitney (QLD), Teague Wyllie (WA).

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