Playing with the Northern Inland team, the young all rounder was chosen to represent the region in Central North, which includes cricketers from Maitland through to Tenterfield.

After a stand out performance in last week’s Kookaburra Cup in Armidale, House was selected for the Country Sixers Riptides side, which will take on the state challenge in Dubbo.

Known as super zone team, the Riptides is a combination of talent from Central North and North Coast.

“(I’m) pretty keen,” House said, adding that he was looking forward to playing with his North Coast teammates in the upcoming four day carnival. 

He said it would be a challenge to take on the state’s best with limited team preparation.

“We had one training session with the Central North boys. That’s it,” he said.

“There’s a fair few Central North boys that are in the team, so you want to gel a bit.” Camping together will help the newly formed team bond during the carnival. 

House is far from under-prepared, and has spent most of his Christmas holidays training for the carnival, devoting around one hour each day to cricket. With the help of his father, House has been working hard on his consistency. 

“That was our Christmas holidays, really. Chasing him around for sport,” his mother Rachelle House said.

Although it is a sacrifice, she said the family was very proud of their sports star, and would keep supporting him as long as he enjoys it.

Central North had a strong performance in the Kookaburra Cup, coming second overall. House said he thought his team could have taken the top prize if they’d simply pushed a bit further.

“(We) played pretty bad in the two T20 games. That was not really our strong area,” he said.

“We’re just more of a one day team and when we’re batting, we’ve got to get into our innings and it takes a bit of time.”

House left an impression during the tournament, and on Central North’s opening day, scored a valuable 24, to help the team win against North Coastal.

He was also among the wickets, picking up 2-17 against Illawarra and 2-23 against Central Coast.

The super zone team will have a busy four days in Dubbo, taking on three 40 over games and two T20 games. House said his biggest challenge will be staying fresh throughout.

The highest level available for his age level, the Country Sixers Riptides has kept House looking for opportunities ahead, and is already considering working toward nationals in future years.