TIM Ludeman expects to find out in the next few days if he will be jumping on a plane to Western Australia instead of South Australian captain Graham Manou.
Ludeman, from Nirranda, replaced his skipper in the Ford Ranger Cup match against WA on Saturday at Adelaide Oval.
Now he is also in line to fill in for Manou at a shield and one-day game in Perth next week.
Manou has been battling knee soreness for some time, icing the joint throughout the Twenty20 competition.
The pain he had been managing finally became too much, forcing him to have surgery on Friday.
"I found out on Friday that Graham wasn't going to be playing, which was a bit of a shock," Ludeman said.
"It was unexpected because I didn't realise he had a knee injury.
"He just had a clean-up and got some cartilage out.
"It's just the luck of the trade."
Ludeman knew what his task was on Saturday, which was a crunch match for the Redbacks.
"I just had to keep well, that was my main job," he said.
"I bat fairly low down so keeping is really my role.
"I thought I did all right."
South Australia restricted WA to 9-228 before running down the target inside 40 overs, when Ludeman was at the crease at No. 6.
"I was out there for one ball but I didn't face any, I just ran," he said, referring to when hard-hitting teammate Daniel Christian (48no off 21 balls) scored the winning runs.
Right-hander Ludeman, who didn't take any catches or record any stumpings, wasn't too fazed he didn't get to bat.
"Team-wise it was a really great win and one which we really needed," he said.
The bonus-point victory lifted South Australia - which was sitting last before its encounter with the Warriors - to third on the domestic limited overs table.
The match marked Ludeman's second Ford Ranger Cup appearance after he played against Victoria in November.
He has had two first-class matches - the first of which was in October when he replaced Manou in a Sheffield Shield game against Victoria.
Ludeman explained he could add more matches to his statistics card.
"There's a one-day match and a shield game in Perth next week, so I'm a chance if Graham is still out," he said.
"The team flies out on Thursday so I'll find out by then."
The 22-year-old made the move to Adelaide last year because he was third in the Victorian wicketkeeping pecking order behind Matthew Wade and Adam Crosthwaite.
"I didn't expect to play any games this season and I've already played a few, so I think my move has paid off," he said.
"It's been really good here. It's a great place with some really good people."
Former Mepunga cricketer Jake Haberfield also played for the Redbacks on Saturday, finishing with 0-42 off 10 overs which included a maiden.
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