The 15-year-old all-rounder will make his Victorian Premier Cricket debut for the Melbourne Cricket Club’s fourth grade side against Monash Tigers on Saturday, becoming one of the youngest south-west exports in history to do so.

Bandara, a Melbourne Grammar student, said he was beginning to settle into his club and life in the city.

He said he was in the midst of a hectic cricket schedule, which included training for both school and club cricket on almost every weekday evening.

“I’m really exciting. I was going to play against Northcote last week, but it was washed out,” he said.

“My school is a couple of tram stops away from the training ground, so I’ve been going down there and training hard with the boys on Tuesday and Thursday nights. One of them will give me a lift home afterwards. 

“It’s going really well, but I enjoy coming home when I get the chance.”

Originally in the game as a batsman, Bandara said he was working on off-spin bowling to vary his arsenal.

“The standard of how they do stuff up here is really amazing. There are professional players contracted to Victoria that don’t want to muck around at training,” he said.

“They’re good quality players and still want to have fun. “It’s been good because I know the standard required from a young age.”

Bandara said he was vying to take his cricket “as far as he could”.

“There are a few younger guys playing here so it’s good to play a bit of cricket with them. I’m definitely one of the youngest here,” he said.

“We’re training at Albert Park which is one of the best facilities in Melbourne.

“We have specialist batting, bowling and fielding coaches. Most recently, we’ve been working with batting technique. It’s exciting.”