The Macquarie seamer is no stranger to the big stage, having starred for Western and ACT/NSW Country at the Country and National Championships on numerous occasions.

In 2018 she was named as a reserve for the Australian under 19s first overseas tour, but was unfortunately not called up for the trip to South African.

But on Saturday she will take the field for the Perry XII against the Lanning XII after the Women’s Big Bash League fixture between Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars.

They’ll play a second match on Sunday.

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While she hopes to impress Australian – and NSW Breakers – selectors on the day, Hughes is ultimately determined to play her own game.

“Getting into the Australian under 19s would be massive for me … like most young people I’d love to be playing at a high standard but I think for me I’m just happy with how I’m going at the moment,” the 18-year-old said from the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground, where she watched day two of the Test against India.

“I work with a player named Lisa Griffiths [Sydney Thunder bowler], who is also local to the western region, and she had quite a few problems with injury so she had a massive break from cricket.

“She was just telling me how happy she was to have the break in her career, so she worked on her skills and it inspired me to work on my game as it is now and continue to grow instead of always looking for more.”

Hughes has endured her own battles with injury, including a displaced kneecap when the ball came flying down the pitch at her during the Twenty20 finals at last year’s national championships.

“I had to end up watching my team play against the metro in the grand final so that was hard for me, but I really got to know that I need to work better on … the strength of my legs to minimise these risks,” she said.

Like many fast bowlers in recent years – most famously Australian Test quicks Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc – Hughes has also been locked in a battle with her own body to generate speed and accuracy, with a significant toll.

“I’ve had a shoulder injury … a lot of lower back injuries, so [coach] Steve [Jenkins] has been helping me with both strength and conditioning and on my bowling, so how to not lean back so far,” Hughes said.

“He’s been working with me on my bowling and some variations which has been great to minimise the risk of injury to myself.

“I’ve also been lucky enough to work with former Australian players Leah Poulter [batter] and Cathryn Fitzpatrick [once the fastest female bowler in the world].”

The latter has helped pass on her extensive knowledge of bowling at the highest level, while the former has helped Hughes grow more confident in her batting.

“It’s amazing to work with so many of the ex-players because … they’ve played this game and … they can really under what it’s like from a player’s perspective,” Hughes said.

“Being able to work with those players makes me really proud.

“They’ve helped me trust in my bowling, while Leah has helped me improve my batting so I can contribute more.”

While she’s unlikely to have the chance to test her batting in the weekend’s T20 fixtures, Hughes will undoubtedly get the chance to bat at the National Championships in Bendigo and Ballarat from next Wednesday.

But she hopes to fire with the ball in hand.

“It will give me a great opportunity to see what it’s like to play at that high standard like they [WBBL] do and I guess it’s like a warm-up to see what it’s like in the future hopefully,” Hughes said.

“It’s great to work with so many girls who are so highly-skilled and playing against them will be a great opportunity for me to test my skills.”

Saturday’s exhibition match will be live streamed on cricket.com.au from 6pm.