SAM Heazlett’s surprise inclusion in Australia’s ODI squad to tour New Zealand is the latest in a summer of unconventional selections.

Heazlett has yet to represent his home state, Queensland, in a List A match and finished his Big Bash League campaign with a duck in the Heat’s semi-final loss to the Sixers this week.

Nevertheless, selectors have obviously seen enough in the 21-year-old left-hander to fast track him to the front of the limited overs selection queue after the injury-enforced withdrawal of Steve Smith on Friday.

We break down the selection.

Sam Heazlett in Sheffield Shield action for Queensland. Source: News Corp Australia

THE TOP LINE NUMBERS

Statistics never tell the whole story, but neither can they be completely ignored.

Heazlett scored 75 runs at 18.75 for the Heat in this year’s BBL at a strike-rate of 156.25. He has also combined for 73 runs at 24.33 in four matches for Redlands Tigers in Queensland Premier Cricket this summer.

At under 19 ODI level, Heazlett scored 93 runs at 23.25 for Australia against England. And after an impressive 129 and 78 on Sheffield Shield debut against Tasmania in 2015, Heazlett has managed a total of 821 runs at 34.20 from 13 first class matches.

Heazlett finished his debut Shield season with 649 runs at 40.56, which saw him move ahead of Sir Ian Botham into third spot on Queensland’s list of highest run-scorers in their maiden season. Only Australian great Matthew Hayden and former England batsman Graeme Hick have scored more.

Heazlett has scored just 172 runs at 21.5 in four first-class matches to date in this year’s Sheffield Shield season batting in the middle-order.

THE SERIES THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

A successful few weeks in a quadrangular limited overs series last year appears to have convinced selectors to take a chance on Heazlett in New Zealand.

Representing the National Performance Squad against India A, South Africa A and Australia A, Heazlett scored an impressive 289 runs at 72.25 during the tournament.

He was the third highest run-scorer in the series despite playing two less games than any other batsman in the top six. The highlight was his innings of 101 from 87 deliveries against South Africa A in Townsville.

“Sam showed last summer what a talented player he is by averaging over 40 in his debut season at first-class level,” said interim selection boss Trevor Hohns.

“He impressed again when playing for the National Performance Squad against A teams from Australia, South Africa and India in Townsville and Mackay during this past winter.”

MATADOR CUP SNUBBED?

All that said, there will no doubt be a handful of domestic batsmen wondering what they need to do to attract the attention of national selectors.

These are the top six run-scorers in the Matador Cup this season, all of whom scored their runs at impressive strike-rates:

Cameron White 457 runs @ 76.16

Moises Henriques 414 runs @ 69.00

Daniel Hughes 386 runs @ 64.33

Alex Doolan 362 runs @ 120.66

Callum Ferguson 305 runs @ 61.00

Adam Voges 301 runs @ 75.25

Sam Heazlett hits a six for the Heat against the Renegades. Source: Getty Images

And these are the top six Matador Cup run-scorers aged 25 and under:

Ryan Gibson 293 runs @ 48.33

Nic Maddinson 292 runs @ 41.71

Jake Weatherald 284 runs @ 47.33

Marnus Labuschange 271 runs @ 45.16

William Bosisto 251 runs @ 41.83

Kurtis Patterson 247 runs @ 49.40

THE FORGOTTEN MAN

Tom Moody, who presented Hilton Cartwright with his baggy green cap at the SCG earlier this month, was befuddled by the decision to select Heazlett in Australia’s Chappell-Hadlee squad over the Zimbabwe-born WA all-rounder.

Surprised with the inclusion of Sam Heazlett, if you're going young why not stick with Hilton Cartwright who first shone in #MatadorCup ? — Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) January 27, 2017

Cartwright this week was named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.

But that wasn’t enough to earn him a recall to the national ODI squad, from which he was dropped without playing a game ahead of this summer’s five-game series against Pakistan.

Cartwright was named in Australia’s ODI squad for the home series against New Zealand in 2016 after a series of impressive short-form performances at domestic level.

He never made the final XI in the 50-over game, however, and returned to state duties with WA. Then came a shock call-up into the Test squad for Boxing Day and starting XI for the New Year’s Test.

But despite a solid debut, he was omitted from the Test squad to tour India.