The 19-year-old all-rounder is fresh from a season in the Twenty20 Big Bash League, where he played two games for the Melbourne Renegades, and with the Victorian Bushrangers, where he played three Matador One-Day Cup fixtures.

Now, the step to first-class red ball cricket is the goal, via some success in the national second XI competition, the Futures League.

“My main goal is to be making runs in (the Futures League) and, hopefully, crack into the Shield team,” said Short, in Ballarat on Tuesday for a Bushrangers under-12 camp.

“I think there would be a chance of me playing this year. It’s all about making runs and stringing a couple of good performances together and just trying to be as consistent as I can.

“If not this year, then (I’ll) definitely have a crack next year, for sure.”

Short, from East Ballarat Cricket Club, said his choice to pursue cricket, despite the potential of a promising football career as a junior, had been the right one. “For sure. At the time when I had to decide footy or cricket, I think with the footy side of things I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen, whether I was going to play AFL or get selected, and I didn’t know how far I’d go in that.

“But I suppose once the cricket contract came up, I think it was a no-brainer to pick that and that sort of locked me in for a cricket career.

“I’ve travelled a fair bit with cricket now. I think if I went down the footy path, I doubt I’d go to as many places I have been now in cricket.”

Short is signed to the Renegades for another BBL season and is preparing to negotiate his position with Victoria, where he is in the final year of a rookie contract.

He is currently back playing with Northcote in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition.