Western Australia coach Justin Langer is likely to unleash a "hippie" debutant at the WACA Ground this week but he concedes the career of another of his charges, Joel Paris, is at the crossroads.
Right-arm quick Alex Bevilaqua is set to play his first Sheffield Shield match against NSW, starting in Perth on Thursday.
However Paris faces an uphill battle to feature in the Shield competition again this summer after breaking down with a another quad injury.
Paris has been plagued by soft-tissue injuries throughout his career and Langer is unsure what the future holds.
"He's literally, in my opinion, Brownlow medallist talent," Langer said.
"He is elite talent but unfortunately his body is not holding up at the moment.
"He knows, and he and I have discussed it, that his career is at the crossroads because he hasn't been able to hold up.
"That said, we think he's an unbelievable talent. He's doing everything he can. I pray all the time his body holds up.
"Hopefully he's one of those guys who will get more resilient over time."
With Paris, Nathan Coulter-Nile (back) and Jason Behrendorff (back) all injured, beanpole paceman Bevilaqua finds himself at the front of the queue.
"He's a bit of a hippie, which I like," Langer said.
"I did the first training session at Kings Park about three or four years ago and he was that far behind everyone else that I was actually running with him at the back.
"And I said then, like I said with AJ Tye years ago, 'Oh, he'll never come back'.
"It was a cold morning at Kings Park and he kept coming back to every single session.
"He's a ripping bloke. The boys love him."
WA (17.56) sit fourth on the Shield table but are just four points adrift of second.
NSW (24.94) are first but will be without Steve Smith, Josh Hazelwood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
WA are bolstered by Cameron Bancroft, Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh and Jhye Richardson, who have all been named for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa.
