Freeman is expected to take the veteran’s spot in the Hurricanes’ squad ahead of fixtures in Hobart and Launceston, and will make his first domestic appearance since a Sheffield Shield debut 11 months ago should he be named in the XI.

Cummins said the 18-year-old all-rounder’s attributes made him the obvious replacement for Botha, who played five Tests and 78 ODIs for South Africa.

“It’s very hard to replace someone like Johan with his extensive international experience, so we’re not going to try - we’re more looking at Johan’s specific skillset and in many ways Jarrod aligns,” Cummins said.

“Jarrod’s a good lower order batsman who can score runs and hit boundaries, he’s a crafty off-spinner and also a good fielder with a safe pair of hands.

“That’s very similar to Johan and we think he can sort of bring that skillset even if he doesn’t have the same experience as Johan at this point.

“He’ll have to be ready to play because if the coaching staff think we need an off-spinner and his attributes are the right match-up, then he’ll be expected to play - he’s certainly not making up the numbers.”

Freeman’s imminent addition to the 18-man squad caps off a whirlwind few weeks which has seen him represent Australia in an under-19 series in Sri Lanka and complete an unbeaten half-century in the three-day match.

He returned in time to line up for Mowbray in Cricket North last weekend and featured for Lindisfarne in Thursday’s Cricket Tasmania Premier League T20 final. 

In December he was a key member of the Tasmanian side at the under-19 championships, finishing as the state’s third most prolific batman and equal top bowler with Mowbray teammate Blake Cassidy. 

Despite his form, he has not been selected for Futures League this season - a statistic which Cummins explained simply.

“There were other people ahead of him.

“But he’s played a Sheffield Shield match before and under-19s for Australia so he’s got good experience and a good foundation to start a Big Bash career.

“I think overall the guys have been impressed with him generally over the last couple of years – he’s had to take the big step from being a local cricketer to a state-contracted cricketer.

“With that comes some challenges around professionalism and those sorts of things, but he’s really stepped up in the past six months and he’s going really well.”

Cummins confirmed the Hurricanes were still looking for a replacement for injured international Tymal Mills. 

The ladder-leading Hurricanes play Brisbane Heat in Hobart on Tuesday, and will play their second and final UTAS Stadium clash against Adelaide Strikers on Thursday.