Dan Hodgson is preparing to take on the world with Yorkshire at the Champions League t20 in South Africa – just five weeks after completing a club campaign with Middlesbrough from the North Yorkshire-South Durham League.

The wicketkeeper, 22, has been catapulted onto the global stage via a circuitous route. After Gerard Brophy was released, new signing Andrew Hodd was refused permission to play and Jonny Bairstow suffered a wrist injury playing for England at the World Twenty20.

Hodgson, who played four Clydesdale Bank 40 matches at the end of the summer, is now set for his competitive Twenty20 debut against Uva Next at the Wanderers on Tuesday. His first action looks set to be against Pakistan’s Sialkot Stallions in a warm-up match on Sunday.

“I can’t think of a better way to start my Twenty20 career than playing in the Champions League,” he said after Yorkshire’s first training session in Johannesburg yesterday.

“I always thought there might be a chance I’d get a game with Jonny being on England duty, but it does feel a bit surreal now it’s happened.”

Hodgson, on a summer contract at Headingley, has impressed the White Rose hierarchy with performances in the second team as well as for Leeds/Bradford University in a handful of first-class matches.

As well as taking four catches in a narrow three-day defeat against Surrey in April, he scored a second innings 64.

Despite posting two ducks, he did enough with the gloves against Yorkshire in a similar match at Headingley later in the month.

“I’ve played a few first-class games against the counties, but I’ve only played a couple of Twenty20s for the seconds and for Leeds/Bradford,” he continued.

“I’ll be playing with and against some world class players, which should really help me improve.”

If Yorkshire qualify into Group B, it means he will be playing against the likes of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar: “That’s an amazing thought,” he added. “I can’t wait.”

Overseas batsman David Miller is due to arrive in Johannesburg on Monday.