In a remarkable coincidence, Albury's Louis Botes and North Albury's George McCormick will be crucial with the ball at Billson Park - 17,000kms from home.

"It's a bit bizarre, I probably class (Louis) my best mate at home, we do see a lot of each other and we've been on trips down here, it's been awesome," 20-year-old McCormick said.

"At the end of the day you just stay professional and just pretend he's another player."

McCormick in his second season with North, claiming last year's premiership, while 18-year-old Botes is in his first year at Albury.

"It feels really weird to be playing him all the way out here, but I'm excited to do it in a semi-final and see who comes out on top," Botes said.

The duo has different club sides back home, but represented Cheshire's under 16 and 17s county teams at representative level.

McCormick and Botes were opening the attack against Derbyshire when they had the unique experience of sharing three new balls in a day.

"They were seven-down at the end of day three, so we had a new ball the next morning and bowled them out quickly," McCormick explained.

"We then enforced the follow-on, so started with the new ball and they batted the 80 overs, so we got another late towards the end of the day."

The pair also boasts similar actions.

"I definitely think his consistency and how he always manages to hit his lengths and keep it tight," Botes said when quizzed on McCormick's strengths with the ball.

McCormick has 21 wickets at 20, while Botes has 36 at 16.

"He takes the ball away from the right-hander and he's quite tall at the crease and gets the ball through to the keeper quite well," McCormick said of Botes.

"He tries to nick people off (caught by the keeper or slips), while I try and seam it back a little more."

The pair has met twice this season, but McCormick hasn't batted in either game, while Botes hasn't been dismissed, posting unbeaten knocks of 11 and 27 in a season tally of 237 at 26.

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The youngsters haven't necessarily sledged each other, but McCormick couldn't resist a dig at his mate, who's a second cousin to South African superstar AB de Villiers.

"It would be nice for Albury if he could bat like AB de Villiers," he laughed.

However, a sledge never works as well when the intended victim agrees.

"It's fair to say who got the cricketing talent in the family," Botes said.

Botes' father played first-class cricket in South Africa before moving to England.