"I was talking with my old man, and we had a couple of my uncles over, my cellphone started ringing, picked it up and Kim Littlejohn said 'hello' and said he had good news.
"I was stoked, a little bit overwhelmed too. I didn't really have any idea when I got the phone call [that he was going to be selected]."
Watson and his New Zealand teammates will play one three-day match, starting on March 30, and three one-day matches against the Australian under-19 team.
His teammates will not be all new to the teenager. He said he had played with three of them and played against the rest.
But Watson maintains they all get on well off the field and he looks forward to sharing the under-19 experience with them.
Watson, who also plays for Maungakaramea, has been nursing an injury sustained during Northland's final two-day match against Waikato Valley last weekend, but should be fine come game day.
While Watson may think he had not performed so well for Northland, his Northland coach says otherwise. Stephen Cunis praised Watson's consistent performance over the season.
Although Watson has not been the most prolific wicket-taker in two-day cricket, Cunis said the pressure Watson built led to some of his side's success this season.
"Kurtley was head and shoulders above the rest in his attitude and maturity," said Cunis.
"In terms of his skills on and off the field, he has a lot of skills and potential for the future.
"He's a very humble and modest kid.
"In terms of Northland, he's not there to brass people out. His job is to bowl dot balls and bowl maidens, basically restrict the scores.
"He has high standards and is quite hard on himself. He has had a very solid season in terms of doing his job in the Northland team."
Cunis said Watson was currently seen predominantly as a bowler but saw his future more as an all-rounder due to his batting abilities.
For Northland in one-day matches this season, Watson has played all of the matches, averaging 27 runs per wicket at an economy rate of 3.4.
Littlejohn said the players involved in the series were some of the future stars of New Zealand cricket and had shown considerable promise on their way to selection.
"It's a great opportunity for them to get a taste of the game at a higher level and is another step forward in their on-going development," Littlejohn said.
NZ under-19 squad
Tim Seifert, Jeremy Benton, Nick Blundell, Henry Collier, Leo Carter, Cameron Gibbons, Shawn Hicks, Jack Hunter, Kyle Jamieson, Harley Jenkins, Ken McClure, Arana Noema-Barnett, Kurtley Watson, Dane Watson, Ryan Watson, Rakitha Weerasundara
