Mystery surrounds CA XI selection

The seven competing squads in the 2015-16 Matador One-Day Cup are set to be announced next week, with plenty of interest surrounding the make-up of the additional Cricket Australia XI squad.  

The two-year trial, announced by CA in May, has been introduced with an eye to providing an extra level of exposure and opportunity to the country’s next generation of cricketers.

The CA XI will be comprised of players from around the country who narrowly missed selection by their respective states in the 14-man Matador Cup squads, and will likely feature state rookies and members of the National Performance Squad.  

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The 14-player squad will be chosen by State Talent Managers and guided by the National Selection Panel, with an eye to fast-tracking the development of promising players.

Former England bowling coach and Bupa National Cricket Centre Head Coach Troy Cooley will coach the team and be assisted by High Performance Coach Graeme Hick, who recently led the successful Australia U19 men’s team over their English counterparts in Western Australia in April.

Over the last three seasons, on average one state contracted player and three rookies failed to play a single game of domestic cricket, providing a hole in the pathway the new Matador Cup team hopes to fill.

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And the CA XI are not there just to make up the numbers, with coach Cooley insisting that while this is a learning curve for his young players, he expects to see improvement throughout the campaign under the pressures of domestic cricket.

“You’ve got to make mistakes, but you’ve got to be in the right environment to make mistakes and then you’ve got to be smart enough to learn from your mistakes,” said Cooley.

“We’re really happy that the match opportunities that we first of all give them here (at the National Cricket Centre) during the winter are then extended in to the next step in to the real competition. “We’re looking for mistakes to be made but we’re looking for kids to step up and be ready to go in to that professional life they’re searching for and become great Australian players.”

Possible CA XI squad members

NSW: Ben Dwarshuis, Harry Conway, Jonte Pattison, Henry Thornton, Nick Larkin

QLD: James Pierson, Matt Renshaw, Billy Stanklake, Jack Wildermuth, Charlie Hemphrey

SA: Kelvin Smith, Tom Andrews, Alex Gregory, Harry Nielsen, Nick Benton

TAS: Tom Triffitt, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Sean Willis, Dom Michael

VIC: Ryan Sidebottom, Ian Holland, James Muirhead, Jake Reed, Matthew Short, Aaron Ayre

WA: Jaron Morgan, Jhye Richardson, Will Bosisto, David Moody, Hilton Cartwright