Matador Cup team preview: Victoria

The Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers enter this year's Matador BBQs One-Day Cup with a new coach and star performers in each discipline.

In what is set to be one of the strongest fields in recent memory, is this the year the Victorians return to the top of domestic cricket?

Here's a full team preview to get you up to speed before the event gets underway in Sydney on Monday.

The squad

Wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade will again captain the Bushrangers this season after leading the side to Sheffield Shield glory last summer.

World Cup hero Glenn Maxwell and dependable quick Peter Siddle have been included in the 14-man line-up after the postponement of the Qantas Tour of Bangladesh. The make-up of the XI will be fascinating with Maxwell joining fellow allrounders Dan Christian, John Hastings and Marcus Stoinis in the squad.

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Hastings is coming off a strong winter with Durham in England that led to his recall to the Australian one-day international squad last month where he starred with 3-21 in the series decider.

Exciting paceman James Pattinson makes his long-awaited return in the Big V, joining Siddle, Clint McKay and Scott Boland to form the pace battery, while Jon Holland was favoured over the leg-spin of Fawad Ahmed to provide the slow-bowling option.

Veteran batsman Cameron White will again take up his place towards to the top of the order after being recognised as the best player in each of the past two one-day tournaments, and  Aaron Finch is set for his first full domestic series since his player-of-the-tournament performance in 2012-13.

Matthew Wade (c), Scott Boland, Dan Christian, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Jon Holland, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron White.

Coach: David Saker

The fixture

The Bushrangers begin their campaign against the new Cricket Australia XI this Wednesday at Hurstville Oval. Wade's side will get a good look at North Sydney Oval – the home of the final on October 25 – with their final two round matches at the tiny suburban venue.

Four of Victoria's matches – against the myFootDr Queensland Bulls, Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors, NSW Blues and Tasmanian Tigers - will be broadcast live in HD on GEM, as well as being streamed on cricket.com.au and the Cricket Australia Live app for fans with a Live Pass subscription.

What's new?

The Bushrangers will field one of the most experienced sides in the competition, but Cricket Victoria have made one big change off the field since last year's one-day tournament.

Saker replaces long-time coach Greg Shipperd and has already made his presence felt with a gruelling training camp in rural Victoria; a camp not too dissimilar to the infamous Ashes preparation undertaken by England in Germany during his stint as their bowling coach.

The former paceman has already made it clear that he won't settle for anything less than a title over the next few weeks.

What to expect

The Bushrangers will begin the tournament with one of the strongest squads on paper. Stoinis and White have both hit form with centuries in practice matches against NSW in recent days.

Pattinson has struggled to find his rhythm since his latest comeback from injury, but the continuity of cricket in the tournament format may be exactly what he needs to get back to his destructive best.

Maxwell looms as the key if the Bushrangers are to go all the way. One of the few players to have the ability to single-handedly win matches, whether it be with the bat or in the field, Maxwell will look to continue the form that has seen him rise to No.9 in the ICC batting rankings.

Quotable

"Maxwell is an absolute freak. To be honest, it's well known we're not a great fielding side, so he'll add some buzz to our fielding group," Hastings tells RSN Sport Radio about the impact of Maxwell.

Player to watch

Handscomb earned a call-up to the ODI squad during the recent Qantas Tour of the British Isles and must be close to getting a call-up to the Test squad this summer. The 24-year-old will play key role in the middle order as the Bushrangers push for a title.

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Last season

Victoria never recovered from the opening match of the season when they were bowled out for just 111 against Queensland to finish fifth with two wins in a bitterly disappointing 2014 campaign.

White was far and away the best of the batsmen as he compiled 354 runs at an average of 59.00 to take home the player of the tournament award.  The always-improving Boland was the pick of the bowlers with nine wickets at 35.22.

The highlight of the season undoubtedly came in the thrilling win over NSW when Boland conceded just five runs in the final over to seal victory by two runs.

Predicted finish

Second. They seem to have all bases covered, but the Bushrangers will likely need Finch, Maxwell and Pattinson to fire if they're to win their first limited-overs title since 2010-11.