Lights on for the Sheffield Shield

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA v NSW
Adelaide Oval, 2.30pm AEDT 
LIVE STREAM and SCORES

Such is the strength of the NSW squad, every player named has represented Australia in one of the three formats.

All eyes will be on David Warner who returns from a broken thumb, while what movement Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood can muster with the pink ball at the Adelaide Oval will also be intriguing.

"The pain is always going to be there," Warner said of the thumb injury that now forces him to wear a splint in the field.

"It is about me getting through that pain. You speak to any wicketkeeper in the world — they are playing with broken fingers so I am not complaining at all.

"Unless I cop another one on the thumb while I am practising or batting out in the middle that is the only thing that will hinder my selection for the first Test."

Watch: Cooper helps Redbacks to 221 against Blues

For SA, Tom Cooper compiled a mature 105 against the Blues in the one-day cup final on Sunday and the Redbacks will be relying on him to produce again against the same star-studded bowling attack.

Callum Ferguson (328 runs at 46.85) and Kane Richardson (15 wickets at 22.73) were also impressive in the limited-overs competition and come into the Shield season in strong form.

Also potentially playing into the Redbacks' hands will be some unfamiliarity with the pink Kookaburra ball to be used in this day-night round.

"We have played a couple of (pink-ball) games and a few of them (the NSW players) haven't played at all, so I think it's an advantage for us," said SA skipper Travis Head.

South Australia: Travis Head (capt), Tom Cooper, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Joe Mennie, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Kelvin Smith, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa

NSW: Ed Cowan, David Warner, Nic Maddinson, Steve Smith (capt), Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill, Sean Abbott, Stephen O'Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Doug Bollinger.

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TASMANIA v WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Blundstone Arena, 2pm AEDT 
LIVE STREAM and SCORES

The Tigers will have their work cut out taking on a strengthened Western Australia. Without Ed Cowan, who has transferred back to NSW, the heat will be on George Bailey and Alex Doolan to pile on the runs.

Meanwhile, highly-heralded left-handed 18-year-old batsman Jake Doran (91 runs at 30.33 in the one-day cup) will make his first-grade debut and is expected to bat at four.

"He is player of the future and will be batting around some really experienced players such as Alex Doolan and George Bailey so we think that is a really good move," Tigers Coach Dan Marsh said

The first fixture of the new season will see a new opening pair for the Tigers with the in-form duo of Dom Michael and Ben Dunk looking to make a mark at the top of the order.

"Ben Dunk and Dom Michael will open the batting and we see it as an aggressive move," Marsh said.

"Dunky has done it a couple of times for us now and he made his highest First Class score batting up there and we see it as taking the game to the opposition."

Talented Jordan Silk, who missed the Matador Cup for personal reasons, is back playing and posted 196 for North Hobart last weekend. Omitted for the opening round, he won't be far away from the Tasmanian squad.

For WA, Mitchell Johnson will provide plenty of spark with the ball and Adam Voges (1358 runs at 104.46), Shaun Marsh (706 at 64.18) and Cameron Bancroft (896 at 47.15) will be looking to back-up last season's run-fest with big scores to confirm Test spots.

Watch: Johnson on target for Warriors

The Warriors' left-arm quick Joel Paris could also make his Shield debut after taking 24 wickets at 17.79 in the past two one-day cups.

In a side which also boasts Test aspirants Voges, Bancroft, and the Marsh brothers Mitchell and Shaun, coach Justing Langer is enjoying the rare availability of such depth of talent.

"We've got seven (players) who have played or who could play (Test cricket) and it changes the dynamic," he said.

Tasmania: George Bailey (capt) Jackson Bird, Xavier Doherty, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Andrew Fekete, Evan Gulbis, Dominic Michael, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird

Western Australia: Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Michael Klinger, Adam Voges (capt), Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Behrendorff, Michael Hogan, Joel Paris, Simon Mackin.

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VICTORIA v QUEENSLAND
MCG, 2pm AEDT 
LIVE STREAM and SCORES

Victoria have left out Cameron White and Aaron Finch while Chris Rogers and David Hussey have retired. Plenty of interest will centre on the form of Test aspirant Peter Siddle and Fawad Ahmed, who both missed selection in the one-day cup.

James Pattinson dominated in the Matador Cup for Victoria, taking 14 wickets at 19.42 for Victoria, and skipper Matthew Wade is delighted to have him in his arsenal.

"His form in the Matador Cup was awesome. He did exactly what you want any fast bowler to do, come on and take wickets when you needed them," Wade said.

"They were slow wickets and he was still getting the ball through really comfortably.

"He'll be back in the Test team pretty soon, I'm pretty certain of that."

For Queensland, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja are in solid form after spanking centuries against New Zealand in the CA XI match over the weekend.

They'll need to step up though – the Bulls are still without Chris Lynn (shoulder injury) who topped their batting averages last year (439 at 62.71), and Peter Forrest was no selected for the season opening fixture.

Watch: Khawaja leads from the front

Queensland veteran James Hopes will play his 100th first-class game in this round with Queensland keen to build on last seaon's disrupted season with new coach Phil Jaques at the helm.

"It will be a bit of a rebuilding season. What's important is that we get off to a good start because before Christmas we've only got one game at the Gabba," Hopes told APN.

"We've lost Ryan Harris, so there are going to be some hard yards for our younger players, especially our bowling attack. I'm not saying we can't win it, but we need to get off to a good start.

"We know the ball swings at the Gabba and Perth under lights, but it'll be a new experience at the MCG where there's no swing and seam. The players can adapt, but I just hope the fans can see the ball after 70 overs."

Victoria: Matthew Wade (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Dan Christian, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis.

Queensland: Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, Scott Henry, Nathan Reardon, James Hopes, Chris Hartley, Ben Cutting, Cameron Boyce, Peter George, Mark Steketee, Jack Wildermuth.