They'll be better for the experience: Chappell

Greg Chappell says the last-minute inclusion of Australia's Test stars in the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup only strengthened his conviction to include the CA XI in the competition.

The CA XI, a composite of the best young players in the country who were unable to win a spot in their state squads for the three-week tournament, has been included for the first time this year with the view of testing the youngsters against the best state players in Australia.

But the postponement of Australia's tour to Bangladesh on the eve of the tournament, and the subsequent return of the Test players to their respective state squads, meant the quality of the competition increased significantly on what was initially expected.

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Chappell, Cricket Australia's National Talent Manager, dismissed the suggestion that he would have reconsidered the inclusion of the CA XI had he known they would be facing some of the best players in the world.

"Not at all. I think that would have only been even more encouragement to have the young boys there," he said.

"In eras gone by, the next generation coming through had the opportunity to play against Test players in first-class cricket. That doesn't happen in this modern era with the international players being away so much.

"So to have an opportunity like this is gold. Players don't get better in the nets. They get better out in the middle being challenged by players who are better than they are."

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CA XI skipper Will Bosisto on the sweep // Getty

The CA XI suffered a heavy defeat in their tournament debut against a star-studded NSW Blues side, with Australian captain Steve Smith and the world's No.1 ranked ODI quick Mitchell Starc proving to be a class above the inexperienced group.

The opening defeat was followed by another thrashing against Victoria two days later, before they responded with a shock three-run win over Tasmania on Saturday.

While impressed with their debut victory against the Tigers, Chappell said the experiences they will take from the competition are far more important than wins and losses.

"Obviously the boys ran into a couple hurdles early in the tournament, but that can happen with a young side, particularly against one of the best bowlers in the world," he said.

"Mitch Starc has made a few batsmen look a bit ordinary over the journey so that's all part of the experience.

"But for these guys to have an opportunity against some of the best players in the world, not just the country, is a wonderful opportunity.

"A number of them – we don't know which ones they will necessarily be – but a number of them will come out of this much better players than they came into it.

"I would have preferred that they hadn't lost so badly, but it was not time to panic. Two games don't decide whether it's a success or a failure. We knew the boys at some stage during the tournament would show what they've got.

"I think the fact that they had two poor games to start with and were able to maintain their spirit and their confidence to come back and win against Tasmania was just a tremendous effort on their behalf.

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CA XI celebrated a maiden win against Tasmania // Getty

"There were a lot of tough decisions made by the guys. Some of the strategies and tactics that they used in the game were terrific.

"And you can't manufacture these scenarios. Training doesn't create the opportunities that playing in these games do.

"And even the bad games are often something you look back on as the turning point in your career, something that has been sparked.

"You probably learn more out of your bad days than your good days. So they had a couple of good learning experiences."

Chappell said he had faced some resistance to the concept from within cricket circles, with some concerned about the potential pitfalls of exposing young players to such strong competition so early in their development.

And he credited the support of Executive General Manager of High Performance Pat Howard for generating greater acceptance of the idea.

"There were some people who had their doubts that the young boys would be competitive and that it would be a good thing or it would maybe denigrate the competition," he said.

"I never had such doubts. I always thought that the opportunity is just too good to miss. There is no downside as far as I can see.

"What's the worst that can happen? They get beaten in a few games. But they'll learn something and if they win a few games they'll learn a few more things.

"I know that no matter what happens to this team in this tournament, there will be two or three players that will come out of this group who will be very good players for Australia going forward."