Matador Cup preview: Western Australia

The squad: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Jonathan Wells, Sam Whiteman.

Possible starting XI: S Marsh, Bancroft, Klinger, Voges, Cartwright, Agar, Whiteman, Rimmington, Behrendorff, Paris, Tye

Who they're missing: Mitchell Marsh will miss out as he's in South Africa for Australia's ODI tour, while Nathan Coulter-Nile will be out for a large chunk of the summer due to a back injury. Shaun Marsh (finger) and Ashton Agar (shoulder) are also unlikely to be available for the first few games as they continue their injury comeback.

Matador Cup: Full schedule

The inside word, with allrounder Ashton Agar: "We've got a really great talent depth and we've got some young players with more experience than a lot of young players have. We're definitely backing all our young players to do a good job. Being able to play at your home ground is a huge advantage and then it's up to you (to determine) how well you play. But we know the conditions well and we know how to win at the WACA and that's going to be important for us. It's a good wicket and a fast outfield so other teams do play well out here, but hopefully we can use that home ground advantage." 

The talking point: Competition for spots in WA's bowling attack will be fierce with five impressive pacemen named in the squad. Left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff is set to play his first competitive game in more than eight months, having been on the sidelines since late January due to a lower-back stress fracture, but he will need to win his spot ahead of Joel Paris, Andrew Tye, Nathan Rimmington and David Moody. Behrendorff (11 wickets), Paris (13), Rimmington (13) and Coulter-Nile (14) were key factors in WA's 2014 Matador Cup triumph and the Warriors will be hard to beat if their pace bowlers fire again this year. 

The 2015 result: Despite a star-studded line-up including the likes of Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, Adam Voges and Ashton Agar, the 2014 Matador Cup champions fell short of expectations last year. A stunning loss to South Australia on the opening day of the tournament - the Redbacks incredibly chased down a target of 351 with six wickets to spare - before consecutive losses to big guns NSW and Victoria in their next two games all but ended their chances of making the finals. Victories over the CA XI and Queensland put them on the board, but a low-scoring defeat to Tasmania at Drummoyne Oval, where they managed 8-207 from 50 overs in reply to Tasmania's 9-222, added to a disappointing campaign. 

The young gun: After a breakthrough innings of 99 playing for the Cricket Australia XI last summer, allrounder Hilton Cartwright looms as a crucial player for the Warriors this time around. The powerful right-hander could be in line to open the batting after he impressed at the top of the order for the National Performance Squad this winter, especially given Shaun Marsh is still recovering from a finger injury. And the 24-year-old will come into the competition full of confidence after an impressive first-class century against India A in Brisbane earlier this month. 

The pressure on: Veteran Adam Voges would love some good early-season form after he and Australia's Test batsmen disappointed on the recent tour of Sri Lanka. With the start of the Test summer just a month away by the time the Matador Cup starts, Voges will have the one-day tournament and the opening round of the Sheffield Shield to get into some good touch going into the series against the Proteas. And he'll also be looking to make up for his performance in last summer's tournament, when he passed fifty just once in six innings, although WA's dominant top order often required Voges to hit out in the late overs. 

The fixtures:

October 2 v South Australia, WACA, Perth

October 6 v Queensland, WACA, Perth

October 8 v Victoria, WACA, Perth

October 15 v Tasmania, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

October 17 v CA XI, Hurstville Oval, Sydney

October 19 v NSW, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

2016 Matador BBQs One-Day Cup - broadcast matches:

Oct 5: SA v Vic, WACA Ground.

Oct 6: WA v Qld, WACA Ground.

Oct 7: NSW v CA XI, Hurstville Oval (free live stream on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App only).

Oct 8: WA v Vic, WACA Ground.

Oct 9: NSW v Tas, Hurstville Oval (free live stream on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App only).

Oct 9: QLD v SA, WACA Ground.

Oct 12: SA v NSW, Drummoyne Oval.

Oct 13: Vic v Tas, North Sydney Oval.

Oct 14: Qld v NSW (D/N), Drummoyne Oval.

Oct 15: Tas v WA, North Sydney Oval.

Oct 16: NSW v Vic (D/N), North Sydney Oval.

Oct 18: Vic v Qld, Drummoyne Oval.

Oct 19: NSW v WA, North Sydney Oval.

Oct 21: Qualifying final, (D/N), Drummoyne Oval.

Oct 23: Final, North Sydney Oval.

All broadcast matches will be shown live and free on GEM, except for the final, which will be shown live and free on Channel Nine. Matches broadcast on the Nine Network can also be live streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App with a CA Live Pass.