Young spin star, Test hopefuls tipped to shine for NSW

A month later than originally planned, NSW will finally begin their season on Wednesday with the first of what is set to be a series of "State of Origin" games against Victoria in the coming weeks.

Despite being without a host of big names on international duty, which is likely to be the case for most of the summer, the Blues will still be able to call on Test players like Nathan Lyon, Peter Nevill, Trent Copeland, Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques (who will miss the opening game of the season) as well as a host of exciting young players like leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha and up-and-coming batters Jack Edwards, Ollie Davies and Jason Sangha.

And with the battle on for places in Australia's Test squad, expect the likes of Henriques and Sean Abbott – who were both part of the Test set-up last summer – to be front and centre of selection discussions if they start the season well.

With movement possible between NSW and Victoria but not yet other states, the two traditional rivals are only able to play each other in the five weeks before the start of the KFC BBL, giving a host of Test contenders some crucial match practice ahead of the Vodafone Ashes.

The confirmation last week of a series of games between the two states came after several false starts, where the Blues were preparing to quarantine interstate before the moves were scuppered when government exemptions could not be secured.

Plans for the second half of the season early next year are yet to be finalised, but Blues coach Phil Jaques said his team are simply grateful for the chance to play some cricket again, albeit much later than originally planned.

"It was an interesting month, I reckon, where we thought we were starting to play and then were told we couldn't quarantine and couldn't go (interstate)," Jaques told cricket.com.au.

"But the mood has definitely picked up over the last few weeks and we've been building really nicely.

"We had to balance the feeling of being ready and making sure that we were staying motivated ... and understand that when we had that little bit of a knock back, then it was time to actually step back from the game a little bit and have a day off here and there. Just to freshen them up and re-focus them and make sure that they're ready to go mentally, most importantly.

"There are definitely plans to play the season; how many games and what that looks like (after the BBL) is a bit uncertain at the moment until we get some clarity on what borders are doing. But pre-BBL, it's going to be NSW versus Victoria, almost State of Origin clashes.

"So we're looking forward to playing against that one side in almost like a little series format. It should be interesting."

Squad: Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Patrick Cummins, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Ryan Hackney, Josh Hazlewood, Liam Hatcher, Lachlan Hearne, Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Rookies: Josh Baraba, Ryan Hadley, Jack Nisbett, Hunar Verma

In: Oliver Davies, Lachlan Hearne, Baxter Holt, Tanveer Sangha

Out: Nick Larkin, Nathan McAndrew (SA), Arjun Nair, Daniel Solway

Predicted Best XI: Daniel Hughes, Matthew Gilkes, Kurtis Patterson (c), Moises Henriques, Jack Edwards/Jason Sangha, Sean Abbott, Peter Nevill (wk), Trent Copeland, Nathan Lyon, Harry Conway, Liam Hatcher/Tanveer Sangha

Last season

Sheffield Shield: Runner's up

Marsh Cup: Champions

Scheduled matches (so far)

Marsh Sheffield Shield

Oct 27-30 v Victoria (Drummoyne Oval)

Nov 5-8 v Victoria (MCG)

Marsh One-Day Cup

Nov 12 v Victoria (MCG) (D/N)

The inside word with coach Phil Jaques

The pre-season

"It was meant to be a shorter pre-season, but it's been quite a long one because of the stop-start nature of what we've been dealing with. But now the boys are really keen and hungry and 100 per cent ready to go.

"It was a hard one because you can't keep them up forever. It's all about how you build a season, and we would build them and then we were told we couldn't go (interstate), so we had to drop them back a bit. And then we build them again thinking we're going to go on a certain date, and then we had to drop them back a bit. But the guys have been excellent.

"To be honest, everybody showed some good signs (in our intra-squad games), but there were two really big hundreds. Sean Abbott made a massive score (154) and Dan Hughes got 200 retired. Trent Copeland got a five-fa in one of the games, there were a few fifties from a few players, so there's been a good performance across the board."

Player availability

The Blues will be without nine contracted players for their opening match of the season, with Moises Henriques and Ben Dwarshuis not yet back in Australia following the Indian Premier League while Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner and Adam Zampa are all at the T20 World Cup.

Henriques and Dwarshuis have delayed their return home until mandatory hotel quarantine in NSW is scrapped on November 1, but the pair should be available to play some cricket for the Blues later that month.

With Australia scheduled to tour Pakistan in February and March next year, it's likely the Blues won't have their international stars for most of the summer, putting more focus on their up-and-coming stars and experienced players like Lyon (for the first half of the season), Copeland and skipper Patterson.

Player to watch

"Sean (Abbott) has been nothing short of outstanding. There's been some really, really high-quality bowling, I think he's even gone up a notch on last year, and his batting has really improved as well. I'm expecting some really good performances from him with bat in hand, I think he's really gone on to another level with that.

"I reckon he'll be there or there abouts again (for Test selection), 100 per cent. He's ready to go, it's just about an opportunity from here on in. I'm sure once the season gets going, his name will be back up in lights again. He's been training the house down so I'm really excited to see how he goes in some games and I'm sure he'll push his name forward once those games keep going."

The young gun

"Tanveer (Sangha) … is right in the mix for a (Shield) game sooner rather than later, definitely. He's obviously had the experience of being with the Australian set-up and he's really improved as a result of bowling to some good players. He was fantastic in the Big Bash last year and we're really excited about what he will bring to our team once he does start playing. He's a really good talent.

"He could definitely play a part really soon. I think it'd be a really good experience for Tanveer if we could get him a game alongside Nathan (Lyon). It'd be great for him to learn off Nathan and be ready to play when Nathan does go away (on national duty)."