Victoria will open their domestic one-day campaign without five key players due to Australia A commitments, forcing head coach Chris Rogers to rely on his internal development strategy.
Sam Harper, Peter Handscomb, Todd Murphy, Campbell Kellaway and Fergus O’Neill will miss the first two one-day fixtures while touring India.
Fast bowlers Mitch Perry and Cam McClure remain sidelined with bone stress injuries, underscoring the high physical toll on young seamers across the domestic game.
Accelerating Internal Squad Growth
Rather than recruit externally following their Sheffield Shield final defeat to South Australia in March, Victoria have promoted rookies Harry Hoekstra, Tom Paddington and Aryan Sharma.
“We feel we’ve got a pretty good squad with lots of talent, as shown by not being far off winning a Shield last season,” Rogers told cricket.com.au.
“We feel there’s a lot more growth within the squad and we’ll keep looking to give them opportunities, and hopefully we can get a number of these players to further their own careers as well … and take that next step.”
Managing Young Batting Talent
Oliver Peake returns to the state squad after his rapid ascent through the national ranks, with Victoria keen to prioritise athletic development for the 20-year-old.
“I do think his game has improved,” Rogers added.
“There were probably some areas that as coaches we were looking at, and he seems to have come back (having) addressed a couple of them and improved them as well … that’s a great sign.”
Victoria begin their domestic one-day campaign against Queensland on September 19.
