The squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Scott Boland, Jackson Coleman, Travis Dean, Sebastian Gotch, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Tom O'Connell, Matt Short, Will Sutherland, Chris Tremain, Cameron White

Possible starting XI: Harris, White, Maxwell, Handscomb (c/wk), Maddinson, Short, Sutherland, O'Connell, Tremain, Boland, Coleman

Who they're missing: Peter Siddle, Aaron Finch, Jon Holland (Australia duties), James Pattinson (injury, for at least the early stages for the JLT Cup)

The 2017 result: Third – lost in the preliminary final to South Australia

The inside word with coach Andrew McDonald:

Young gun: "I'd say the one that will be structurally important is Will Sutherland as an allrounder. He performed really well in among his exams last year. We're just looking for some growth from those (younger) players – they haven’t played a lot of cricket (at senior domestic level) and we haven’t seen them play a lot of cricket from a coaching perspective. We're excited to see what they can do – if they can improve across the journey that's important as well.”

Players to watch: "Marcus Harris didn't hit his full potential in last year's JLT Cup but he's an exciting one. If he has a good tournament, it bodes well for us. Cameron White is another one, I don't think he's missed out too often over the last four to five years in this tournament. They'll be important players – most of the time your experience gets you over the line in these tournaments."

Team strength: "We've got a really good blend of senior and younger players - it's the art of getting that combination right to let the younger players grow with that strength around them. That's always been one of the great strengths of the Victorian environment. We’ve had the ability of hanging on to some great cricket intellect which enables us to educate our younger players along the way.”

Biggest threat: Along with Siddle, Victoria will be without James Pattinson for at least the early stages of the tournament. "One of the biggest challenges is always fast bowling depth – injuries can curtail your greatest laid plans. That's not to say, it (depth) is not there, it's just the fact we're missing a couple of key bowlers that we'll need to cover.

The fixtures:
September 16 v Queensland (Townsville)
September 19 v Tasmania (Townsville)
September 23 v NSW (North Sydney Oval)
September 26 v WA (Junction Oval)
September 30 v South Australia (Junction Oval)