Western Australia could field as many as five debutants as the hardest-hit Sheffield Shield side continues to plug the leaks caused by international absentees.
Eight Warriors are on Australian T20 or Test duty, meaning uncapped batsmen Jake Carder and Josh Philippe, all-rounder Clint Hinchliffe, and bowlers Matthew Hanna and Liam Guthrie have all been included in the squad to visit Tasmania.
Stand-in skipper Ashton Turner isn't concerned, given the Perth Scorchers experienced the same player drain during the Big Bash but still managed to finish the regular season on top.
"The really pleasing thing for us in Western Australian cricket is that when we have lost guys to international call-ups we are able to cover their places easily," he said.
"I know personally I've been waiting a really long time to see some of these young kids get their chance at Shield level."
Fifth-placed Tasmania's Jackson Bird (hamstring) and Gabe Bell (foot) will both miss the match, with Andrew Fekete and Hamish Kingston brought into the squad.
Stand-in skipper Jimmy Peirson will hope his unbeaten run as Queensland captain continues at the MCG, despite giving away 153 first class games of experience to Bushrangers counterpart Cameron White.
Queensland, who won without Test No.3 Usman Khawaja (thumb) and Joe Burns (groin) last week, is unchanged for the MCG clash while Will Pucovski and Fawad Ahmed replace Test squad members Peter Handscomb and Jon Holland for Victoria.
Entering just his 10th Shield fixture, Pierson has helped the unfancied Bulls to a three-point buffer on top of the table in front of NSW and Western Australia with four rounds to play.
"We've got a sneaky amount of experience in our team, but nothing like some of the other teams so it's a nice feeling (to beat the more experienced sides)," Peirson told AAP.
Meanwhile, rookie leg-spinner Dan Fallins replaces South Africa-bound Nathan Lyon in the only change to the Blues' squad to play last-placed South Australia at the SCG.
Callum Ferguson will return from a hamstring injury to captain the Redbacks, having averaged 60.11 across 10 Shield innings this season, while Chadd Sayers' Test squad call-up opens the door for Cameron Valente's return.
Share
