The 14-person squad will consist of two 15-year-olds, seven 14-year-olds and five 13-year-olds.

Coach Gary Fernandez said every one of them will get a good opportunity over the course of the week.

“For us we want the kids to be learning about themselves and we want them to be able to bond as a team,” he said.

“If you can get them to work together they want to play for each other and that’s when you start to see the best coming out of them. In the end it’s about confidence – they can go back to say they’ve played country week and had that opportunity.”

The team will face a tough start to the week against Warrnambool Blue on Tuesday before coming up against Mt Gambier on Wednesday. Its final game of the preliminary rounds will be against Hamilton on Thursday.

Fernandez said lessons learnt at country week often go beyond cricket.

“There are so many aspects in the game of cricket that you can learn from,” he said.

“I think the team will do alright.

“Our bowling attack will be the strongest aspect of our game but with the batting we aren’t quite sure – it can be such a confidence thing.

“We don’t want to be mucking around with techniques too much at this stage.”