The under-14 squad begins the three-day tournament with back-to-back clashes against Gippsland Pride and South East Sharks in Baxter, while the under-16s take on Metropolitan Inner South East and the Sharks in Mount Eliza.

Under-14 and under-16 boys squads will begin their championships on Monday, January 19.

Meanwhile, the Central Highlands under-18 boys were forced to share the spoils in their round-three state championships clash with the Sharks in Frankston on Tuesday.

Coach Paull Jeffrey said consistent rain saw the fixture abandoned about 11.30am, before a ball was bowled.

That leaves the Highlanders with a win, a loss and a draw from three games and sets up a qualifying final clash with Gippsland Pride in Camberwell on Wednesday.

Should they win this encounter, the Highlanders will then progress to the semi-finals on Thursday, where a spot in the decider is on the line.

Players in the region’s six pathways squads were acknowledged for their selection at the Central Highlands cap presentation evening at Midlands Golf Club last week.

It was here that Napoleons-Sebastopol cricketer Liam Rigby was awarded the Cricket Willow scholarship for a season of cricket in Europe.