Captain-coach: Peter Le Lievre

Last season: Second. Lost grand final to Golden Point

Key recruits: Rob Delmenico, right-arm opening fast-medium bowler, who played his early cricket with Sebastopol and has first-grade experience with South Melbourne and Manley in Sydney.

As a handy batsman as well, an ideal replacement for the "retired" Andrew Leach.

Albury leading light Gavin Webb will strengthen Wendouree's middle-order batting and attack as an off-spin bowler.

Webb spent the first half of last season with Wendouree before returning to his home territory and being named the region's representative player of the year.

Right-hand top order batsman Steve Leith from Minyip is another new face.

Key losses: Veteran star all-rounder Andrew Leach, who announced his retirement after last season's grand final.

Although absent from the firsts, Leach is not being lost to Wendouree all together despite not being able to bowl because of a shoulder problem. He will play on as a batsman in the seconds and with a few big scores a return might not be out of the question.

Chris Hunter has applied for a clearance back to Coronet City.

Meanwhile, wicket-keeper Heath Pyke and Tim Beacham will miss early matches with football injuries.

Shakers: Recruit Gavin Webb has the potential to be one of the big guns in the Ballarat Cricket Association this summer.

Webb gave Wendouree a small taste of what to expect 12-months ago, but it is surely a mouth-watering prospect knowing he has committed to spending the full season under a red and white cap.

Craig Jenkins should again lead from the top of the innings with the bat, while Delmenico provides a major boost to bowling stocks.

Improvers: Up and comer Matt Turner, who captained the under-16s last season, could be a youngster to watch along with the likes Jon Barnett. Wendouree, which had seven players under-21 years of age in its 2001-02 grand-final team, is also expecting a general improvement across the board in light of last season's experience.

Prospects: As a club Wendouree is well placed to build on reaching last season's success, which as well as a grand-final berth saw it win the BCA club championship.

With more teams than ever - five senior, two under-16 and two under-14 - Wendouree is looking to the continued development of its youngsters to form the base for a bright future.

Captain-coach: Paull Jeffrey.

Last season: First. Lost semi-final to Golden Point.

Key recruits: None, although medium pace bowler Steve Nicholson almost fits into this category after having back surgery last season. Hoping a few youngsters might come through the ranks as has been the tradition at Mt Clear.

Key losses: None. Expecting to have largely the same line-up which took it into the 2001-02 finals.

Shakers: Teenage fast bowler Lincoln Blake is back to full fitness after struggling with a back injury last season. He has been training with the Victorian under-19 squad and to Mt Clear's delight has resisted the temptation of playing with a Melbourne Premier club to allow him to concentrate on his VCE studies.

Paull Jeffrey has long been one of the Ballarat Cricket Association's leading batsmen and there is no reason to think this will be any different.

Improvers: Mt Clear can expect general improvement from its younger players who will be better for another season under their belt.

Also expect more from top order batsmen such as Rian McKee, Scott Illingworth, Clete Diamond and Tim McLeod to support the likes of Matt Clark.

Prospects: Definite finals contender again given Paull Jeffrey has the services of most of the players who claimed a premiership two seasons ago and were just one win away from another grand final appearance last summer. Mt Clear is looking for much more consistency from its higher order batsmen after relying too often on its bowling attack to set up victories in 2001-02.

Club: Northern Roosters

Coach: Greg Spratling

Co-captains: Peter Cartledge and Daniel Hopkinson

Last season: seventh

Key recruits: middle order batsman Sam Giblett back after two years in sub-district, which should see him back a better player.

Opening batsman Stuart McGregor has also returned after two seasons away from cricket with work commitments.

In what can only be a major bonus, the Roosters are looking forward to having top order batsman and leg spinner Simon Irving available for the whole season.

He has been playing in England and plans to be back in time to play in round two.

Do not be surprised to see Irving followed by an English ``import''.

Key losses: while one Englishman might be on his way, another in opening bowler John Dawson will not be back.

In another blow, batsman Julian Irving looks like missing most of the season with a groin complaint.

Shakers: Daniel Hopkinson is one player the Roosters need to have a big say.

The all-rounder is likely to bat up near the top of the list and having been given the responsibility of sharing the captaincy with the experienced Peter Cartledge, Hopkinson will be looked on to provide leadership.

Simon Irving, who has represented the Ballarat Cricket Association and has Melbourne Premier competition experience, is another who needs to be a factor.

The ever-reliable Peter Cartledge will again be on hand to lend support to the ``next generation''.

Improvers: opening bowler Heath Wilkie, recruited from Golden Point two years ago, has been training impressively.

Prospects: the Roosters are naturally looking for big improvement - hopefully to get into the top four.

Napoleons-Sebastopol

Coach:Leigh Keating

Captain: Chris Walter

Last season: sixth

Key recruits: Shane Dalziel, Darren Murnane and John Bray have all returned to Napoleons-Sebastopol after stints away.

Opening fast bowler Shane Dalziel will be a huge plus after the experience of playing with Geelong in the Melbourne Premier competition.

Murnane, another new ball bowler, is back after playing at Lexton for one season, while top order batsman Bray is refreshed after having last summer away from the game.

Top order batsman Greg Hamilton, of Bendigo, and middle order Scott Hamilton, of Port Fairy, are other additions to the ranks.

Key losses: young batsman-wicketkeeper Matthew Egan is trying his luck at North Melbourne after representing Ballarat Cricket Association last summer.

Shakers: opening batsman Shaun Faulkhead, and pace bowler reigning club champion Brendan Thomson are two younger players who should be ready to stand up in a big way.

Napoleons-Sebastopol needs the duo to make an impact if it is to figure in the finals action.

Improvers: two youngsters from last season's thirds premiership team, off-spinner Jacob Branch and all-rounder Luke Corden, are expected to add depth to the top end of the Napoleons-Sebastopol squad.

Each showed in the 2001-02 grand final they are players of the future - just what the club needs.

Prospects: Napoleons-Sebastopol is looking to go on from where it left off last season, when it lost just once after the break and only just missed the finals.

That resurgence and the success experienced in the thirds confirmed the club is on the right track with its player development.

As it did last season, it plans to continue the policy of playing six under-16s in the thirds each round to expose them to the seniors.

CORONET-CITY

Captain-coach: Nathan Yates (pending clearance from Ballarat-Redan). At this stage unlikely to play against Mt Clear on Saturday.

Last season: eighth

Key recruits: new captain-coach Nathan Yates (Ballarat-Redan) and batsman-wicketkeeper Chris Hunter (Wendouree), who is returning after two seasons away.

Key losses: outside newcomers, retaining largely the same structure.

Shakers: obviously, Nathan Yates and Chris Hunter near the top of the batting order to complement the likes of experienced Peter Humphrey and Darrin Carroll.

Hunter, who like Yates is still to be cleared, is returning to where the heart is and has shown enormous enthusiasm on the training track after missing most of last season.

Improvers: Coronet City is looking to 21-year-old Brendan Burns to take the next step as a frontline all-rounder.

As a bowler he has probably been underestimated by opposing teams and in his third season could be the player Coronet City needs to make inroads.

Prospects: Coronet City's first priority is to earn credibility on the field and the appointment of Nathan Yates, 21, as captain-coach is a bold move towards achieving this.

A strengthened batting line-up is a big plus, but the need for a strike bowler remains and once again pressure will be on Craig Murdoch and Allan McLean to do the early damage with the ball before the spin of Yates comes into play.

Coronet City will be searching for early wins to allow it to push for a finals berth.