A group of 15 players has been picked to represent the BCA at the carnival, with Wendouree’s Heath Pyke again given the nod to captain the side.

Pyke was at the controls when the BCA went unbeaten to win last year’s division two title, earning it a shot at provincial division in 2017.

The BCA was relegated from provincial grade after a disastrous 2013 campaign in which it failed to win a game.

Pyke is among a handful of players that were part of last year’s success, with Heath Pritchard (Darley), Ryan Knowles (Brown Hill), Nathan Yates (Mt Clear) and Adam Eddy (North Ballarat) all backing up from 2016.

Four imports are part of the squad, with Brown Hill batsman Joe Crichard, Darley all-rounder Hasith Wickramasinghe and North Ballarat’s English duo Matthew Skeemer and Tom Phillippe all committing to the cause.

Napoleons-Sebastopol EJ Cleary Medal winner Liam Rigby is there and makes up the squad along with his club skipper Matt Ringin, East Ballarat pair Oli Hayes and Harli Givvens, Ballarat-Redan all-rounder Jayden Hayes and Darley bat Lachie Herring.

BCA’s chairman of selectors Mark Van De Heuvel said despite some difficulty with securing players for the week-long tournament, he is pleased with the final squad assembled.

“All in all we’ve picked a pretty good side considering (some unavailability),” he said.

Van De Heuvel said there is about seven bowling options in the squad and plenty of batting depth, which he feels will be important.

“There’s good, flat decks down there so if you can bat down to say nine it’s pretty handy to have,” he said.

Van De Heuvel said the aim is to win the competition, but if things started to go “pear-shaped” during the week, ensuring the BCA isn’t relegated is vital.

“The plan is to be there on the Friday in the final,” he said.

“We haven’t just picked a side to not get relegated and be competitive, we are going down there to have a crack at them.”

BCA’s campaign begins on January 30 with a clash against Geelong Cricket Association.