NSW finished bottom in the one-day and Sheffield Shield competitions last summer, but watch out for the Baby Blues this time around, paceman Burt Cockley says.
The Novocastrian took 4-39 off 8.1 overs, his career-best figures in his fourth one-day cup appearance, as the Blues smashed Western Australia off the park with a seven-wicket win at North Sydney Oval yesterday.
NSW collected a bonus point for scoring 3-184 in 36.4 overs in reply to 179, but the Blues also boosted their hopes of a big season.
Fresh from their victory in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India a week ago, the Blues are determined to avoid two more wooden spoons.
''As far as being blooded, last year there was a bit of criticism about us being so young,'' man of the match Cockley said yesterday.
''On the positive, there's just good signs that NSW cricket has got so much talent coming through.
''There's so much pressure on the guys in the team just to do well. We're seeing now with all the young guys Steve [Smith, aged 20], Phil [Hughes, 20] and Davie [Warner, 23] are hitting their straps.
''As you can tell from the Champions League, they're very positive signs for us. A lot of the guys are maturing a lot.''
Smith took two wickets and hit an unbeaten 31, while Hughes made 72 not out. AAP