Former Test bowler and ACT/NSW Country Comets captain Trent Copeland will lead a new-look side featuring just five Canberra first grade players in the Futures League.
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Copeland will lead the Comets in their season opener against New South Wales Metro at Manuka Oval beginning on Monday.
The 31-year-old is part of an influx of Sydney players set to don a Comets cap following the rebirth of a Cricket ACT-Cricket NSW alliance.
The joint venture allows NSW to be rebranded "NSW Metro", bringing the Futures League competition in line with Cricket Australia's underage representative teams.
Weston Creek Molonglo pair Jono Dean and Harry Medhurst, Queanbeyan batsman Dean Solway, North Canberra Gungahlin all-rounder Ben Taylor, and Tuggeranong skipper Shane Devoy are the only Comets currently playing in the ACT competition.
Canberra products Henry Hunt and Blake Macdonald are now plying their trade in Sydney alongside the rest of the squad.
Copeland played three Tests for Australia and has 263 first class wickets to his name and his experience could still prove invaluable to the Comets outfit.
The NSW Blues and NSW Metro outfits are still the state's first and second XI's, but Canberra is the central base for all NSW players outside the Sydney metropolitan area.
Rumours were circulating that the Comets program could move to Sydney given the arrangement, but those talks were quickly shut down by Cricket ACT chief executive Cameron French.
French said Australian cricket's new memorandum of understanding formalised the ACT's links with country NSW, leading to the rebirth of the Comets arrangement.
FUTURES LEAGUE ROUND ONE
Monday-Wednesday: ACT/NSW Country Comets v NSW Metro at Manuka Oval, 10.30am.
ACT/NSW Country Comets squad: Trent Copeland (captain), Henry Hunt, Nick Larkin, Jono Dean, Jay Lenton (wk), Blake Macdonald, Andrew Harriott, Dean Solway, Ben Taylor, Nathan McAndrew, Shane Devoy, Harry Medhurst.
NSW Metro squad: Wil Somerville (c), Nic Bertus, Nic Bills, Josh Clarke, Jordan Gauci, Liam Hatcher, Damien Mortimer, Arjun Nair, Luke Ohrynowsky, Daniel Sams, Daniel Solway, Charlie Stobo.
