BENDIGO United's Riley Treloar and Kangaroo Flat's Luke Stagg are the two debutantes named for the Bendigo District Cricket Association's Melbourne Country Week campaign next month.
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The BDCA has finalised a squad of 14 for the carnival, which hits off on Monday, February 12.
Bendigo will be competing in Provincial Group's white pool alongside Wangaratta, Mornington and Sale Maffra, with the team to be coached by Tony Ryan.
This year's MCW squad is dominated by players from Strathdale-Maristians and Kangaroo Flat - the two sides that sit first and second on the ladder and contested last season's grand final.
Of the squad of 14 players 11 are from either the Suns or the Roos.
There are six Strathdale-Maristians players in the squad - captain Grant Waldron, Jack Neylon, Daniel Clohesy, James Barri, Sam Johnston and wicket-keeper Matt Wilkinson.
And there are five Kangaroo Flat players - Dylan Klemm, Jake Klemm, Adam Burns, Brent Hamblin and Stagg.
The only non-Suns or Roos' players in the squad are vice-captain Liam Smith (Golden Square), Kyle Humphrys (Bendigo) and Treloar (Bendigo United).
In what's remarkable testament to his longevity and ability to continue to perform at a high level, 43-year-old Burns is headed to another carnival having already been recognised as a Melbourne Country Week Hall of Fame member.
He has represented the BDCA at 17 previous carnivals - the first in 2002 - and combined 130 wickets with 474 runs and been a member of two Provincial Group titles in 2010 and 2020.
After taking another four scalps for Kangaroo Flat against Strathdale-Maristians last Saturday, Burns is the BDCA's leading wicket-taker this season with 26.
"The experience of a guy like Burnsy is just invaluable, especially for the younger guys in the squad," Bendigo coach Tony Ryan said on Wednesday.
"Burnsy is in exceptional form at the moment and the fact we use the Dukes ball as well makes him an added threat.
"We've got tremendous experience in our bowling line-up with Burnsy, Brent Hamblin and Sammy Johnston."
Left-armer Burns will be a key member of the BDCA's frontline bowling attack that also includes Hamblin, Dylan Klemm, Johnston and Stagg, who recently represented Victoria at the Australian Country Cricket Championships.
There is also a quartet of spinning options in Smith, Humphrys, Barri and Jake Klemm.
The batting will be headlined by skipper Waldron, Neylon, Clohesy, Barri, Humphrys, Jake Klemm and Treloar.
Following a two-year hiatus in 2021 and 2022, Melbourne Country Week returned last year with Bendigo splitting its two games 2-2.
Humphrys, Clohesy, Waldron, Wilkinson, Smith and Barri are the only returning players from last year's squad.
Humphrys was last year's standout player at MCW for Bendigo, leading the team in both runs (117) and wickets (9).
Ryan is also a new coach after taking the reins recently from Chris Squibb.
Provincial Group is split into two pools - white and blue.
The blue pool features Ferntree Gully, Leongatha, Geelong and Warrnambool.
The Provincial Group final will be played on Friday, February 16, at the Junction Oval.
Bendigo Melbourne Country Week fixture:
Monday - v Wangaratta at Greenvale.
Tuesday - v Mornington at Fitzroy-Doncaster.
Wednesday - v Sale-Maffra at Brunswick.
Thursday - to be confirmed.
Friday - final.
