Blues blitz Bulls to defend Matador Cup title

Cult hero and rising star Mickey Edwards has been named in NSW Blues' JLT One-Day Cup squad as the two-time defending champions aim to win a hat-trick of domestic 50-over titles.

Edwards, a towering right-arm fast bowler, rose to stardom last summer as a substitute fielder for Australia on the final day of the New Year’s Test against Pakistan on his home turf of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The 22-year-old, with his flowing golden locks and beaming smile, received a cheer reserved for a batsman reaching triple figures every time he fielded the ball.

Now Edwards has the chance to impress cricket fans with the ball in his hands in a bowling attack that features internationals Nathan Lyon, Gurinder Sandhu, Doug Bollinger and Sean Abbott.

Blues captain Moises Henriques has not been named in the squad but will lead the side in their opening match before joining Australia’s T20 international squad in India.

FULL SCHEDULE: JLT One-Day Cup

While he has not been selected in the 14-man squad, Test spearhead Mitchell Starc is expected to be added in the tournament he utterly dominated two years ago.

In 2015, Starc captured a record 26 wickets at 8.11 runs apiece in only six games as the Blues stampeded to the title with an eight-wicket win in the competition’s showpiece against South Australia.

Twelve months later it was Starc’s teammate and close friend Lyon who helped deliver NSW their second-straight trophy with a mesmerising 4-10 from 10 overs in the grand final victory over Queensland.

Lyon leads charge in Matador Cup final

Both of those finals were played at North Sydney Oval as much of the previous four domestic one-day tournaments have been held in Sydney.

But this year the JLT ODC will be spread across four cities: Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and the finals in Hobart.

NSW start their title defence in Perth on September 29 against Western Australia at the WACA Ground.

NSW Blues JLT One-Day Cup squad: Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Harry Conway, Ed Cowan, Mickey Edwards, Ryan Gibson, Daniel Hughes, Jay Lenton, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Arjun Nair, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Gurinder Sandhu