Illawarra begin preparations for their second season in the Sydney T20 competition with Sunday’s  match against South Coast and a trial against Bankstown at North Dalton Park on Wednesday night. 

Illawarra face  South Coast at Oakleigh Park, before a T20 clash with  Bankstown, to be  preceded by Illawarra Cricket’s season launch on Wednesday  from 5pm.

Illawarra will have a new skipper this season with Keira premiership-winning captain Graeme Batty playing in Sydney.

In a busy representative schedule, Illawarra host Sutherland on October 8 before facing Eastern Suburbs and Randwick-Petersham in a home double header on October 12 in the first rounds of the Sydney T20 competition.

Bankstown are likely to include several former South Coast stars in their squad for Wednesday night’s  clash. 

Top former Oak Flats opener Michael Arblaster and ex-Lake Illawarra opener Kerrod White have joined Bankstown and will play alongside other leading South Coast players Nathan McAndrew and Mitch Phelps.

   Meanwhile, Cricket Illawarra president Mark Johnston confirmed Illawarra would have a role in the T20 Big Bash preseason of the Sydney Sixers by playing a T20 match on Tuesday, December 16.

 Illawarra will also host the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the SCG Country Cup on the weekend of December 27-28.

 Next Saturday’s  opening round of the 2014-15 Illawarra competition will also be the first round of the SCG Country Cup.

  The Illawarra comp begins with one-dayers; Keira hosting Wests Illawarra, University at home to Port Kembla, Balgownie to welcome Northern Districts, Corrimal at home to Helensburgh and Dapto hosting Wollongong.

The South Coast comp starts on October 11.