Tom Groth to assume captain and coach role for Central North at Country Championships

The Central North keeper and skipper, Groth will also dip his toes into the coaching waters, which he remarked "should be interesting".

He is though looking forward to it and believes the squad is shaping up well.

"We're as good as we can be," he said.

"We're a young side and we've got nothing to lose."

"I think the wickets are going to be pretty good down there, they usually are on the Central Coast. We just need to get down there and do the little things well and control what we can control and we'll see how we go."

The squad is a mix of seasoned campaigners, exciting young talent and a few returning familiar faces.

"Tom Irwin's back and Aaron Mahoney's back. They're guys that have played before and they get another opportunity," Groth said.

"They're in their mid-20's now. They played when they were a bit younger and they're probably a bit more experienced now and hopefully that makes a difference for them and they can perform for us."

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They have also picked up Andrew Harriott.

The former Old Boys keeper-batsmen and one-time Melbourne Renegade is currently plying his trade for University in the Newcastle competition after eight summers in Sydney and is a big inclusion.

"He's a very experienced cricketer now and played at a pretty high level for a number of years so it will be pretty awesome to have him around not only for his batting but also having him around the group," Groth said.

"I think the young guys can bounce off him. He'll be a real leader for us."

Central North get their campaign underway against the hosts on Friday and will be looking to emulate their success last year, beating Central Coast on the opening day. They then face Newcastle on Saturday and North Coastal on Sunday.

Groth was one of several of the side that suited up for the Northern Inland Bolters in last weekend's Regional Bash pool games in Tamworth and got a bit of a look at some of the players they will be coming up against this weekend, as well as some of his own side that he hadn't seen a lot of.

Dylan Smith is one of those and "will be better for the run".

"Playing this weekend he'll be primed for next weekend," Groth said.

The Narrabri paceman was one who impressed him over the weekend, stepping up with fellow teen Jack Montgomery to spearhead the pace attack.

Central North squad: Tom Groth (c), Michael Rixon, Andrew Harriott, Tim Baker, Sean Gibson, Nick Smart, Aaron Mahoney, Simon Norvill, Matt Lynch, Jack Montgomery, Tom Stacy, Lachlan Cameron, Tom Irwin, Bryan Warren, Dylan Smith.Coach: Tom Groth, Assistant Coach: Mitch Woods, Scorer: Katrina King