The top three teams from each group will proceed to a Super Round, with medals games to follow.

“I am a bit surprised that United States will not be playing,” Tony Harris said. “We thought they could have put together a college-type All-Star team. So that is a surprise, but there are no surprises about some of the other clubs, like Japan, Chinese Taipei and Korea.”

“They have been preparing for months and will obviously be tough opponents.”

Taking into the tournament a tough and uncompromising playing approach that has typified Australian national teams over many years now, the Under 23 squad (listed below) will suit up aiming to win each and every game in which it competes, although Harris is under no illusions about the dimension of the tasks ahead.

“Our hope – and our expectation - is to get to the Super Round and see where that takes us,” he said, “but we know we will have to be at our best.”

“Not all of these kids who we select will have even played a lot at Australian Baseball League level, so it is a great opportunity for them to be exposed on the world stage.”

“Some of them – like George, Sayers and Younis - were with us for the Honkbal tournament. They have had a taste of the team culture and they will have another opportunity to become immersed in the way that we seek to do things.”

“It is a great chance for us to see these and other less-heralded players again,” he said. “And it is an opportunity for all of the selected players to stake their claims for future national team selection – including the World Baseball Classic next year and the Premier 12 looking even further ahead.”

Expected to be announced this week, the Under 23 World Cup playing squad will get together in Sydney between 22 and 25 October and will have some competitive game time prior to departure for Mexico.

The tournament will be played on several fields in Monterrey and surrounds – including the Estadio de Beisbol, which boasts seating of up to 27,000 – a boon for passionate local fans who will baying for success of their own national team that is currently ranked eighth in the world.

“Our preparation will be fairly limited,” Tony Harris said. “We will play a game or two against Sydney Blue Sox, we will have a couple of workouts in Monterrey and will take it from there.”

“Even though international competition is different to domestic baseball and the ABL, we have a decent read on the other ball clubs and we know what we have to do to be successful.”

“Most of our players will have been through Academy programmes and we are well aware of their capacities,” he said. “They will come into the tournament refreshed and should not require a great deal of skills instruction.”

“Of course they will need some at-bats and there will be some tweaking of our defensive structures to get that where we want. We have an experience and feel for how other countries play the game, so our emphasis will be on intra-squad work.”

“We will have a number of meetings to ensure that the players understand our philosophy and embrace our approach to the game,” he said. “It is great to have Jon (Deeble) on board as base coach, since he understands our baseball culture and our players better than anyone.”

“In the end it is all about execution,” he said. “We have to apply our skills in key situations, we will have to do all of the team things right at all times – and we will have to play consistently high quality defence against teams that we know will be polished and ready for the tournament.”

“As we know from experience, one game can make all the difference in tournament baseball.”

“Every game is different, and every game offers another opportunity,” Harris said. “What we can be absolutely sure of is that the players on this club will bring that typically grinding, determined style of Australian baseball that will keep us in the competition against any odds.”