Sohail Tanvir is in line to make his Twenty20 debut for Hampshire Royals, as the current champions begin the defence of their Friends Life t20 crown against Surrey at the Ageas Bowl.
Tanvir has picked up seven wickets in his first two Yorkshire Bank 40 games for the Royals, against Derbyshire Falcons and Durham Dynamos, and the Pakistani all-rounder is set to continue to lead Hampshire's bowling attack in his first t20 game for the club.
The 2010 and 2012 champions are expected to name a similar side to that which has garnered five victories from their seven YB40 games but seamer David Griffiths and all-rounder Hamza Riazuddin also come into contention with captain Dimitri Mascarenhas an injury doubt.
Surrey have Australia legend Ricky Ponting and former Hampshire man Glenn Maxwell in their ranks, but Tanvir is confident his side can make a positive start.
He said: "We have a balanced t20 side, and if we play to the best of our ability we have a great chance in this competition.
"I'm excited to start the t20 competition in English county cricket for the first time. Luckily, I'm playing with the team that won it last year and that gives me confidence.
"Surrey are also a well-balanced side with people like Ponting, but we should believe in ourselves as a team and put in 100% effort.
"I haven't had much chance to play against him (Ponting) but I've seen him play a lot. I know his game and I'll try to tackle him as much as I can.”
South Africa batsman Neil McKenzie will skipper the Royals team should Mascarenhas fail to prove his fitness.
Despite his injury concerns, Mascarenhas is in confident mood ahead of the start of the competition.
He said: "We've been pretty good over the last few years so it's important we get off to a good start. We are looking forward to three really good games before our next championship game.
"I know we won it last year, but I don't think we were the best side. So this year what I would like us to be is the best side throughout and really be consistent.
“We're going to have to play some serious cricket this year because all the teams are going to want to knock us off our perch."
Spinner Danny Briggs is not in the Hampshire squad after his call-up to the England side for their two t20 Internationals against New Zealand at The Kia Oval while Kevin Pietersen, named alongside Briggs, will miss out for the visitors.