Elliot Stevenson
New Town will be playing in next month’s semi-finals, securing its place with a dominant outright win over South Hobart-Sandy Bay in Round 23 of the CTPL.
The Bucks opened the match with a strong batting performance, making 314 through 87 overs.
A solid New Town middle-order display included an impressive 76 off 80 balls from Caelan Maladay.
Maladay then followed up his work with the bat, taking 6/12 off 13.2 overs to help dismiss the Sharks for just 82
Coach Peter Di Venuto gave his flowers to Maladay, who is much improved this season.
“He’s a good player,” he said.
“He’s one of three or four that have played in the Second XI for Tasmania this year.
“He has performed to get those opportunities.
“He’s just starting to get a little bit of due rewards for his efforts.”
With a lead of 232, New Town enforced the follow-on on South Hobart-Sandy Bay, and continued to dismantle them with the ball.
This time around, it was John Montgomery who did the bulk of the damage for the Bucks, taking 5/24 off 9.4 overs.
The Sharks only managed 104, and a combined 186 over the two innings, 128-runs shy of New Town’s single innings total.
“At the end of the day, you don’t go looking for outright wins, they present themselves.” Di Venuto said.
“They’re hard to get.
“I thought we bowled really well.
“We were pretty consistent in forcing the opposition to play the ball and make a decision.”
The Bucks are now guaranteed to play finals, and can potentially host a semi-final if they catch University in second place.
Di Venuto ensures his side are not concerned with what may be, instead focusing on how they perform each weekend.
“That’s not a controllable for us [finishing top two], because we’re reliant on University to lose games,” he said.
“All we can do is to control playing good cricket.
“We know that we will play finals, and we’re looking forward to getting back and doing that.”
Kingborough has extended its lead at the top of the CTPL ladder with a crucial outright win against second placed University at the Twin Ovals.
The Knights bowled first, and consistent opening bowler Cameron Walter took 4/23, while young leg spinner James Scott put forth his best performance of the year, ending with figures of 4/18 off 8 overs.
Uni managed just 86 on a tricky Twin Ovals pitch.
The Knights didn’t fare much better than their opponents, but five scores of 20 or higher ensured they would win on first innings and enter the second with a lead of 76.
Lions captain Param Uppal proved he can influence the game in more than one way, taking 7/36 to keep his side in the game.
Runs seemed hard to come by for both sides, but with the pitch flattening out slightly, Uni managed 159 to lead by 83 midway through day two.
Predictably, Kingborough was able to negotiate its way through the final stages of the match, winning outright with seven wickets in hand.
The Knights now lead at the top of the ladder by a monstrous 18 points, a seemingly unreachable target for Uni.
It was quite the opposite story at Invermay Park in the match between Greater Northern and North Hobart, with runs the key theme across the weekend.
The Raiders batted first, making 291 through 79.2 overs.
Playing-coach Alistair Taylor scored his third century of the season, making 102 off 170.
He was supported by Sam Omahony [73 off 158 balls] in a massive partnership of 186.
Left-arm seamer James Wilson took 5/42 for North Hobart, his first major haul of 2024-25.
With a top four spot on the line, the Demons went out to bat with a large weight on their shoulders.
Opener Kade Applebee [44 off 62 balls] ensured his side started well, but it was a blistering return to form for gun batsman Nick Davis [109 not out off 124 balls] that guaranteed the victory for North Hobart.
The Demons have maintained their place in the finals positions with the two-wicket win, now seven points clear of Greater Northern in fifth.
Lindisfarne has kept its season alive once again with a dominant win over Glenorchy at ANZAC Park.
The Lightning bowled their opponents out for just 38, with Keegan Oates [6/12 off 9.1 overs] and Sebastian Brown [4/15 off 6 overs] proving too good for the Magpies batting lineup.
Oates has now taken three five-wicket hauls this season and is equal second in leading wicket-takers throughout the competition.
Jarrod Freeman [52 off 21 balls] then hit a rapid-fire half-century, continuing his strong form with the bat since returning to the Lightning lineup.
Brandon Kopper [4/52 off 9 overs] and Jyles Horne [4/41 off 9.5 overs] limited the damage for Glenorchy, but Lindisfarne still made 205 to lead by 167.
The Magpies’ second innings proved more successful than the first, as were 2-165 at stumps on day one.
Ryan Graham-Daft [76 not out off 135 balls] and Josh Hartill [68 off 93 balls] got their side into a much-improved position, before the game was abandoned before a ball was bowled on day two.
With the win, Lindisfarne are equal on points with Greater Northern, with one eye on North Hobart in fourth position.
In the women’s competition, Greater Northern has secured its place alongside North Hobart in the one-day grand final in March, following a run-filled win over New Town.
Devonport Oval played host to three impressive centuries from both teams, with the total runs scored from the match totalling 500.
The Raiders batted first, with an opening partnership from Emma Manix-Geeves [113 off 94 balls] and Montana Bradley [116 not out off 110 balls] reaching 227, before Manix-Geeves was dismissed.
Bradley continued on with captain Ava Curtis to take Greater Northern to 1-288 at the conclusion of its innings.
Lizelle Lee [116 off 76 balls] spearheaded the chase for New Town but had little in the way of support.
After Lee’s wicket fell, the Bucks could only manage an extra 24 runs to reach 212, 76 runs short of the Raiders total.
Greater Northern still remains a point behind league leaders North Hobart, despite the Demons losing to Clarence at Kangaroo Bay on Sunday.
Again, it was a story of a lone soldier with the bat, with Mia Barwick scoring 84 not out off 120 balls.
The next highest score was only 27, contributing to a meagre total of 195.
Tabatha Saville took 4/37 off 9 overs for Clarence, the first time she has bowled over four overs this season.
It was playing-coach Maisy Gibson who fired the Roos to victory, making 80 not out off 97 balls, securing the win with just 20 balls remaining of an allocated 45 overs.