By Elliot Stevenson
Kingborough cruised to victory in the opening match of the women’s Kookaburra Cup, defeating Clarence by nine-wickets at the Twin Ovals on Sunday.
The Knights played with swagger, restricting their opponents to 95 before chasing down a rain-affected target with 6.2 overs to spare.
Playing-coach Emily Divin was thrilled to start the one-day season on a positive note.
“It was awesome,” she said. “It was brilliant to start the season that way.”
“We knew we had the capabilities in our group to get the job done yesterday and it was just awesome to see the girls out on the park.
“It was such a clinical effort to really dominate and get that early win.”
The all-round victory was capped by an all-round performance by Alice Kelly, who did the damage with the ball (4/28 off 6 overs) before playing a solid role with the bat (16 not out off 29 balls).
Divin says Kelly’s day out was a result of hard work put in behind the scenes.
“She's dominated for us in second grade for the last half a dozen years or so, and she just hadn't quite got the performances on the board yet this year,” she said. “But we know that she can bowl fast.”
“When she's on song, she bowls beautifully, and she bowled in really good areas yesterday.
“It was great to get her out bowling and get a good spell into her and see her get those rewards.
“And with the bat, she's just been kind of struggling a little bit to find form and get the runs on the board, but she's been training well and training hard, and it was just nice to see it all come together for her yesterday.”
While Kelly was important with bat in hand, it was Kingborough’s talisman Amy Gordon who provided the bulk of the runs once again.
Gordon has scored 316 runs this season at an average of 31.6 and continues to be a thorn in the side of opposition teams.
She hit an unbeaten 39 off 36 balls to guide the Knights home on Sunday, much to the delight of her coach.
“I don't know how to describe it,” Divin said. “She's been incredible.”
“How cleanly she strikes the ball, her bowling would be probably the most economical that we're seeing at the moment in the comp, and her fielding is elite.
“She's awesome to have around and we're loving having her.
“She's got great energy, and her performances are just stacking up.”
The win marks Kingborough’s first since October and comes after a lengthy layoff due to bye rounds and inclement weather.
The Knights had not completed a full game since a pair of losses to Clarence on November 2nd, but Divin says the lack of game time did not deter her side.
“It’s difficult not playing each week,” she said. “It's tricky to keep the group together and keep things moving.”
“We just train twice a week and we're communicating during the week.
“We keep our training efforts up and the intensity's been really good at training.
“We were really eager, we were really fresh, and I think that helped us yesterday.”
In the men’s competition, New Town completed an outright victory over University, despite a seven-wicket haul from Lions’ skipper Ruwantha Kellapotha.
Kellapotha took 7/72 in the first innings, ensuring the Bucks’ lead did not exceed 16, but a team bowling performance from New Town took control of the game.
Joe Graham (4/42 off 16 overs) spearheaded the attack, flanked by John Montgomery (3/8 off 7 overs) and spinner Jesse Willmott (2/10 off 5 overs) as Uni limped to 99.
It was Joe Randall who secured maximum points for Peter Di Venuto’s side, playing his way to an unbeaten 44 off 60 balls for a seven-wicket outright win.
North Hobart won its second match of the season, comprehensively defeating South Hobart-Sandy Bay by 200 runs at Queenborough.
Keshana Fonseka’s 191 off 241 balls last weekend proved the difference between the two sides, with no Sharks batter able to repeat the feats of the English recruit.
Nathan Hangan (4/36 off 13.3 overs) and Nick Davis (4/29 off 14.3) were ruthless with ball in hand as the Demons won for the first time in four weeks.
Mac Wright continued his blistering form in the CTPL with a 145-ball unbeaten century in Clarence’s seven-wicket win over Kingborough at the Twin Ovals.
The Knights’ first innings total of 212 was not enough to protect, with Wright and Roos skipper Justin Gaelotti (55 off 93 balls) making short work of the chase.
Clarence finished on 3-238, securing its second successive two-day victory and finishing the round second on the overall CTPL ladder.
The Roos sit behind only the recently crowned Kookaburra Cup premiers the Greater Northern Raiders, who continued their undefeated streak with an impressive win over Glenorchy across the weekend.
The Raiders declared at 7-312 in their first innings, led by the in-form Sam Omahony (73 not out off 125 balls) and with even contributions from the likes of Cooper Anthes (41 off 95 balls) and Jonathan Chapman (44 off 64 balls).
Chapman then starred with the ball, taking 4/17 off 15.5 overs and restricting Glenorchy to 131 alongside Kookaburra Cup final hero Ben Hann (3/26 off 11 overs).
With a 181-run lead, the Raiders enforced the follow-on, sending Glenorchy back in to face the music.
However, the Greater Northern bowlers were unable to produce the same magic, and the Magpies saw out the day with openers Ryan Graham-Daft (23 not out off 60 balls) and Mansukh Singh (36 not out off 42 balls).