Elliot Stevenson
The Greater Northern Raiders have made the perfect start to the CTPL season following a pair of victories at Windsor Oval across Saturday and Sunday.
The reigning Kookaburra Cup premiers defeated both New Town and Glenorchy, utilising the extra fixture to go a game clear on top of the ladder over Saturday’s winners.
Coach Clinton Reid praised his team’s belief after Saturday’s hard-fought victory over New Town, in which the Raiders chased down 265.
“You never know what to expect at the start of the season,” he said.” So, it was very pleasing to walk away with two wins.
“Saturday's game in particular was a high standard game of cricket, so that was exciting for everyone.
“I don't know if we were confident until late in the [second] innings.
“We had a bit of a plan to back end the innings and put a bit of responsibility on the top order to have someone there late in the innings, which we executed well.
“And the conditions were quite tough for bowling with the wind, so we knew that there's going to be opportunities for boundaries late if we had some set batters in the crease, which we managed to do.”
New Town’s newest recruit Jai Lemire hit 160 off 141 balls, a brilliant start to his CTPL career, while Josh Hartill added an unbeaten 76.
In response, four Raiders players scored over 40, with opening batsman Tom Dwyer (62 off 87 balls) top scoring.
Sunday’s game against Glenorchy proved much more comfortable for Reid’s side, with the coach complimentary of his bowling attack.
“Right from the start, they were able to execute, and scoring was kept to a minimum, which was good,” he said.
“Sam Omahony obviously took some wickets at the top of the order and got the ball rolling and then young Oli Green; it was nice to see him take his first Premier League wicket after debuting Sunday.
“Everyone executed nicely and kept it to 123, which is a comfortable chase in the end.”
While the chase was kept relatively low by the bowlers, there was still room for Cooper Anthes (71 not out off 71 balls) to step up and guide the home side to victory.
“He was excellent,” Reid said. “And just the game awareness to set it up and allow us to be able to chase that double bonus point.”
“He got himself into that position and once again, I think bowling is quite difficult given the conditions and the wind. The knowledge that we gained from yesterday helped.
“He’s had a good start to the year, runs on both days, which is nice.
“But we've had contribution from pretty much everyone over the two days, which is a pleasing thing also.”
The Raiders cruised home to win by seven wickets and maintaining their undefeated start to the season.
Kingborough proved too strong for South Hobart-Sandy Bay at the Twin Ovals, as competition young gun Zac Curtain began his campaign with 76 off 99 balls.
Alex Vincent also chipped in with 69 off 99 balls, as the Knights posted 7-241 to chase.
Sharks’ all-rounder Will Prestwidge was impressive with both ball and bat, taking 3-40 off 10 overs before narrowly missing out on a maiden century for his side, hitting 98 off 103 balls.
South Hobart-Sandy Bay’s high-prize recruit Nitesh Samuel (41 off 71 balls) showed a glimpse of his talent, but it was Kingborough’s day to celebrate.
Vincent’s 4-27 off seven overs ensured a 41-run victory for the hosts in the opening game of the season.
Clarence’s stars were on full display at Kangaroo Bay Oval, as Ben McDermott (92 not out off 118 balls) and Mac Wright (57 off 68 balls) took the sword to North Hobart.
The Roos kept their opponents to 7-230, with newly appointed Demons’ playing-coach Sam Truloff (59 off 73 balls) doing his best to maximise his side’s total.
But it was all Clarence on Saturday afternoon, as the reigning two-day premiers came home with a flourish to win by six wickets.
Lindisfarne’s Lachie Nichols took 5-29 off eight overs in a tremendous display against University at Anzac Park.
Nichols tore through the Lions’ middle-order, taking the key wickets of Bradley Hope (25 off 19 balls) and Charlie Hill (58 off 82 balls) and helping to bowl out the visitors for just 188.
A somewhat tricky chase was led by star recruits Teague Wyllie (49 off 49 balls) and Tom Hogan (47 not out off 86 balls, before the experienced Keegan Oates finished the job in style.
Oates hit an unbeaten 40 off 29 balls, with seven boundaries making up 28 of those runs.
The Lightning won by five wickets with 7.5 overs remaining.
In the women’s competition, New Town dismantled Clarence on Sunday, with Kate Pelle making a spectacular century on debut for the Bucks.
Pelle, who played for Parramatta in Sydney’s first-grade competition last season, has joined the Tigers program as well as New Town this year.
She began with 128 off 140 balls, perhaps a sign of things to come for Pelle and the Bucks in 2026-27.
With 287 on the board, the game was in New Town’s hands from the very start, and Clarence could not muster an unlikely chase.
Vanessa Dobson took 3-18 off 7 overs, while Amy Smith returned for a one-off game to make 45 and take 1-12 off four overs.
The Bucks won by 164 runs in the end, after bowling out the Roos for 123.
Kingborough defeated reigning premiers North Hobart in a rematch of last year’s Kookaburra Cup grand final.
Former Knight turned Demon Josie Rose displayed her power, smashing an unbeaten 56 off 43 balls as North Hobart were dismissed for 220.
Playing-coach Julia Cavanough was also influential, hitting 59 off 93 balls, while Nikki Carter (4-43 off nine overs) starred with the ball for Kingborough.
But it was the Amy Gordon show once again for the Knights, as last season’s Kim Fazackerley medallist made her second century for the club.
Gordon hit an unbeaten 119 off 123 balls, including 14 fours, to guide her side to a fairly comfortable six-wicket victory, a measure of grand final revenge seven months later.