North Huon kicked off the season proper with 3 great wins on the weekend.
The North Huon 1st Grade 11 took on Kettering at Ranelagh on Saturday, and the threat of a thousand hooves had the ground looking lush and thick as it always does before mid November.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, dot balls were the order of the day as the opening batsmen found the going very slow and frustrating. Brad Pitt was able to work his way to 22 before getting caught, Kyle Paul and Josh Stevenson kept the innings going after it slumped to 4-56, and at 7-128 from 40, before Jacob Stanway and Bevan Roberts lifted the tempo, and was able to push the score up to 7-180 from their 50, which was worth a lot more on the scoreboard.
This was soon proven by the Warrior bowlers, as some tight lines and good fields saw the pressure build quickly.
Stevenson closed out his 10 overs for just 1-11, whilst Stanway had similar figures with 3-11 from 8 overs. Constant pressure from all the bowlers saw regular wickets tumble, Aiden Geeves taking 3-26 to see the Mariners dismissed for 110, and a 70 run win recorded for the Warriors to kick off the season.
B Grade hosted Longley at Glen Huon, and a couple of early wickets to the Warriors saw Jackson Pastoor and Will Quarrier combine to dig in for a 125 run stand to kick the innings into gear.
Pastoor finished with a great 79, whilst Quarrier belied his youthful years to bat with maturity, making 66. Marcus Raine hit a couple of quick runs to push the total to 9-273.
In reply, Longley lost regular wickets to end up with 97 – North Huon using 9 bowlers, with 7 of those sharing the spoils. Dylan Geeves impressed with hoop with the new ball, whilst Braxtyn Pike took his first wicket. A greta win with some of the future of the club shining though.
C1 Grade made the reciprocal trip over the hill to Kettering, and with evergreen Troy Geeves winning the toss and batting, set about putting together a competitive score.
Fresh from the mainland Feathers Crowe looked nothing like it was his first hit in 12 odd years, looking comfortable at one end. The loss of his opening partner McGuire saw Braeden Page, crutch in hand, hobble to the crease.
An illustrious display of one legged shots followed, as he limped, hopped and hobbled his way around the Kettering Oval, whilst his partners fell around him. Only Chopper Lovell was able to also reach double figures, along with Feathers, as BP resolutely brought up his maiden ton, finishing on 120 out of a team total of 202.
Set the challenge of defending, Taylor Campisi wobbled a few down to cause some problems, taking three early wickets. The Kettering keeper threatened to finished things early, but the reluctant bowler Evergreen Geeves brought himself on and was able to take the key wicket. From there, he took two more, whilst BP lobbed a couple of to take three as well. With the Mariners closing in on the total, Jerry McGuire was brought on and duly sorted out the innings, taking a caught and bowled to give North Huon a win by 12 runs.
The Club was unable to scratch together a C2 Grade side this week. We are committed to getting this up and going, however know we will struggle again with a traditionally bad week for availability with the Hobart Show.
If you are after a social game in a relaxed environment, feel free to contact the club, or come along for some social interaction Thursday night at Ranelagh. We will cater around players availability, family and work, and will have numbers come back after this week, so if you are interested in having a run come along!
North Huon Master Blasters kicked off this Sunday at Ranelagh, taking on Slab Road in a relaxed game. The boys had a blast, and will look forward to heading down to Cygnet this coming week.
Junior Blaster (age 5-8) will kick off Thursday November 1 from 5pm at Ranelagh – there are still spots available so feel free to come along for a look.
Hurricanes Youth Cat 1 will start Monday October 29, with Under 13s and Under 15s currently training Monday nights from 4:30pm at Ranelagh.
1st Grade host Summerleas Eagles at Ranelagh on Saturday in a rematch of last years A2 final, whilst B Grade head to Lightwood Park to take on the Eagles.
C1 Grade will host the Kingston Crows at Ranelagh, while C2 are scheduled to play the Eagles at Lightwood as well.