North Hobart has completed a monumental chase against Glenorchy to propel itself into a finals position in Round 22 of the CTPL season.
Caleb Jewell has continued his form from the One-Day Cup with Tasmania, scoring a second century within three days, this time belting 128 off 127 balls.
The Demons took six early wickets on Saturday, restricting Glenorchy to just 48 runs in the morning session.
Coach Richard Cowlard was impressed with his side’s bowling attack.
“It was really important for us to get those wickets [early on day two],” he said.
“We didn’t want Josh [Hartill] to get too far ahead and take more time out of the game.
“We knew it was going to turn.
“Then we had Raf [MacMillan] who broke open the game early on.
“It was really good by the bowlers in the morning.”
Glenorchy finished on 336 despite the late-order collapse, a formidable target for North Hobart’s batting lineup.
Cowlard, however, remained steadfast in his belief of the ability of his team.
“We thought that was whatever they set us was going to be pretty gettable on the wicket,” he said.
“We were pretty confident going into day two.”
Despite Kade Applebee falling early for just 8, Aiden Bariol proved a capable partner for Caleb Jewell.
The two put on 161, with Bariol unable to convert on his innings, making 86 off 78 balls.
“It’s always nice to see Caleb in-form and having a go,” Cowlard said.
“I think he struggled a bit with the bat in the Shield, so to see him get back-to-back hundreds is just awesome, not just for the club but for himself as well.
“It was awesome to see Caleb and Aiden put a big partnership together.
“I think we’ve only had about three or four partnerships of note.”
A half-century from Nick Davis [57 off 59 balls] secured a five-wicket win for the Demons, ensuring they would finish the round a point ahead of the now fifth-place Greater Northern Raiders.
Glenorchy remains winless in red-ball competition and last in the table, ahead of a match with Lindisfarne next weekend.
The Lightning will head into that match with a pepped step, having defeated the former table-toppers University by 214-runs on Saturday.
A convincing team bowling performance protected their score of 329, dismissing Uni for just 115 in a rout.
Sam Belford [3/28 off 11 overs] starred for Lindisfarne with the ball, bowling six maidens.
The Kookaburra Cup and T20 premiers Uni were able to stave off a potential outright loss, seeing out 17 overs at the end of the day to save face.
The Lightning have sustained their chances of making the finals and are currently trailing by only seven points to North Hobart in fourth place.
Kingborough has won outright against South Hobart-Sandy Bay, unseating University at the summit of the CTPL mountain.
The Knights completed their first innings victory early on Saturday morning, courtesy of a five-wicket haul from opener Cameron Walter [5/37 off 11 overs].
The Sharks were bowled out for just 109, before being made to bat again by Kingborough.
This time, it was playing-coach Tom Martyn who did the damage, taking six wickets, including the last five of the innings.
South Hobart-Sandy Bay went in front by just seven runs, a lead that was quickly erased by first-innings century-maker Zak Honeybrook to secure the first outright win of the season, competition-wide.
The Knights have catapulted themselves eight points clear of rivals University and remain the only undefeated team in the two-day competition this season.
In the women’s competition, North Hobart and Greater Northern have further staked their claims to be the two sides in the one-day decider in March.
North Hobart beat a struggling New Town in front of a good crowd at the Bat4Boobs event at New Town Oval.
The event was seen a success, with all money raised from the day going to breast cancer research and nurses around Australia.
On the field, a strong bowling performance from the Demons, including Ella Marsh [4/21 off 8 overs] and Mia Barwick [3/32 off 9 overs], restricted New Town to 186.
Clare Scott provided an early spark for North Hobart, hitting 43 off 42 balls, while Ella Marsh [31 off 53 balls] and Josephine Nkomo [20 not out off 38 balls] finished the job for Stef Daffara’s team.
The Demons are now almost guaranteed to be playing in March’s grand final, having lost just one one-day game this season.
A rain-affected game between Clarence and Greater Northern at Kangaroo Bay resulted in a fourth consecutive win for the visitors from the north of the state.
Sophia Di Venuto [57 off 95 balls] and Kate Sherriff [76 off 101 balls] took Clarence to 6-213, despite losing four overs to the weather.
The rain failed to faze Greater Northern’s captain Ava Curtis [65 off 82 balls], who hit her fifth half-century of season 2024-25.
She was partnered by 21-year-old Hobart Hurricane Hayley Silver-Holmes, who made 70 off 72 balls, and contributed to the partnership of 105 between the two young batters.
Veteran Sasha Moloney [21 not out off 14 balls] was able to steer the Raiders home, pushing them 11 points clear of Clarence in third.