Elliot Stevenson
Lindisfarne will be searching for a second consecutive win as they take on University on Saturday.
In a match where both sides are coming off the back of a win, Lindisfarne will once again have its back against the wall against the firepower of the Lions.
Lightning coach Matt Wilkie maintains his young team will need to continue improving in order to be a consistently competitive outfit.
“There are definitely some areas we’ve identified we can keep improving on,” he said.
“It’s a young team, but they’re very talented, so we don’t want to go easy on them.
“In four or five-years’ time if this group sticks together, they’ll be a very good team.”
The visitors will be bolstered by a returning fast bowler.
“We’ve got Sam Belford back,” Wilkie said.
“He’s a very handy, consistent bowler to bring back in.”
Belford managed five matches for Lindisfarne last season and has returned from Queensland to be slotted right into the Lightning attack.
University grinded out a vital win away at Clarence last weekend and returns to its home ground for the first time this season under new coach Ben Hilfenhaus.
Clarence will look to bounce back after a disappointing loss to University last week.
New Town is seeking an unprecedented 3-0 start as they play host to South Hobart-Sandy Bay at the Twin Ovals.
Picking up crucial victories over Clarence and Kingborough, the Bucks form has been excellent, indicated by their occupancy at the apex of the CTPL ladder.
South Hobart-Sandy Bay has played just once, a game in which it lost convincingly to Greater Northern in Launceston.
The Sharks will look to get gun recruit Will Prestwidge firing with the bat, having already shown his class as a bowler, taking 3-49 last weekend.
The Roos missed out on the opportunity to go to 2-0 and will host an undefeated North Hobart on Saturday.
They will be looking for someone to stand up with the bat, with their highest score of the season being just 23 from both Ryan Borsboom and Harry Allanby.
On the flipside, North Hobart are refreshened off a bye, as well as a dominant win in the opening round of the season.
The Demons put together a total of 355 against Lindisfarne, including a smashing century from Jordan Silk.
Sunday sees Kingborough travel north to take on the undefeated Greater Northern Raiders in a mouthwatering top four clash.
The Raiders top order solidity and bottom order hitting has seen them sit second on the ladder, joining New Town as the only 2-0 teams to start the 2024-25 season.
Kingborough is aiming to put aside its woes of last weekend and recapture the form that saw it win two premierships last season.
In the women’s competition, a quadruplet of T20 matches take place on Sunday.
A young Clarence side will look to shelve the disappointment of last weekend, where it lost twice to reigning premiers North Hobart.
The Roos host New Town, who played out a double-header which ended 1-1 against Greater Northern two weeks ago.
Bucks’ opener Bethany Lane made 45 off 47 balls last week and will provide a threat for Nathan Wegman’s side if she returns from the T20 Spring Challenge in Sydney.
The other fixture involves North Hobart, which sit pretty at the top of the T20 ladder following it’s dominant 2-0 start last week against Clarence.
Melodie Armstrong, Clare Scott, and Shelby Leonard were just a few of the stars that ensured the Demons’ perfect record so far in 2024-25.
Greater Northern will look to close the gap as they travel south to face reigning premiers at the Twin Ovals.
Montana Bradley has been in stellar form opening the batting, while Payton took a 5-for in the opening fixture.