EARLY victories in the opening rounds of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association A grade competition can help teams secure a finals berth after Christmas, and with round one of the 2024-25 season starting today.

College v Casterton District

WITH plenty of new recruits joining the teams the choice of match of the round is difficult, but College hosts Casterton District at College Turf in a replay of round one from last season.

The Maroons were brilliant at the short format this time last summer, winning their first five matches, but the form wave fizzled out and the next four rounds came and went without success.

College couldn’t string together a number of victories, struggling for momentum week to week.

Lachie Watt takes on the Eagles’ captaincy, with today’s clash set to put his strategy to the test.

Portland Tigers v Tahara

TAHARA returns to the top grade after a decade-long absence, and with its match against Portland Tigers being played at Monivae Turf, it will feel like a home match for the Bluecaps.

Tahara has played much more cricket at the venue than the Tigers so its players will be quite used to the surroundings, but the Tigers chose to move this home game from Hanlon Park to gain experience on the venue that’s expected to host the grand final next March.

New recruit, Taine Morris, can easily take the new ball or come into the attack at the first change, while also batting high in the order, but the Tahara top four seem very settled with Marcus Rhook, Kieran Barker, Brad Gaucci, and Sam Brewer being very successful and settled in their positions.

Grampians v Gorae-Portland

GRAMPIANS begins its summer by hosting Gorae-Portland at Dunkel Turf and the Pumas will be keen to continue their string of early season victories.

The home team has been the one team that chases the extra bonus point on offer in the short format matches for defeating the opposition quickly, and these extra bonus points have helped the Pumas reach the finals.

With the weather conditions across the district not being conducive to the drying of turf wickets, and the surface may provide the bowlers from both team’s assistance throughout the day.

Nick Wills will lead his team from the front with bat and ball in hand, and he is the key wicket for the home side, while Will Collins is the Pumas skipper who always leads from the front.

South Portland v Macarthur

MACARTHUR travels to Cavalier Park to battle South Portland and the biggest tussle may well be the one-on-one contest between Macarthur’s new ball bowlers, Kyle Smitten and Josh Belleville against South Portland skipper Scott Martin.

Martin will open the batting for the home side and his style to try and score from each ball which the two bowlers will have to nullify, or the home side will score plenty.

Macarthur is not going to be at full strength for the game, but it will have Ollie Wortley back from university for the match and his batting and bowling will be vital to the visitor’s chances.

Aside from Martin, South will need Tighe Warburton to continue his upward career progression with the bat and ball as he will be the most support for Martin when the home team bats and one of the attacking weapons with the ball on a surface that may assist spin bowling.

Given that this is the opening round, don’t be surprised if this is an extremely close battle or one team comes away with a bonus point.

Portland Colts v Pigeon Ponds

HENTY Park is the venue for the opening round clash between these two teams and each side has one player that may well decide the outcome.

Luke Evans is the reigning P.F. Christie Medallist and skipper of Portland Colts, while Ponds boasts the talents of Simon Close who is a former P.F, Christie Medallist who will open the batting and may also open the bowling for the visitors.

The presence of Close in the visitor’s lineup will give the Pigeons even greater confidence that they can defeat their hosts with skipper Hamish McCrae, Jack Beaton, Anthony Close, and Peter Staude all providing leadership with bat and ball.

Tyrendarra v Hamilton

ROUND one has thrown last summer’s premiers, Tyrendarra, and the wooden spooners, Hamilton, together at Tyrendarra Recreation Reserve to get each team away for 2024-25.

With the synthetic surface affording the batsmen on both team’s consistent bounce and pace, the players will enjoy the ball coming onto the bat which will allow them to hit through the ball and score freely.

The home side will unleash recruit, Mitch Arnold with the new ball and his pace is sure to test out the top order of the visitors as Mitch Lang, Xavier Stevens, and Isaac Shaw look to get their respective summers off to a good start.