Round 1 – Head to Heads
Southern Districts v PINT
Premiers take on PINT in a big early match that even though the home ground advantage maybe in the Crocs favour, early matches at the Pass tend to be a spin off. Districts will be without some star recruits for the first couple of rounds and have traditionally started off slow in the one-day competition. PINT are in a similar mode but have a few players coming off successful southern seasons. A 200 score at Districts will be hard to chase, PINT with an upset.
Darwin v Nightcliff
Expecting similar down at the Nest with spin the case for an Eagles win here. Smit Raval is the big threat, if he can be nullified, the Tigers should get the biscuits. Virtually all the Tigers have played the Australian summer and should be peaking first up (Kudra and Carroll in teams that won the comp). Mansukh Singh is a great story as a returning player for the Tigers and look forward to watching his season unfold.
Palmerston v Waratah
A big game to test Palmerston out straight up with Waratah. Both sides look like they may take a little while to settle with various new recruits and the heat factor. Koduru and Conway hold the key to the Tahs batting line up but expect Palmerston top order to fire straight up at home with the local contingent standing up. Tip this to be the highest scoring game of the round.