Trent in mood to Keep on scoring

FRESH from delivering his first matchwinning performance for his new club, Trent Keep is eager to keep riding the momentum when Kingborough hosts North Hobart in CTPL action this weekend.

The Knights skipper and assistant coach left South Hobart-Sandy Bay in the off season to pursue more leadership responsibilities, and led from the front on the road against Greater Northern Raiders last round. Keep cracked an unbeaten 160, his third CTPL century, in the 163-run victory and now has his sights on backing up against the Demons at the Twins Ovals in the two-day fixture.

“It is always nice to contribute, I know it is a bit cliched but it does alleviate a bit of pressure,” Keep said.

“When you go to a new club you want to impress straight away, irrelevant if they know you’ve been successful before.

“The wickets have been fractionally difficult at the start of the year, which they traditionally are here in grade season, so it is nice to have got not just a hundred but a big hundred. It certainly feels like bit of weight off … but more importantly Gurinder [Sandhu] bowled well with the new ball and we were able to win.

“I think it will be a difficult place for teams to travel to the NTCA ground, we have done that and on to next week.”

Both teams regain some important pieces from the Tigers, with Beau Webster and Clive Rose available for the hosts while Caleb Jewell will suit up for the Demons.

The two teams met just over a month ago, with North Hobart getting across the line in a low-scoring one-day match.

“They beat us in the oneday game, which was a close game and could have gone either way,” Keep said. “Talking to the guys last night, North Hobart have had the wood on us over the last three or four years, obviously I haven’t been here but they are raring to go.”

The remaining Round 6 matches see unbeaten ladder leader Lindisfarne head north to meet the winless Raiders, Glenorchy and Clarence clash at KGV while University hosts New Town.