THE new-look Sheffield Shield roster has put extra pressure on the Tasmanian Tigers to hit the ground running, according to coach Dan Marsh.
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``We have five of our first seven games at Bellerive so it is important that we're playing good cricket from the start of the season to take advantage of the draw,'' he said.
Cricket Australia yesterday announced its international and domestic schedule for what it regards as its biggest summer of cricket, highlighted by the 2015 World Cup.
Marsh said the rosters for the Sheffield Shield and one-day Ryobi Cup series were about what he expected with some changes made to the Sheffield Shield fixtures because of the World Cup.
``Bellerive is unavailable for the last three Sheffield Shield games because of the World Cup, which is a little unusual and it places so much importance on getting away to a good start early in the season,'' he said.
Tasmania missed the Sheffield Shield final in 2013-14 and Marsh said early points were vital to the team's chances this season.
``Most teams go through a period where they don't play to their best and we're going to have to try and avoid that,'' he said.
The one-day Ryobi Cup will start on October 8 and end on October 26 with games shared between Brisbane and Sydney this year.
``Last year we were virtually restricted to one venue with four games at Bankstown but this year we've got Allan Border Field and the Gabba, which will lighten the schedule on the grounds,'' he said.
``While it would have been nice to play some one-day games at home the reality is that is not the case.
``I don't mind having the Ryobi Cup over and done within a month nor playing every other day,''.
Marsh said the Tigers would face South Australia and Western Australia twice during the Ryobi Cup but overall the competition was so even it was of little consequence.
Marsh confirmed that the Tigers' latest signing, Michael Hill, would arrive from England in August.
The former Australian under-19 captain from Victoria has been playing cricket in Staffordshire.