This weekend's Cricket North two-day grand final at NTCA no. 1 presents as one of the best contests in recent memory.

Westbury are chasing a three-peat of premierships after accounting for Launceston the past two summers.

The Blues are looking to break a decades-long drought in the two-day format.

As is tradition, the match starts on Friday and could potentially go until Sunday evening. Play starts at 11am each day and runs to about 6pm.

O'Connor dashed South Launceston's hopes of a grand final berth with a stunning 6-34 semi-final bowling performance on Sunday.

The right-arm speedster only played a few Cricket North matches during the home-and-away rounds but he was electric.

And he has history against Westbury.

He was The Examiner's player of the week in round one after claiming 4-19 against the Shamrocks and restricting them to a lowly 107.

Interestingly though, Westbury captain Daniel Murfet (43 not out) survived O'Connor's onslaught which would likely give Murfet confidence going into the final.

Murfet also played two-day cricket alongside O'Connor for Greater Northern Raiders in the CTPL this season and has seen the 17-year-old in action more than most.

O'Connor, also a talented right-handed batter, won the under-19 World Cup with Australia in South Africa in January.

Murfet, a top-order batter, played two-day cricket with Raiders which meant he was unavailable for much of the Shamrocks' campaign post-Christmas.

Joel Lloyd and Ollie Wood stepped up in his absence and steered the team to two wins, one draw and one loss.

Murfet has guided the team to premierships in the past and it's clear his measured leadership style will be valuable this weekend.

It's worth noting he only played on day one against the Blues last time and hit 97 not out from 157 balls.

The Shamrocks have other Raiders coming into the side with top-order batter Sisitha Jayasinghe and all-rounder Jono Chapman set to play.

Jayasinghe crossed from South Launceston in the off-season, while Chapman, who took 3-18 and a crucial catch, was the Shamrocks' player of the match in the Twenty20 grand final.

Chapman took 5-33 in the second innings of last year's two-day decider against the Lions and always presents as a match-winner.

Riverside's Cooper Anthes and Westbury's Ollie Wood are the in-form batters.

Anthes' timing stood out in his 106 from 176 balls in the semi-final against South.

He hit three boundaries in the space of three overs after passing 80 runs, including two drives and a pull shot.

The number-four batter showed maturity when he got to 99, blocking good balls until he got his breakthrough.

Wood, who was the Cricket North player of the year in 2022-23, made 101 retired not out with a forearm injury (cramping) a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, Riverside mainland recruit and tall swing bowler Ben Hann took overall figures of 11-37 in the final home-and-away round against Launceston.

It's clear he has added another string to the Blues' attack, particularly in the two-dayers.

But perhaps a spinner will prove the difference again?

Westbury all-rounder Kieren Hume was named player of the match for his incredible 2022-23 grand final performance which featured 7-33 and 3-31 as well as knocking 42 runs.

Their last encounter, which was in early February, featured a rare league achievement with Riverside's Sol Scott taking a hat-trick at Westbury's Ingamells Oval.

His stunning effort was rivalled by the Blues' tail-enders who hung on to secure a nail-biting first innings victory.

Riverside needed about 40 runs to win when Tom Lewis joined Hann at the crease.

Hann made 29 from 67 balls while Lewis made 25 not out from 47.

Westbury made 10-183 and 9-119 while Riverside registered 10-210 and 3-14.

Riverside have beaten Westbury three out of four times this season but the Shamrocks won their Twenty20 decider in January.