Tasmania’s most successful cricket coach Tim Coyle will steer Northern Tasmania’s inaugural foray into the Hobart-based Cricket Tasmania Premier League in 2018-19.
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The Tigers’ Sheffield Shield and one-day domestic title-winning coach will mentor the team to be named Greater Northern Raiders, featuring the best Cricket North and Cricket North-West players.
Organising committee chairman Richard Bennett said, Coyle, 57, will still carry out existing commitments with WBBL side the Renegades and Cricket Australia.
However, he will be supported by some of the region’s best cricket minds in Jason Pearce, Andrew Gower, Roger Brown, Dane Anderson and Nick Hayes.
Cricket Tasmania staff members Clinton Reid and Alex King will also support the program by assisting with the transition between the team and Cricket Tasmania development pathways.
“I’m excited to take on this role and we've had some good discussions with the squad,” Coyle said.
“There’s some great talent that we can draw on and we’re aiming to perform strongly from the start.
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“The introduction of the Greater Northern Raiders is a big step forward for cricket in Tasmania.
“It opens up the chance for local players to compete in the Premier League without having to move to Hobart. I fully expect to see some future Tigers to come out of this.”
Bennett said training would start soon with discussions with potential players still ongoing.
“There’s a lot of work happening in the background. We’ll also begin approaching potential sponsors in coming weeks,” he said.
“We want to build community support for the team so we can hit the ground running with the first game in October.
“Discussions with prospective players can now progress with players having greater certainty around the quality of support they'll receive as part of the playing squad.”
Negotiations are underway to confirm the Raiders’ home grounds, with nine home games planned for the upcoming season.
Bennett said that it was the intention to share between the North and North-West.