Greater Northern Raiders delivered a maiden win on Sunday to give the fledgling team a shot in the arm ahead of a tough initiation in their Cricket Tasmania Premier League women's campaign.
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The newcomers looked at home in the state's premier competition, taking control of the Twenty20 opener at NTCA No.2 Ground against a seasoned Lindisfarne outfit.
Eyebrows had been raised when the Raiders were first grouped in the top division for the 40-over Kookaburra Cup fixtures in December.
But the hosts lived up to the high expectations early, first continuing to pile on the runs for 3-124 before restricting the Lightning to 5-103.
"I think that was a fairytale start for the Raiders," captain Sam Cotton said.
"You go out there with a bit of apprehension about how we're going to be up against a good Southern team and what are they going to be like.
"So it was a really good result for the girls to get a bit of confidence up off this one."
Cotton was cleaned up for two, but South Launceston's Caitlyn Webster took control on the opener's home deck.
The Raiders well and truly regained momentum after the fall of Montana Bradley for seven when Webster and Rhianne Hack teamed up for a fast 44 in just 38 deliveries.
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The keeper-batter realised the magnitude of the stand.
"Someone just had to stick around and when they went," Webster said, "I thought I had to knuckle down and create a big partnership for the next few girls coming through."
Webster's top dismissal for 39 off 45 balls that included three boundaries on a slow outfield allowed the Raiders with wickets in hand to go at a run-a-ball to the end.
Hack took over for 25 off 31 and Sophie Parkin added 14 off 19 in an unbroken stand to set Lindisfarne 6.2 an over.
Raiders' hopes rose inside four overs, Cotton piercing the defence of ex-Hurricanes star Veronica Pyke for a very tentative 11-ball duck.
Lightning pair Paris Crowe and Clare Scott moved to 1-76, but struggled to keep above the required run rate.
Scott's departure for 21 off 44 balls left the visitors 48 runs to get off only 26 balls.
Crowe changed the tempo with three of a series of reverse sweeps going for four.
But when Dana Lester juggled a catch on the deep extra cover boundary line, not only was the Lindisfarne skipper gone for a fine 58 from 47 balls, so were her side's chances.
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Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
