Bringing up his maiden Cricket North century in the opening session - an achievement in itself - the 20-year-old's marathon stint led his side to 5-344 before captain Hamish Sytsma declared.

"It [coming in early] was a good opportunity for me. I didn't get much of an opportunity to think about what I was going to do or overthink my innings because it was straight in there batting at number three.

"I had a couple weeks off so I wasn't really expecting that much to be honest - I didn't make it to the last training session so all I was looking to do was get to 50."

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

Starting off his innings at NTCA 2 with a knock to the elbow courtesy of ex-teammate Jared Mason, Barrett was "woken up early" before his old sparing partner hit the same spot several overs later.

Barrett responded wisely, hitting four boundaries off Mason's next two overs to take him out of the attack and kick start his innings - which eclipsed his previous senior high-score of 71.

Describing the setting as a "good day to make runs", the 20-year-old former St Patrick's College Student said getting value for his shots set him up for the big innings.

"The pitch was pretty nice, it looked pretty hard and flat and the outfield was absolutely phenomenal - NTCA 2 and Riverside are the two best places to play cricket.

"It was brilliant to be able to get value for good shots along the ground - I actually didn't hit a six at all; it was all along the ground."

The first batsman in Cricket North to have scored a double century since Jade Selby led Launceston to an A-Grade premiership in the 2006 grand final, Barrett described the milestone as "absolutely fantastic" and hopes the innings can push him back towards A-Grade selection.

"It was a monkey off the back. I'd had a very slow start to the season and was very eager to get in and once I got in, eager to keep scoring runs.

"I think I grasped the opportunity well and went on with it, which is what you try and do. A couple of years ago, I was playing in the ones and hitting the ball pretty well and like I say, it's been a slow start to the season but I feel like this is a great opportunity to showcase what is there and what I'm capable of doing.

"To just get an opportunity on a good wicket to do what I like to do and make runs and score, I think it will hopefully propel me back into that A-grade spot."

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