Talented all-rounder James Curran believes good old-fashioned team bonding is behind Launceston's amazing start to the season.
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Third-place finishers for the past three years, the Lions have a 12-0 record heading into a jam-packed weekend comprising a T20 final on Thursday, the opening day of red-ball cricket on Saturday and Sunday's Greater Northern Cup semi-final.
No other Northern side in the past decade has gone into Christmas undefeated across all formats, and should Thursday go as planned, the Lions will have a third-straight T20 to boot.
"It's been pretty good," Curran said of Launceston's form.
"We've got a pretty mature team this year so I think we're bonding really well off the field and I think that's showing on the field.
"I think when you build that winning culture which we've started to do this year, you find ways to win games that you probably shouldn't which is good."
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The leading wicket-taker in last year's T20 cup, Curran missed last weekend's matches following an untimely injury at Thursday night training.
His form up to that point had been as good as ever, with nine matches yielding 11 wickets at 19.18 - one scalp behind the Lions' top wicket-taker Dihan Cloete.
"I probably credit most of that to my captain AT [Alistair Taylor] - he's been really good at setting fields," Curran said.
"It's really important as a spinner to set fields and bowl accordingly so when you've got a captain like him helping you out it's really helpful - I think that's probably one of the main reasons I've been able to improve over the last couple of seasons."
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It's not just his bowling that's been improving, either.
The 19-year-old, who will turn 20 on Saturday, registered his maiden A-grade century earlier this season with 116 against Westbury.
The ton came as part of a mammoth 251-run stand with Ben Humphrey and was brought up with three straight sixes off Jordan French.
"It was pretty exciting - you always want to do that," he said.
"But it's more about doing my role in the team standing up when I needed to and I was just happy to do that on the day."
Hamish Geale
Hamish Geale is a senior reporter at The Examiner. Got good news? Email: hgeale@examiner.com.au
Hamish Geale is a senior reporter at The Examiner. Got good news? Email: hgeale@examiner.com.au
