Cricket North: Launceston's Jackson Miller leads wicket-takers to start season

The adage rings true for Launceston all-rounder Jackson Miller who is reaping the rewards of completing his first full cricket pre-season.

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The 28-year-old is one of a glut of Cricket North players to have taken nine wickets to start the season to sit at the top of the bowling charts.

"It's taken me a while to adapt back to playing first grade but I certainly feel I am getting better each week, it's that repetition of bowling and batting to try and hit my peak form I guess," he said.

"That's something that when I get to the top of my mark I know I've done the work so I can execute and that's certainly helped my start to the season."

After returning to Tasmania from Victoria at the start of the year, Miller met Launceston coach Andy Gower and captain Alistair Taylor to discuss his playing prospects.

After being absent from the Launceston line-up since the 2015-16 season, Miller has nothing but praise for the set-up he walked into earlier this year.

"They've done an exceptional job of building that training standard, it's incredibly professionally run. It's very structured, we know what is expected of us and we expect to do it at a high standard," he said.

"It's certainly helped me focus on the things I need to work on as opposed to trying to work things out for myself ... I think that gives you confidence."

While Miller's season-best figures of 4-45 came in round one against South Launceston, such are the peculiarities of cricket that the Lions' player feels his best effort came against Sheffield in round 4 with a solitary wicket and two maidens from five overs.

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While the Lions have chopped and changed to accommodate the Greater Northern Raiders, Miller has carved out a role in the desert town known as the middle overs.

"When I first moved back to Tassie they said that's exactly the role they want me to play ... batting five and bowling through the middle-overs is exactly my role and something I feel I have excelled at," he said

"The games I feel I've probably played the best are the ones where I have taken one wicket which is kind of always the way in cricket but that's just the way it goes."

Miller is enthused about Launceston's prospects after a successful start to the year with three wins.

"I certainly think we can go again and not just this year but I think we've kind of got the building blocks to go year after year," he said.

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