Star all-rounder Evan Gulbis is confident the Greater Northern Raiders will cope when raised border restrictions allow him to resume playing in the Victorian premier league.
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The Melbourne-born, Launceston-based former BBL favourite, whose first-class career with Victoria and Tasmania included winning the Ricky Ponting Medal in 2014, has provided priceless experience for Tim Coyle's side but is set to return to his coaching role with Carlton.
The Blues begin their season against St Kilda in round one this weekend but Gulbis will remain for at least one more week of Cricket Tasmania Premier League action with the Raiders hosting South Hobart Sandy Bay at the NTCA Ground on Saturday and Sunday.
"All the St Kilda players have been texting asking if I'm playing," said the 35-year-old father-of-two.
"I will definitely play for the Raiders this weekend, then the next game is on consecutive Saturdays so I'll just weigh up whether I'm available for that.
"If Carlton get a nice win it makes it easier to say 'I might miss another' but a loss makes it a bit tricky to say 'I'll stay here while you guys fight it out'.
"It's not ideal but then COVID is not ideal so I'll just play it by ear. Getting to Melbourne is easy, the issue is getting back in."
With the Victorian border set to reopen on December 15, Coyle said it has been a huge benefit to have had Gulbis available until nearly Christmas.
"It would be good to have him for longer but we'll take what we can get because he plays a very important role for the team," he said.
"He'll be a big loss because he's a class player but whenever these things happen it opens an opportunity for someone else to step into the breach and we're seeing a lot of people step up from across the program."
A lot of young guys in the Raiders are fantastically skilled players
- Evan Gulbis
Gulbis, who sits second among the Raiders' run-scoring and wicket-taking, has confidence in the squad to manage.
"Players in our team are as skilful as those we're playing against but some of them have played 150-plus games and that gives them that wealth of experience.
"A lot of young guys in the Raiders are fantastically skilled players, it's just having the old head on the shoulders that's different, so it's down to us to upskill them quickly.
"It's not necessarily the runs or wickets that they'll miss, it's the learnings, the captaincy and the other things you get when you've played a lot of cricket."
Gulbis, whose children Violet, 3, and Pepe, 2, are in Launceston, said Alex Wynwood is a perfect example of players waiting to progress and revealed how he helped the Ulverstone young gun to step up last week.
Having played for Mowbray the previous week when the youngster hit 73 off 61 deliveries including six sixes batting at three, Gulbis was quick to offer his opinion to Coyle.
"I'd seen him at training and he played a couple of games last season. He's a skillful player, hits the ball clean and I thought there was a lot to like about him so I sent Tim a message to say 'He's got to play'. Tim probably would have picked him anyway but it was more just to say what he could deliver and the way he did it was dismissive of our attack and only really skilled players can do that."
Called into the Raiders team to face Lindisfarne, Wynwood hit 84 runs off 96 deliveries, beginning his knock with two maximums and - as he had the week before - hitting more sixes than fours.
"We pick an in-form, skilled player and he went and got 80 and got off the mark with two sixes. If you have in-form, skilled players, that's the sort of thing you can get.
"If you pick those in form, those that need to find some form can go back to local cricket and get that because there's nothing worse as a young player to be chucked in the deep end.
"If you are making runs in a local game you are going to come to the Raiders team confident and knowing your game and role."