The Knights' first-drop found himself at the crease shortly after electing to bat when Mowbray's James Storay (3-48) removed opener Doug Ryan early into proceedings.

Harris looked to have settled into a nice rhythm with opener Jeremy Jackson, who played a steady and defiant knock of 13 off 99 before being undone Lachlan Clark (1-22) to end his vigil at the centre wicket.

When Storay returned to trap Sisitha Jayasinghe in front and remove Digby Bellchambers within the space of two balls, the Eagles appeared set to soar as the Knights faltered.

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Harris was joined by middle-order batter Brodie Jarrad (63* off 146) as the pair set about swinging the momentum into the home side's favour, facing an uphill battle at 4-94.

On a wicket that played slightly slow, the pair eased into their partnership as they adjusted and began to look comfortable as they batted for the best part of three hours in their 178-run partnership.

Harris (161* off 211) was the star of the show as the captain demonstrated every shot in the book as he converted to a hundred and eventually past the 150 mark in a dazzling display.

He dispatched the Eagles' bowling unit to all parts as he found the boundary rope on 24 different occasions and cleared it four times to showcase his power-hitting.

"It was really satisfying, I probably haven't contributed [as much], I've made a few scores through the one day matches but nothing that's got us over the line, getting to a 100 was really pleasing but the message has been don't just be happy with a score or some wickets let's make it a match-winning one," he said.

"James Storay is one of the best bowlers in our competition so to not get out to him and just bat most of the day was really satisfying."

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Harris was glowing in his praise for his partner Jarrad, who defended resolutely and helped rotate the strike while cashing in for seven boundaries of his own in a season-high score.

"That was a really, really good effort from a guy who has played a fair bit of cricket, it was an awesome, mature innings and I thought we wrestled back momentum really nicely."

The Eagles bowlers struggled to find an in-road against the Knights' duo, with Harris eventually declaring late in the day at 4-272 to provide the Mowbray batters with a tricky period prior to stumps.

The Knights wanted a few quick wickets before the close of player and opening bowler Graham Donaldson (1-5) duly delivered as he had Aaron Hughes caught by Bellchambers to send a jolt through the Eagles camp.

Mowbray pair Jason Snare (18* off 21) and Ishang Shah (7* off 10) managed to weather the storm and they will resume at 1-29 next weekend.

The other Cricket North game provided a stark contrast as thirteen wickets tumbled on the opening day's play between Launceston and Westbury.

The Lions opted to bat first but it was Westbury who made the fast start with Nasrullah Khan (2-41) trapping Samuel Elliston-Buckley in front in the third over.

Plenty of Launceston batters made starts at Ingamells Oval with six passing double-digits but they all tended to fall at regular intervals as Khan, Kieren Hume (3-31) and Michael Lukic (2-60) once again proving a potent trifecta.

Middle-order duo George Maguire (60 off 99) and Jackson Miller (19 off 74) managed a 55-run stand to help the Lions create a foundation for their innings before Miller was undone by Lukic.

Maguire, who has been in and out of the team depending on Raiders' selections, was the pick of the players as he put a heavy price on his wicket while finding the boundary on five occasions.

"He's probably the hardest working bloke at the cricket club and the amount of balls he's hit, it's a credit to him to go out there and bat the way he did today," Lions' captain Cameron Lynch said.

"He was really aggressive and he hit the ball really nicely straight down the ground so it was very pleasing to see him make runs."

After Miller departed, the Lions lost 5-46 with Nick Green (3-20) relishing his time in first-grade to claim the Lions' final three wickets as they were all out 181.

With a smaller total on the board, the Lions needed to strike quickly and Dihan Cloete (2-12) found the edge of Michael Lukic to send the opener packing without scoring inside the opening over.

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One became two when Cloete's new ball partner Jackson Miller (1-13) rattled the stumps of Shamrocks' first-drop Chathura Athukorala (6 off 18) after a spell of 14 dot balls between the bowlers.

Matthew Allen's stay at the crease ended abruptly when Cloete zoned in on the Westbury's batters pads to cap-off an excellent opening spell which left the Shamrocks at 3-14.

Opener Matthew Battle (55* off 122) put some pressure back on the attack with nine boundaries, including a six, as he combined with James Tyson (27* off 96) to resist the Launceston attack, which rotated through eight different bowlers on the opening day.

With Westbury set to resume for the second day's play at 3-94, Lynch had the home side slightly ahead at the close of play.

"We're quite confident with our bowlers to put in a good performance, obviously with only 181 on the board, they're probably ahead at the moment," he said .

"Three early wickets is really nice to get it would have been nice to have grabbed another little half-chance at the end there to grab a fourth or fifth but we're confident in our bowlers to get the job done."

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