It was a barrage of power shots from the Magpies’ top order which saw them post an ultimately defendable 250 total in their opening round clash against City Colts on Saturday.

Sent in to bat by the Colts, half-centuries to openers Cooper Matheson (52 off 52 balls) and Tyler Nanson (52 from 28) set the tone for the match, forging a 94-run opening wicket stand to have the Magpies off to a flyer.

Composed knocks to Jack Davies (27 from 61), Dave Killen (12 from 19), and Jimmy Thewlis (38 from 25) saw the total tick up towards the 200 mark, but the innings faltered through the middle order.

Cheap dismissals to Nic Bonwick (six from eight) and Callum Honey (five from eight) halted momentum, but the lower order stuck around to post a formidable total of 10/250.

For the Colts, Alasdair Brett was impactful but expensive, going at almost nine an over to finish with 2/58, while Harvey Moore (2/24 from three overs) and Corey Petersen (1/18 from three) chipped in.

Magpies skipper Cooper Matheson said it was a conscious effort tot keep the attacking stroke play flowing through the early stages of the innings.

“I think we probably ended 50 runs short of where we wanted to be, being 100 after nine or so overs, but we were still happy with it,” he said.

“Tyler’s already showing us what he’s capable of, he really enjoyed being out there, which is good.

“Especially with the new rule of two out for 12 overs, the plan really is to go flat out from the word ‘go’ and see where we can get to, and reevaluate after those 12.

“[There were] a lot of soft dismissals in the middle order - I think Rhys Grant and Matt Prestianni saved us a bit there, they put on a really good partnership towards the end after ‘Bottles’ [Nic Bonwick] and Cal [Honey] threw their wickets away.

“They showed a few of the middle order how to consolidate and keep pushing – I think they were going at six an over which is pretty good going without playing any ridiculous shots.

“The outfield was rapid, so you didn’t need to take too many risks.”

With the runs on the board, it was now up to the Magpies to defend and strike early.

After Dave Killen trapped Thomas Moore LBW for 18, Chris Clement came into the attack and had immediate impact.

Clement knocked over Aaron Thrum with his second legal delivery, before picking up Jed Marek (four) and Alasdair Brett in consecutive balls the very next over.

The flood gates opened, and while there was some resistance from Max Marek in the middle order, Clement would not be denied, finishing with 5/39 from his 9 overs, ably assisted by Nick Stebnyckyj’s 2/26.

The one bright spot for the Colts would be the resistance from their younger batters, with Connor Ormond (52* from 50) and Corey Petersen (14* from 41) holding fast to avoid being bowled out in their 45 overs.

“We were happy to kick, it [the season] off that way, but we really wanted to get that last wicket,” Matheson said.

“Clemmo’s unreal, he brings a lot because he’s a left-arm – a lot of the bowlers in our comp that are left-arm take heaps of wickets every year.

“We didn’t have a left-armer last year, so it’s good to have him back among it, getting five fa in his first game back shows what he can do.”