CUDGEN Hornets captain Terry Wilson described his team's effort as phenomenal after it batted out the day on a wet pitch against reigning premiers Casino Cavaliers on the opening day of the new LJ Hooker League cricket season.

The grand final rematch got under way at Casino's Queen Elizabeth Park and when the home side won the toss it made the logical choice and sent the Hornets in.

The visitors knew a tough task was at hand and set about patiently building a score, with a view to batting out the day. And they did just that, finishing at 6-152 from 64 overs.

Each of Cudgen's batsmen eked out valuable contributions. But it was Aaron Laycock, with a top score of 32, who really punished the Casino bowlers.

The side still has 15 overs to bat and Wilson is hoping his team will reach 200 next Saturday, with Doug Potter (16) and Chris Moase (6) at the crease.

"I'm extremely happy with how we went," he said.

"We got down there and the wicket was a little bit wet and quite tough to bat on and we knew it was going to be a hard slog.

"It was a soft wicket and slow outfield, so runs were difficult to come by, and it is days like that the bowlers can get a mental edge and wickets can start falling, but we battled hard.

"The fact we batted out the day was a phenomenal effort.

"Casino probably have the best attack in the competition, so the fact they couldn't bowl us out yesterday, I think they would have been a little disappointed with that."

Wilson (17) and his young opening partner Callum Gall (9) set the tone for the innings by toughing out the opening spell and taking the shine off the ball for their fellow batsmen.

The captain was impressed with Gall's composure.

"Callum was great. He batted for a significant period of time and he was really the rock we built the innings around," Wilson said.

Tait Burns added 15, before Laycock and Jamie Wilson (19) put on a 51-run partnership.

Caleb Ziebell, who at 16 years old was making his LJ Hooker League debut, batted like a veteran to notch 13.

"Caleb batted really, really well and certainly didn't look out of place," Wilson said.

Wade Sweeney (3-20 off 10) was the pick of the Casino bowlers.

Meanwhile, the first day of the Terranora and Pottsville derby at Koala Beach was rained out.