Premier Finals Reach Crescendo

Ipswich claimed the KFC T20 Max trophy, Norths won the Kookaburra One Day competition, but who will lift the Cam Battersby Cup at Allan Border Field? 

And the Katherine Raymont Shield will be on its way to either Yoku Road or St Lucia with Valley taking on University of Queensland at WEP Harris Oval on Sunday in what promises to be a ding-dong battle between two talented line-ups.

The lower grades will feature a spread of talent of all ages, with premierships up for grabs from sixth grade through to second grade in the men’s competition and the Jodie Purves Shield Second Grade women’s title on the line. Norths will have five teams in the grade Finals, Valley will have three teams, Wests, UQ and Ipswich have two teams, and Redlands and South Brisbane have one. 

Check out Kayo Freebies for coverage of both men’s and women’s first grade Finals.

Men’s First Grade

Ipswich and Norths have been the two best sides across the year in all formats and will play out the highly anticipated final over the next two weekends at Allan Border Field. If their recent two-day contest is anything to go by, it will be a must watch match with constant action. Let’s take a look at each side’s key players and see how the teams match up.

Batting:
Top Batters: 
Ipswich: Noah Emmerson | 577 runs @ 30.37 |  
        Harry Wood | 473 runs @ 33.79
Norths: Connor Carroll | 492 runs @ 32.8
      Rav Srivastava | 452 runs @ 32.92

Top Order: 
Ipswich’s top four is headlined by stoic opener Bryn Llewellyn and dominant number four Harry Wood. Llewellyn was the second top scorer for Ipswich on the weekend with a patient 50 off 152 balls. He has solidified himself this season as a key player for Ipswich, his ability to see off the new ball opens up the match for the free-flowing Ipswich middle order of Noah Emmerson, Jack Wood and Anthony Wilson. 

Llewellyn’s compact and traditional approach to opening the batting will bode well at Allan Border Field, which has been extremely new ball friendly in the Sheffield Shield this week.

The experienced Dan Wilson and youthful Harry Sheppard provide good balance in the top order. Wilson’s aggression and Sheppard’s raw talent could be a danger.

Harry Wood is undoubtedly the biggest wicket in the Ipswich batting order. A Peter Burge Medallist, Wood’s all-round ability is the best in the competition. He hasn’t dominated with big hundreds this season but he has been consistent and performed in crucial moments, notably against Norths when he scored 64* out of Ipswich’s 113.  

Norths top four features their two red ball leading run scorers for the season. Carroll and Srivastava have only recently combined at the top of the order but have had some moderate success. Earlier in the season, Carroll dominated a full-strength Redlands attack with a brutal 156 (198 balls). 

Norths number three Scott Palombo has had a lean return in red ball cricket in comparison to his outstanding white ball campaign. In the KFC T20 Max and Kookaburra One Day competition, Palombo was near unstoppable, averaging over 50 in both formats. Don’t be surprised if he returns to his early season form on the big stage. Number four Mitch Doolan had an outstanding innings against Valley on the weekend, scoring 57 off 120.

X Factor Players:
Ipswich: Jake Cross | 464 runs @ 46.4 | 33 catches, 2 stumpings
Norths: Josh Brown | 181 runs @ 36.2 

Middle/Lower Order:
Both middle orders boast extreme talent and aggressive cricketers willing and capable of taking the game on. Big Bash superstar Josh Brown comes into the Norths team for Nikhil Chaudhary who is unavailable due to injury. While Nikhil is a big loss, Brown is one of the few players capable of replacing his talent. Brown will be full of confidence after his Big Bash campaign. If you go to Allan Border Field to watch, be mindful of where you park your car!

Noah Emmerson and Jack Wood have been immense for Ipswich’s middle order all season. Emmerson guided the successful run chase on the weekend, a great showing of his maturing game. Jack Wood has the power game to take the match away from any side. His real point of difference is how he can launch from ball one, something even the best struggle to do.

Ipswich’s keeper Jake Cross poses as the X Factor player for the minor premiers. Cross has scored vital runs on multiple occasions this season, often with an impressive strike rate. His impact was felt in the T20 Max final, hitting 4 sixes in his 37 off 19. Without his 34 not out on the weekend, there is every chance Gold Coast would have won and Ipswich’s season over.

Norths middle order of Blake Maher, Josh Brown, Will Prestwidge and Kendel Fleming is undeniably the most dangerous in the competition. However, it must be pointed out that their aggressive style can be exploited. Ipswich managed to do just that in the last round of the season, bowling Norths out for 72. 

A stat which highlights the strength of Norths batting is that 10 players have a First Grade hundred. Connor Sully is the omission - his First Grade top score is 95.

Bowling:
Top Bowlers:
Ipswich: Jem Ryan | 38 wickets @ 15.37
       Harry Wood | 21 wickets @ 13.1

Norths: Noah McFadyen | 45 @ 25.2
      Sam Neale | 30 @ 24.23

Norths Noah McFadyen is the competitions leading wicket taker while Ipswich’s Jem Ryan is second. Interestingly, both attacks are pace heavy and don’t have an outright spinner. They both rely on part timers to help their pace batteries in the tough overs.

Ipswich have a good variety in pace options, Sean Lutter, Adam Smith and Harry Wood all able to push the 140k/h mark. Their leading wicket taker Jem Ryan operates at a slightly lower pace, instead looking to hit the seam and utilise his height and action to generate bounce off length. 

Harry Wood is again influential with the ball, his athletic action able to create chances when the game seems to be idling.

Similarly, Norths pose a broad spectrum of bowling options. Queensland quicks Will Prestwidge and Connor Sully are two of the fastest bowlers in the state, both able to go above 140k/h. Sully loves seeing batters squirm, often attacking back of a length and unsettling batters. 

Norths two leading wicket takers Noah McFadyen and Sam Neale challenge the top of the stumps and are able to move the ball both ways. It’s no wonder why they finished 1st and 6th in the competition for wickets, their modus operandi effective in all conditions.

These sides match up well against each other, as seen by their see-sawing affair in the last round of fixtures. While Ipswich claimed first innings, Norths won the match outright. 

The strength of Ipswich lies in their consistency across the season. They have had the same side nearly all season, only losing Jack Wood for a few weeks during the BBL. 

Contrastingly, Norths have up to five players come in and out for domestic duties, providing opportunity for others to shine but also creating disruption in the order.

As all finals do, the match will come down to moments. In the KFC T20 Max final, Ipswich were able to win the moments. Norths dropped crucial catches in that match, allowing Ipswich’s batters to dominate. In the One Day final, Norths were able to win the moments against Valley by taking half chances when it mattered. A big question is which Norths side will be on display throughout this contest? Can they take their chances when it matters most?

From an Ipswich perspective, the pressure is on to deliver. This team has been in and around finals for a few years without claiming silverware before this season. If they are to win, it will be the first time in their club’s history they’ve won the Cam Battersby Cup. They will be aware of how hard it is just to get into the grand final and know you don’t get many chances to win them. How much will that pressure affect them?

I can’t wait to see how this match unfolds, all signs point to it being an absolute thriller!

Match scores: 
https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-a50dc5e9-1b70-4e3c-89b2-67b75f4ddbc7/scorecard/

Women's Final

University of Queensland v Valley Preview

Two teams that have been regular premiership contenders, and winners, in recent years. Each won through to the Final by defeating teams that finished above them at the end of the regular season, and both will feature players with WNCL and WBBL experience.

Neither side will be able to call upon Heat and Fire regulars Jess Jonassen (Valley) and Laura Harris (UQ) with each involved in the Women's Premier League Finals series in India, however there are match-winners galore in each line-up.

UQ bat deeply, Valley have a varied and dangerous bowing attack - it all adds up to an intriguing Final.

Players To Watch

UQ: Charli Knott continues to quietly build upon her burgeoning reputation that should see her achieve national selection in the not too distant future. She will be the trump card for the Students, with her powerful batting and penetrative off-spin bowling. It is interesting to note that UQ have three of the top 10 runs-scorers in the Katherine Raymont Shield. One-time Fire player Tara Wheeler (799 runs at 42), New Zealand product Anlo van Deventer (630 at 31) and Emma Jackson (603 at 22.3) have scored valuable runs. Jessica Daldy finished as the competition's leading wicket-taker with 39 scalps and the young spinner forms part of a competitive attack that is led by the determined Nicola Hancock, whose efforts with the Fire and Heat show the impact she can have with the new ball and at the death.

Valley: Free-scoring Mikayla Hinkley is a proven match winner, with her batting exploits in the WNCL for Queensland and WBBL for the Heat establishing her as one to watch. Returning from injury, her impact could be the difference in the well-matched line-ups. Likewise, her Queensland Fire teammates Kira Holmes and Sianna Ginger occupy key roles within the group. Valley skipper Christina Coulson, who has tasted success at a national level with the Queensland Indigenous women's team, finished with 38 wickets this season and was a one-women wrecking crew with the ball in the semi-final, claiming 4-9 against Wests. Experienced and talented, her skills can turn a game. A youngster to watch is multi-sport prodigy Lucinda Bourke. An Australian Rugby Sevens representative, she hit her maiden first grade century earlier in the season. Another young gun is Cloncurry product Grace Abdy. The teenage allrounder has caught the eye at different levels, including the Queensland Indigenous side, the Queensland Country Brolgas women's side and the State Under-19 team.

https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-329f63ed-bd84-470e-9ad1-e837acc75668/scorecard/

Also coverage on Kayo Freebies.

Lower Grades

Second Grade (men)

Valley v Norths: https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-8393abe5-d5ad-4836-94da-b50cbdaf791e/scorecard/

Second Grade (women)

Wests v Ipswich: https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-34f4f6d4-4038-4c78-8918-ddb68dcf35c4/scorecard/

Third Grade

Norths v Valley: https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-6d6fc34a-e00b-4ed9-ada6-6000cd1fcba8/scorecard/

Fourth Grade

Norths v Redlands: https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-995dde23-951d-4486-a134-5da25761e4f4/scorecard/

Fifth Grade

Wests v University of Qld: https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-94de4bba-8aa2-4bac-8702-ffe847b5e48e/scorecard/

Sixth Grade

South Brisbane v Norths: https://matchcentre.premier.qld.cricket.com.au/match/ffe6079b-5c32-ec11-981f-501ac52e1666-ecf2807c-dfc6-4ba7-a08a-1858c504d385/scorecard/