Highly competitive cricket was the byword of the weekend as the KFC Queensland Premier Cricket competiton witnessed some epic second-day performances in the second round of the men's First Grade competitions, while the latest round of Katherine Raymont Shield women's T20 games had some stand-out efforts. CAM VELLACOTT captures the drama.
Tight Finishes In First Grade
Ipswich Win A Thriller, Another Match Goes Down To The Wire
The second weekend of the second round of red ball cricket for season 2023/24 did not disappoint. There were a number of tight games, match winning hundreds and strong bowling performances in what was one of the most memorable regular season rounds in recent history.
With 424 on the board, most cricketers would have either backed the home side Toombul into win or the match be drawn. Few would have picked the Sunshine Coast to chase the runs, and I dare say no one would have guessed what was to happen as the sun began to set on the day.
The Sunshine Coast’s run chase started off solidly, opener Josh Matthews (63 off 95) seeing off the new ball and leading the team to 3/135. The fourth wicket fell on 157, still 267 short of the target score. Scorchers number 4 Nick Selman (126 off 201) and number 6 Brendan Schultz (149* off 208) dug in for a 231 run partnership. The pair have form in going big, with Bundaberg product Schultz scoring a similarly imposing score last summer and former English County player Selman (pictured above) always good for triple figures.
With 6 overs remaining in the day, Selman was dismissed by left arm orthodox bowler Preston White (2/91), leaving Sunshine Coast 5/388 and the equation being 36 balls left, 37 runs to win. Another wicket for Toombul managed to halt Schultz’s momentum with the bat. Needing 12 to win, White had a game to save. The last over went as follows as nerves jangled on both sides. The scorecard read as follows: dot, two, two, four, two – one ball left, two to win, one to tie. Schultz managed to hit it down to long on and find grass, however last week’s double hundred hero Lachlan Hearne collected the ball cleanly, returning it close enough for White to affect the run out at the bowlers end.
After 189 overs, 1134 legal deliveries and 14 hours play, the match was locked at the same total for a draw. But what a draw, featuring a thrilling end to a seesawing match – congratulations to all involved.
After finishing last week with all the momentum, Wests returned to Ipswich looking to take the remaining four wickets needed. Harry Austin (14 off 39) and Harry Sheppard (48 off 105) were watchful early against fierce opening spells from Tom Whitney and Blake Edwards.
Austin fell to leave Ipswich 7/137, still 99 short of victory. Toby Matthews (2/30) then removed Jake Cross, Ipswich 8/161.
The in-form fast bowler Jem Ryan (50 off 97) then joined Sheppard at the crease, both batters chipping away at the runs.
The pace of Whitney saw the undoing of Sheppard to leave Ipswich in strife at 9/225. Ryan managed to whack the remaining 10 runs off the next over, leaving scores level and Whitney to bowl to number 11 Sean Lutter. Lutter managed to see out a maiden, just. He was rapped on the pads twice and with two play and misses, Wests were awfully close to their second tie in two games. After 11 balls on equal scores, Ryan eventually squeezed one away through cover point to win on first innings.
In their second innings, Wests batters Pranav Susarla (53 off 52), Tom Campbell (56* off 70) and Steve McGiffin (58 off 53) all notched half centuries before declaring 4/206. Ipswich finished the day 2/22 when stumps were drawn.
Resuming 3/128, Norths run chase against Souths began in terrible fashion for the home side. Young duo Luke Wegner (3/48) and Ed Leslie (1/65) removed set batters Rav Srivastava (37 off 66) and Blake Maher (38 off 54), who were then quickly joined in the sheds by Kendel Fleming and Will Prestwidge – Norths losing 4/14 to be 7/164.
New batters Nikhil Chaudhary (129* off 118) and Noah McFadyen (60* off 111) showed why they’re both so highly touted, holding off a confident Souths team to grind momentum back to the way of their side. A few lusty blows from Chaudhary saw Norths pass the score without the loss of further wickets, before both batters then opened the shoulders to quickly reach 7/350d. Souths finished their second innings 4/201, Aryan Jain (83 off 90) top scoring.
The Gold Coast Dolphins managed a mighty draw against Redlands at Bill Pippen Oval.
Redlands bowlers James Bazley (2/69), Jake Carden (2/40) and Jack Jarvis (2/26) were able to take consistent early wickets to have the Dolphins 5/125 chasing 395.
When the last two recognised batters in Hugo Burdon (80 off 105) and Lachlan Crump were dismissed, Gold Coast were 6/166 and had a further 51 overs left in the day to bat. It was a mammoth effort for skipper Matt Kuhnemann (28* off 169) and fellow tail enders Bailey Kenzie (14 off 47), Jackson Smith (27 off 47) and Connor Brown (18* off 54) to salvage a draw from the jaws of defeat for their side. Gold Coast finished the day 9/253 off 97 overs.
Valley continued their recent form with a resounding victory against University of Queensland. After taking two early scalps last week, the Diehards were able to resume momentum through the rapid Callum Vidler (3/32).
Benji Floros also continued his good form, dismissing Uni top scorer Akshat Mishra (39 off 66) to keep Valley ahead of the match. Joseph Pratt (2/47) took the prized scalp of reigning Peter Burge Medallist Bryce Street (10 off 44). Uni were dismissed all out 176, before Valley posted 1/122d in the second innings. Uni were 2/76 when stumps were drawn.
Following a shaky start to the run chase, Wynnum-Manly batters were able to guide their side to their first two day win of the year.
Sandgate-Redcliffe were on top early in defence of their 245. Ben Skinner (2/45) and Tyler Skelson (2/39) took early wickets to have Wynnum 4/76. Through Ali Nasar Zaidi (124* off 177) and Grayson Jones (101 off 132), Wynnum were able to recover and thrive in a 188-run partnership.
The dual centurions passed the target score and surged towards maximum batting points, Wynnum declaring 6/350. Sandgate-Redcliffe finished 1/30 in their second innings.
The Katherine Raymont Shield T20 rounds continued, with some strong showings across the board.
Sandgate-Redcliffe's Tess Cooper again stood out, with her dashing 111 from 71 balls lifting the Gators (4-172) to a comfortable win over Ipswich (4-117). Sandgate also won an exciting clash with bayside rivals Wynnum-Manly, scoring 3-91 after holding the Sea Eagles to 8-90. USA international Jessica Willathgamuwa made a good start to her stint with Wynnum, taking 1-14.
Wynnum accounted for Gold Coast in their morning game, with captain Zoe Cooke's 45 not out from 30 balls clinching victory over the Dolphins.
Sunshine Coast wicket-keeper Mikayla Wrigley ensured her spot in the team of the week with a 56-ball knock of 86 as well as tidy work with the gloves as the Scorchers narrowly failed to overcome Western Suburbs in one of the matches of the round. Wests made 7-162, with captain Ruby Strange (57) top-scoring and while Wrigley and NZ international Rachel Priest (36) were at the crease, the Scorchers were a chance. But they fell three runs short, held to 8-160.
Valley batter Kira Holmes led the way for her side in the afternoon, with the Queensland Fire player top-scoring with 69 as Valley (3-154) accounted for the Scorchers in spite of Wrigley (50) hitting her second half century of the round.
UQ (5-101) had earlier won a low-scoring clash with Valley (7-100), thanks to another quality spell from spinner Charni Bloxsom who took 3-7 from her four overs and also claimed a run-out.
Wests produced a powerful batting effort thanks to Rebecca Storrs, who belted 72 from 59 balls, to set up a big win over UQ in their other match on the day.
Ipswich enjoyed a strong win over Gold Coast in their afternoon clash, with the consistent Felicity Koch top-scoring with 68 from 55 balls for the Hornets and then experienced wrist spinner Melissa Lewis taking 3-18.
The KFC Queensland Premier Cricket Team of the Week (Oct 21 & 22) is:
- Tess Cooper 111 (71) Sandgate-Redcliffe
- Mikayla Wrigley 86 (56) & 50 Sunshine Coast – Wicket Keeper
- Kira Holmes 69 (57) Valley
- Nick Selman 126 (101) Sunshine Coast
- Brendon Schultz 149* (208) Sunshine Coast
- Nikhil Chaudhary 129* (118) Northern Suburbs
- Ali Nasar Zaidi 124* (177) Wynnum-Manly
- Blake Edwards 4/92 (24) Wests
- Callum Vilder 3/32 (11) Valley
- Charni Bloxsom 3/7 (4) University of Queensland
- Keyra Smith 3/10 (2) Western Suburbs
Each week The Courier-Mail covers the Premier Cricket round with 3-2-1 points from matches. Their latest reports are available here (note subscription required):