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BRUNDLE BELTS UNI TO SEMIS

University of Queensland strongman Mick Brundle was the star of T20 day in the Kookaburra Premier Grade yesterday, hammering an unbeaten 100 and half-century to steer the Blues into yet another round of semi-finals.

One of the mainstays of the Blues’ championship teams since the introduction of T20, Brundle started his day with a breezy 53 against the Sunshine Coast, with Brisbane Heat heroes of last Thursday Chris Hartley (57no) and Pete Forrest (36no) finishing off the Scorchers.

The Scorchers made a competitive 6-149 on the back of an impressive 41 not out off 26 balls by youngster James Bazley, who bludgeoned six sixes off the Uni attack. He was well supported by Ashley Gray’s 44 off 33 balls.

But Uni needed just 17.2 overs to reel in the target and win by eight wickets.

The Blues were even more intimidating in their clash with Ipswich/Logan, not losing a wicket as Brundle (100no) launched an extraordinary attack on the bowling.

Craig Philipson (36no) simply turned over the strike as the Blues raced to 0-139 in 13.2 overs in response to the Hornets’ 4-138.

Ken Wilson (57no), Brett Potbury (34) and Worrin Williams (33) all made handy contributions for the Hornets but to no avail.

Valley stormed into the semi-finals on the back of two super performances on their home turf at Ashgrove.

The Diehards pulled off a big upset by thumping Toombul by 32 runs in their afternoon game, with veteran Lee Carseldine turning back the clock with a vintage performance.

The man who was the leading runscorer in the KFC T20 Big Bash four years ago slammed 86 off 47 balls, with eight fours and three sixes, to help Valley to a healthy 6-174.

The top five bats for Toombul are all Brisbane Heat squad members but they each perished for 14 runs or less, apart from Chris Sabburg’s fighting 46 off 37 balls.

All of the Valley bowlers took wickets in a comprehensive team performance as Toombul struggled to 9-142.

It guaranteed the early January semi-final berth after the Diehards made quick work of Ipswich-Logan in the morning.

A stunning 62 off just 28 balls featuring six sixes and five fours by Andrew Gode coupled with 49 off 37 balls by young gun Jack Wildermuth helped the Diehards to 7-182.

The Hornets struggled to find any gaps in the field in their innings, labouring to 5-79 off their 20 overs.

Wildermuth boasted the extraordinary figures of 1-8 off four overs and Carseldine grabbed 2-18 off four, including the key wicket of Williams (21).

Norths and Wynnum-Manly tied their clash at Kalinga, a result that might have been enough to get the Vikings a finals berth.

Wynnum-Manly batted first and made 7-136, largely on the back of the in-form Nathan Rabnott’s 57 as young gun Josh McClelland snared 2-15 off four overs for the home side.

Norths lost Dom Michael and James Hopes cheaply and it was left to Heat players Joe Burns (25 off 26 balls) and Nathan Hauritz (29 not out off 19 balls) to save the day.

Hauritz and Haydn Murray (22no off 18) almost got the Vikings home as they reached 4-136.

The Vikings registered a critical victory in the morning on a tough deck, scrambling to 8-107 in reply to South Brisbane’s 8-103.

McClelland was expensive in the morning but Hopes (1-10 off four), James Donnelly (2-7 off three) and Hauritz (2-16 off four) laid the foundation for victory.

Michael (22) and Hopes (25) gave the Vikings a solid start, but a double strike by Ben Cutting (3-25 off four) got Souths right back into the game.

Teenage keeper Tom Whip (6no) stood tall under pressure as others fell around him to get his side to victory by two wickets.

The loss ended Souths’ faint final hopes, although they rebounded to beat Redlands by 30 runs in the afternoon.

Michael Narracott’s unbeaten 82 was the cornerstone of the Magpies’ 8-150 while Michael Brammer’s 3-14 off four overs, including the key wicket of Alex Kemp for 30, was also important.

Western Suburbs produced two big wins to give their net run rate a boost, flattening Redlands for 100 in the morning game.

The ever-reliable Steve Paulsen took 3-9 off four overs with his leg-spin, while Pat Collins (51no off 33 balls) and Bryce Carseldine (43no off 37) got the Bulldogs off to a flyer with a nine-wicket win.

Collins followed up with 46 off 22 balls, Paulsen 54 off 38 and Sam Truloff 54 off 36 as Wests rattled up the highest score of the day, 4-208, against Sandgate-Redcliffe.

The Gators went down swinging for 59 off just 10.3 overs, with the Bulldogs attack sharing the wickets around.

The day had started brightly for Sandgate-Redcliffe, who have been so good in the two-day version of the game, after easily accounting for the Gold Coast by six wickets.

Greg Moller made 61 for the Dolphins as Leigh McLaughlan (3-29 off four) and Michael Castle (3-14 off four) did most of the damage.

The semi-finalists and venues will be confirmed tomorrow, with the semi-finals to be played on Sunday 6 January.