Action Aplenty In Premier Cricket

Week One

Premier Cricket resumed in 2024 as men’s First and Second Grades got underway with a Saturday/Sunday fixture.

University of Queensland’s dominant duo of Bryce Street and Angus Lovell returned to their best form, while Ipswich and Norths carried on their pre-Christmas form to both defeat top five teams. 

With such drastic rainfall across South-East Queensland throughout the Christmas break, nearly all of the wickets had a bowler friendly tinge to them, a nice welcome back for batting units!

Heading into the weekend, all sides looking to contend in finals would have had a close eye on the Gold Coast vs Ipswich fixture. The first placed Ipswich Hornets travelled to Bill Pippen Oval to take on the fourth placed Gold Coast, a match which could easily repeat come finals time.

The Hornets lost the toss and were sent into bat in tough conditions. Opener Bryn Llewellyn (61 off 113) top scored for his side, his nearest run getter fellow opener Dan Wilson (20 off 57). Gold Coast bowlers Matt Revis (4/41) and Connor Brown (3/26) led the wicket takers, Ipswich all out 181. 

Building an identity this season as a team who are never out of a match, the low score seemed not to worry the Ipswich outfit.

Fast bowlers Jem Ryan (3/34) and Harry Wood (3/22) decimated the Dolphins top order, quickly reducing them to 4/11. Wickets continued to tumble as the Gold Coast batters struggled to sustain any partnerships, soon 7/55.

Queensland 2nd XI keeper Lachy Aitken (28 off 55) top scored and fought hard for his side, however when Wood took his wicket the game was all but won by the Hornets. The Dolphins eventually dismissed for 109.

Some second innings hitting from the Hornets saw them reach 6/238 at stumps, Anthony Wilson (68 off 101) top scoring.

At Jack McLaughlin Oval, Wests and University of Queensland played out a high scoring affair.

Batting first, Wests opener Isiah Snell (70 off 133) and skipper Steve McGiffin pictured  (85 off 140) steered their sides innings. Despite Wests sluggish start to the two day campaign, McGiffin’s form has been excellent – he is currently second in the competition for runs scored.

A late surge from Jared Sippel (45 off 36) helped Wests reach 9/341d. Uni’s James Lindsay (3/80), Matt Willans (2/57), Callum Henderson (2/76) and Jack Clayton (2/50) taking the wickets.

Last season’s most prolific run scorers were back in emphatic fashion to start 2024. Uni openers Bryce Street (171* off 238) and Angus Lovell (88 off 136) were ruthless against a high quality Wests bowling unit, combining in a 176 run partnership.

Lovell’s dismissal saw Jack Clayton (49 off 67) come to the crease, who added another century stand with Street. Despite Jack and Max Clayton falling in consecutive deliveries to Toby Matthews (2/75), the day belonged to the Students. Street’s mammoth innings saw Uni claim victory, declaring shortly after 3/350.

Northern Suburbs started off their New Year with a strong outright victory against the fifth placed Wynnum-Manly. Bowling first, Norths seam duo of Noah McFadyen (4/25) and Sam Neale (4/15) proved too strong for the Wynnum batters. Wickets fell at a constant, Wynnum all out 96 off 31.5 overs. 

A glimmer of hope shone for Wynnum as Harmon Sandhu (5/85) and Liam Guthrie (4/47) had Norths 3/34. However, Blake Maher (99 off 90) and Rav Srivastava (81 off 108) quickly surged past the target score as they adjusted mindset in search of an outright win.

Maher was particularly brutal, hitting five maximums and 10 boundaries in his exhilarating innings. Unfortunately, he fell early Sunday morning for 99, Srivastava departing the crease not long after as well.

Norths finished all out 268 with nearly an entire day’s play to search for 10 wickets. McFadyen (5/33) was again at the forefront for Norths, his 9 wickets in the match playing him first among the competition’s wicket takers. Leg spinner Ryan Walker (3/9) wrapped up the tail to have Wynnum all out 103, Norths outright victors.

Redlands managed to hold of a defiant Souths run chase on Norman Gray Oval.

Batting first on the tough wicket, only Stephan Muller (30 off 97) managed to reach 30 for the Tigers. Fortunately, the number 10 and 11 combination of George Garrett (22* off 54) and Jake Carden (26 off 46) managed to see their total through from 9/140 to all out 186.

Souths young seamers Luke Wegner (2/28) and Ed Leslie (2/39) and Thisaja Samarawickrama (3/30) showed maturity beyond their years, sending down a combined 49 overs. James Rosewarnes’ (3/40) leg spin also proved tough to face. 

It was a warm welcome back to Australia for Englishman George Garrett, trapping Souths opener Lucky Peterson in front with the first ball of the innings. Despite Aryan Jain (28 off 59) and Sam Geyer (32 off 108) occupying the crease for a decent period, their side was unable to gain momentum against last year’s premiers.

Seam bowlers Jack Jarvis (4/28), Bailey Stewart (2/29) and Garrett (2/25) dominated for Redlands and took wickets in clumps – twice losing two wickets for no score. Redlands dismissed Souths all out 126. 

Redlands Dylan Kritzinger (58* off 36) hit five maximums in the second innings, helping his side to 3/150 before stumps was called.

Toombul managed to notch a strong run chase victory against north side foe Sandgate-Redcliffe. Sandgate’s batting innings was off to a strong start, opener Dan Seaton (52 off 141) notching his highest score of the year.

Unfortunately for Sandgate, Toombul’s bowlers were able to continuously break partnerships and inhibit any of the five scores between 22-35 runs to convert to something big. 

Toombul’s young speedster Tom Balkin (3/32) paired nicely with the spin of Preston White (3/75), both leading the bowling unit to have Sandgate all out 227.

In reply, Toombul opening batter Addy Grewal (118 off 130) was at his clean hitting best. In his second hundred of the season, Grewal entertained the local Toombul crowd with his flamboyant stroke making, hitting 14 boundaries and one maximum.

Fellow opener Toby Snell (55 off 141) also had a return to form. Queensland 2nd XI batter Lachlan Hearne (102* off 94) came in at 1/167 and quickly surged his side past the target score.

Hearne’s hundred, his second of the season as well, coincided with Toombul reaching the maximum batting points score of 350. Declaring 6/353, Toombul managed to take a further 5 wickets in Sandgate’s second innings. Preston White (3/53) again led from the front for his side.

No play was had between the Sunshine Coast and Valley.

As the ladder tightens towards the end of the season, second innings bonus points will become increasingly important. A mere 5.5 points separates fourth and fifth (Gold Coast and Toombul), while sixth and seventh (Redlands and Wynnum) are tied only 11 points behind them. With the top three sides (Ipswich, Norths and Valley) are all but qualified for finals, the fourth position will be hotly contested in the last four rounds of play.

TOTW

Not available

Week Two

While only three men’s First Grade fixtures were played on Saturday, they certainly did not disappoint!

First innings results have already been secured in all three matches, and the second weekend looms as an enormous opportunity for teams to push hard for all important points.

At Ian Healy Oval, second placed Norths played host to third placed Valley. On a wicket with plenty of life early,

Valley elected to bowl first and reaped rewards almost immediately. Joey Pratt (2/6) dismissed both Norths openers, before Benji Floros (4/28) ripped through the middle order.

Jack Wildermuth (2/7) and Saxon Jeh (2/40) also took a pair each as Valley were nothing short of dominant in the session. Some lusty blows from Blake Maher (30 off 17) saw Norths scrape to be all out for 83.

Norths Noah McFadyen (2/72) took two early wickets, however the day belonged to Valley. Jack Wildermuth (107 off 144) returned to form with by far his best return of the summer.

The Queensland Bull and Brisbane Heat player has struggled with the bat in his return from injury this season – it’s fantastic to see him in full flight again.

Opener Josh Neill (71 off 190) was also excellent for his side, helping push their score to 5/220 at stumps.

First placed Ipswich continued their phenomenal form on Saturday, skittling the University of Queensland for 72 on Saturday morning.

Emerging young quick Jem Ryan (5/21) took his third five wicket haul of the season for Ipswich. Ryan took the prized wickets of Angus Lovell (3 off 8), Max Clayton (1 off 11) and Bryce Street (0 off 7).

Street’s dismissal came from one of the best catches you’ll see, keeper Jake Cross taking a double skip step then launching himself horizontal down the legside to pluck the ball one handed.

University were unable to ever truly recover from being 4/7. Hamish Gardener (22* off 39) tried his best to salvage the innings, however Ipswich proved too dominant and bowled Uni out for 72. Harry Wood (2/17) also picked up a pair of wickets for his side.

Uni could not have had a better start to their innings with the ball, Matt Willans (1/11) and Callum Henderson (2/39) both collecting a wicket in their firsts overs to have Ipswich 2/0.

An incredible catch at short leg by James Grady to remove Jack Wood (7 off 17) gave Uni a glimmer of hope, Ipswich 4/48. However, Harry Wood (94 off 126) showed again why he’s one of the competitions best players. Wood and keeper Jake Cross (50 off 52) combined to help take Ipswich to be all out 211.

With a lead of 139, Ipswich bowled again for a short period before stumps. Jem Ryan managed to take Lovell’s wicket in that time, Uni 1/38 and trailing by 101 at the end of the day.

The Gold Coast sent Sandgate-Redcliffe into bat at Bill Pippen Oval, looking to claim a win and extend their gap on fifth place.

Big hitter Jack Cooper (35 off 24) had the Gators off to a flyer, racing to a half century within 6 overs.

However, after Jackson Smith (5/24) dismissed Cooper, the match quickly fell in favour of the Gold Coast. Smith claimed three wickets inside his first three overs to quickly have Sandgate 3/72.

Regular wickets continued to fall, Cody Reynolds (2/36) chipping in for the Gold Coast. Young star Steve Hogan (22* off 69) impressed as he showed great resolve to bat with the tail and try drag his side to a total they could defend, eventually dismissed all out 140.

On a wicket that proved tough for any batter to stay in, Dolphin’s opener Ashton Gumm considered attack the best defence.

Fortunately, it paid dividends. Gumm smashed 104 off 69 balls, hitting 16 boundaries and 3 sixes in his brutal display.

It was an innings which contrasted all others from the day, propelling his team to a first innings win and into a position to push hard for an outright win.

Sandgate-Redcliffe seamer Mitch Buckley (5/52) took his maiden First Grade five wicket haul to help keep his side in a competitive position.

While the Gold Coast passed the target score three wickets down, the young pairing of Buckley and Lakshdeep Singh (2/17) managed to quickly wrap the Dolphins up for 9/191d.

The Gold Coast only faced 30 overs in the fast paced innings, leaving Sandgate with 15 overs to negate in their second innings before stumps. Zac McDermott (2/12) claimed two wickets for the Dolphins, Sandgate then bunkering down to be 2/22 at stumps.

This weekend, Redlands v Toombul, Sunshine Coast v Wynnum-Manly and Wests v Souths will all be played as unscheduled one day matches. Unscheduled one day matches are played in whites and use a red ball.

KFC Queensland Premier Cricket TOTW

1. Ashton Gumm, 104 (69), Gold Coast, Mens 1st Grade
2. Trinity Doyle, 73 (102), Ipswich, Womens 1st Grade
3. Leah Dobson, 69 (59), Gold Coast, Womens 1st Grade
4. Harrison Wood, 94 (126) & 2/17 (8.0), Ipswich, Mens 1st Grade
5. Jack Wildermuth, 107 (144) & 2/7 (6.5), Valley, Mens 1st Grade
6. Courtney Sippel, 46 (54) & 2/32 (8.1), Western Suburbs, Womens 1st Grade
7. Megan Jones, 4/19 (8.0), Valley, Womens 1st Grade
8. Jem Ryan, 5/21 (11.0) & 1/17 (5.0), Ipswich, Mens 1st Grade
9. Mitchell Buckley, 5/52 (11.0), Sandgate-Redcliffe, Mens 1st Grade
10. Jackson Smith, 5/24 (10.0), Gold Coast, Mens 1st Grade
11. Jessica Daldy, 4/35 (10.0), University of Queensland, Womens 1st Grade