Scouting guide: 35 top performers from NQ Zone Championships revealed
Cricket Far North showcased why they are one of regional Queenslands best sporting competitions with a dominant display over Mackay-Whitsunday while Central Queensland romped to a 4-0 sweep over North Queensland. We reveal the 35 outstanding performers who made rep scouts sit up and take notice.
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Cricket Far North have dominated the opening two days of the North Queensland Country Cricket Carnival, claiming massive wins in both First and Second XI.
Griffiths Park became a highlight reel of massive sixes and plenty of boundaries as the Far North claimed four wins from the two grades against Mackay-Whitsunday.
Young gun Aidan Firman blasted his way to 89 from 80 balls on Saturday First XI clash, keeping the Queensland under 19s selectors well and truly watching the talented opener.
While Second XI spinner Aiden Beach picked up six wickets for 41 runs across the weekend.
CRICKET FAR NORTH KEY PERFORMERS
Ryan McGrath, CFN First XI
McGrath was the pick of the bowlers in the opening match up against Mackay-Whitsunday in Saturday’s 50 over match up at Griffiths Park.
The third change bowler picked up 3-34 from 9.2 overs, getting the key wicket of MW opening batsman Sam Vassallo for 57.
Aidan Firman, CFN First XI
Firman has been in incredible form recently and Saturday was no different with a blistering 89 from 80 balls which included five 4s and four 6s.
Far Norths’ opening batsman top scored but had plenty of support around him, combining with experienced cricketer Justin Reid for a 123 run partnership and an 82 run stand with Angus Warnock.
Justin Reid, CFN First XI
Reid came in when CFN lost two quick wickets after crusing to 1-103, the middle order big hitter came in at 3-103 and put together a 123 runs stand with opener Firman.
Mulgrave and Far North Fusions’ skipper belted 73 from 56 balls which included seven 4s and three 6s.
Angus Warnock, CFN First XI
Far Norths keeper is pretty used to the Griffiths Park wicket and showed his class from ball one.
Coming in at 1-21, Warnock put on an 82 run stand with Firman, before being dismissed on 41 from 46 balls which included five 4s and a six.
Jake Roach, CFN First XI
The big hitting Jake Roach has been dominant in the Barrier Reef Big Bash T20 tournament and has continued his form in the T20 match up against MW on Sunday.
Roach belted 57 from 37 balls which included five 4s and two 6s to lift his side to 7-146 after 20 overs.
Seth McGinty, CFN First XI
Young McGinty was the pick of the bowlers on Sunday for the CFN First XI picking up 3-21 from three overs.
McGinty ripped through the top order, removing the top three batmsen.
Aidan Beach, CFN Second XI
Young Aidan Beach spun his was through the middle and lower order of MW Second XI with the little spinner picking up 3-25 from 8.2 overs to hold the travelling side to just 90.
Beach picked up the vital wicket of MW’s leading run scorer Harrison Holmes who was a player to watch out for.
Beach continued his weekend form with another brilliant spell on Sunday, this time in a T20 keeping his economy rate at just four.
The young spinner picked up 3-16 from four overs with two of his three wickets stumped with some brilliant work behind the stumps by Tim Ward.
Gareth Thomas, CFN Second XI
Coming in at number three and the score at 1-7, Thomas took his time to get started but battled his way to posting a brilliant 82 from 109 balls which included four 4s and two 6s.
Thomas combined for a 104 run partnership with Adam Trewin and an 84 run stand with David Coulthard.
Adam Trewin, CFN Second XI
Trewin took no prisoners on Saturday, blasting 67 from 41 balls which included 12 fours and a six while combining with Thomas for an 82 run partnership, to which he scored 67 of them.
He was part of the reason CFN posted a massive 8-344 from their 50 overs.
Continuing on from his early form, Trewin went at a strike rate of 253.33 with a blistering 38 not out from just 15 balls.
Trewin’s innings included three 4s and three 6s as he guided his side to claim their second win in a row.
David Coulthard, CFN Second XI
The middle order wasn’t keen on missing out on the fun on Saturday with Coulthard being dismissed at 56 from 65 balls which included six 4s.
Coulthard combined with Thomas for an 84 run stand.
Zac Craig, CFN Second XI
Craig joined in the fun with his fellow batsmen, smashing 53 from 34 balls which included six fours and a six.
He combined with Dan Freebody with a 66 run partnership, getting his side well over the 300 mark.
Dan Freebody, CFN Second XI
Freebody batted at eight, low for his normal Norths CC standards but joined in the fun finishing with 32 not out from 21 balls which included two 4s and two 6s.
Tim Ward, CFN Second XI
Ward was given the opening duties, this time took it back at the Mackay-Whitsunday bowlers going at just under a strike rate of 90.
The wicket-keeper-batsman finished with 31 from 36 which included three 4s and a six.
MACKAY-WHITSUNDAY KEY PERFORMERS
Sam Vassallo, MW First XI
A key to a great innings is getting the team off to a flyer, Vassallo did what he could with a brilliant 57 from 80 balls whcih included nine 4s.
Vassallo did what he could with wickets falling around him early on but did combine a number of 30 plus run partnerships.
Mason Kohler, MW First XI
With wickets consistently falling around him, Kohler guided his side to what is a reasonable total of 203.
Kohler finished not out on 37 from 39 balls which included four 4s and a six all while his side lost 4-23 around him.
Lane Kohler, MW First XI
Kohler had the second best strike rate of his side in Saturday’s hit out with 110.71 but it wasn’t enough as he was eventually dismissed for 31 from 28 balls which included six 4s
Lane also did the damage with the ball, picking up 3-44 from eight overs, which included the vital wicket of Warnock for 41 and Andrew Phelps for a second ball duck.
Luke Jackson, MW First XI
Jackson was the shining light in the T20 match up on Sunday as his side finsihed 8-109 after their 20 overs.
The middle order bat finished with 48 not out from 45 balls which included five 4s and came in at 3-23.
Jamon Smith, MW Second XI
The shining light for what was a very dismal day for MW on Saturday, with Smith being the pick of the bowlers picking up 3-46 from 7.3 overs.
Smith claimed the wickets of Craig (53), Tim Ward (11) and Braydn Croft (0) as CFN posted a massive 8-344.
Hakikat Singh Chauhan, MW Second XI
With wickets falling consistenly, Chauhan posted a quickfire 35 from 29 balls which included a four and two 6s as his side finished with 7-111 in Sunday’s T20 match up.
Central Queensland completed a four-game clean sweep over North Queensland, defeating the Townsville visitors in T20 and 50-over contests across the weekend.
CQ’s First XI defeated NQ by 166 runs in Saturday’s one-dayer, posting 258 runs in the first innings and holding the opposition under 100.
They completed the sweep in Sunday’s T20, though it was a much closer affair, prevailing by three wickets with six balls to spare.
The margin of victory was even greater for CQ’s Seconds, chasing down North Queensland’s 50-over total of 116 with 30 overs to spare.
North Queensland was unable to even the Second XI ledger in their Sunday T20, going down by 42 runs.
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND KEY PERFORMERS
Kerrin Corrie, CQ First XI
Corrie top-scored for Central Queensland in a 166-run one-day demolition of North Queensland, piling on 61 runs at better than run-a-ball pace.
Corrie was instrumental in assembling a 97-run partnership for no loss at Rockhampton Cricket Ground, setting the stage for a 258-run opening innings.
It was the finest knock of the weekend for Central Queensland in either division.
Joe McGahan, CQ First XI
McGahan came in at 2-97 and remained until he lost his wicket at 5-195, adding 39 runs off 63 balls in a settling innings.
McGahan waited for the bad balls and dispatched them for a match-high three sixes.
Callum McMahon, CQ First XI
McMahon raised the bat for a half-century of runs as the aggressor in a 64-run partnership with McGahan.
McMahon provided the heartbeat of Central Queensland’s middle and late innings in a big win over North Queensland.
Logan Whitfield, CQ First XI
Whitfield put the finishing touches on North Queensland’s capitulation, taking three of the final four wickets to restrict the chase to under 100 runs.
Whitfield dismissed Jarrod Camer stumped, bowled Travis Busch and caught out Logan Whitfield.
Two of those three wickets are regular top order bats in Townsville cricket, adding a layer of shine to a 3-10 bowling performances from six overs.
Hayden O’Connor, CQ First XI
Big-hitting Hayden O’Connor pulled Central Queensland out of the fire to complete the clean sweep over North Queensland, producing the critical runs to chase down victory in the Sunday T20.
CQ were 4-58 in the 10th over, chasing 141 and in dire need of a batter to step up and take control.
O’Connor delivered, smashing 55 runs from 31 balls to flip the complexion of the match.
CQ ran down North Queensland with six balls to spare.
Joshua Welsh, CQ Second XI
Welsh delivered a team-high 46 not-out off 49 deliveries to secure a seven wicket victory over North Queensland’s Seconds with 30 overs to spare in Saturday’s 50-over game.
The Capricorn Coast batter came in at 3-48 in the eighth and took the game away with seven boundaries, three for maximum, striking at 117.94.
Benjamin Howard, CQ Second XI
The Falcons opener was Welsh’s trusty partner-in-crime as the duo combined for a match-winning 71 run partnership in Saturday’s win over NQ.
Howard hit seven boundaries, all for four, as he compiled 38 not-out from 49 deliveries.
Gihan Dilruk, CQ Second XI
The Glen’s bowling all-rounder was efficient and deadly from his 10 overs in Saturday’s 50-over game, taking four scalps for 23 runs.
Dilruk removed both of NQ’s established bats, Sillis (caught-and-bowled) and Price (lbw) before dismissing No.5 Jaecob Prien for 1, again caught-and-bowled, and Casey Jeffree for eight.
Hayden Owen, CQ Second XI
Dawson Valley’s skipper made sure North Queensland regretted its decision to bowl first with a punishing 47 off 31 deliveries in Sunday’s T20.
Owen hit seven boundaries, including three sixes, to strike at over 150.
He accounted for 81 per cent of his side’s tally before he was bowled, leaving his side 1-58 at the end of the eighth over.
Travis Applewaite, CQ Second XI
Central Queensland had lost four wickets for 10 runs after Hayden Owen’s dismissal sparked a collapse, and the game was crying out for a saviour.
Applewaite stood up in the big moment, carrying on Owen’s impressive striking to plunder 46 runs off 30 balls.
A 57-run partnership with Benjamin Howard gave CQ a total of 158 it would defend for a 42 run victory.
Nick Bartlett, CQ Second XI
The Mop struck gold against the NQ tail, claiming match-best bowling figures of 3-24 from 3.4 overs by dismissing North Queensland’s No.8, No.10 and No.11.
Bartlett removed JD Wilkins caught-behind, bowled Sam Woodbury and trapped Logyn-John Webster lbw to put the final stamp on a comprehensive T20 victory on Sunday.
NORTH QUEENSLAND KEY PERFORMERS
Travis Busch, NQ First XI
It was looking like an ugly opening round for North Queensland’s opening bowler with figures of 1-66 from nine overs.
A final over of 2-3 went some way to salvaging a tough day at the office but it was too little, too late as those wickets left CQ 9-253.
Busch ended with 3-69 from 10 overs in the 166-run 50-over defeat to open the zone championships.
Sam Lowry, NQ First XI
Lowry posted the finest innings of North Queensland’s campaign so far opening the batting in the T20 on Sunday.
His 39 off 31 deliveries guided NQ to 1-71 in the 13th over before he was stumped off the bowling of Riley McDonald.
North Queensland would have dearly loved its leader out in the middle to close out the innings as it ended the day 4-141, which Central Queensland chased down with an over to spare.
Zachary Sillis, NQ Second XI
The Wanderers’ bat made 49 off 61 deliveries to give North Queensland’s Second XI a strong start in its one-day clash in Rockhampton.
Heath O’Brien fell for 5, leaving Sillis to partner Matthew Price for a stabilising innings.
Sillis was the fifth wicket to fall at 5-100 and North Queensland were all out for 116, opening the door to a withering defeat with 30 overs to spare.
Matthew Price, NQ Second XI
The captain of Saints in Townsville’s second grade competition played his role atop the order for the NQ Second XI, adding 30 runs at nearly a run a ball to reach 1-58 in the 12th over of the 50-over game Saturday.
It was fine work in partnership with No.3 Sillis but their efforts were let down by an ugly collapse from the rest of them team.
Nine other players combined for 30 runs for the bat to tie Price’s contribution.
Heath O’Brien, NQ Second XI
Townsville’s resident master blaster made up for his early dismissal in the one-dayer by carting 55 runs from 22 deliveries opening the batting in Sunday’s T20.
North Queensland’s Second XI raced to 0-63 before O’Brien was bowled on the final ball of the sixth over.
His knock reduced the required run rate from 7.9 to 6.3 but another late collapse saw the loss of the next nine wickets for 53 runs, handing victory to CQ on a silver platter.
RIVALS BEWARE: NQ COUNTRY CRICKET CARNIVAL’S BIGGEST THREATS
The biggest rivalries in Queensland Country Cricket descends to Cairns for the annual North Queensland Country Cricket Carnival.
Far North, North Queensland, Mackay-Whitsunday and Central Queensland will take on each other at Griffiths Park over two weekends to be crowned the best in North Queensland.
There will be plenty of fireworks from ball one with Far North taking on Mackay-Whitsunday and Central Queensland taking on North Queensland on Saturday both kicking off at 9:30am.
See the full fixture below.
With plenty of talent across the Northern Region of Queensland, we took a deep dive into who are the biggest threats for each team.
See the biggest threats below:
Far North:
First XI
Quickest bowler – Henry King
This young gun has made a serious name for himself in the Cricket Far North competition and is ultimately beginning to be feared by batsmen. King could be a late withdrawal due to a quad injury but if he does play, expect the radar gun to be hitting high 130kms to low 140kms.
Biggest hitter – Jake Roach
Arguably the best Queensland Country Cricketer. Roach has put on powerful hitting displays on almost every ground in Queensland, including a grand final performance at the Gabba for Far North Fusion where he sent two massive sixes into the second tier of the grand stand. Also wouldn’t want to face him when he is on with the ball.
Best fielder – Andrew Phelps
Phelps moved to Cairns Rovers last season and changed the fielding dynamic of the club. He is arguably one of the best fielders in the competition and I wouldn’t be mistaking him in the field, his bullet of an arm and smart thinking is one that will have batsmen second guessing that quick single. Can also be a very handy with the bat and ball.
Second XI
Quickest bowler – Brody Zanetich
Another young gun with plenty of pace behind him. Once Zanetich finds the consistency of line and length the pace just flows and look out for the bouncer, you will want to be quickly onto the back foot or ducking.
Biggest hitter – Vicky Lefty
Another seriously big hitting from the Far North. Lefty loves batting at Griffiths Park and expect a lot of fireworks if he gets going in this tournament. Be sure to be ready for a catch in the crowd. Not bad with the ball either.
Best fielder – Adam Trewin
Trewin’s cricket is getting better and better every year and that includes his fielding. He is quick off the mark, pick up and throw is lighting and you better be sure there is a run there because I don’t think there is a more accurate throw in the competition.
North Queensland:
First XI
Quickest Bowler – Kai Adami
A string bean fast bowler who uses every centimetre of his tremendous height to launch thunderbolts down the wicket. The Norths’ star’s speed and bounce can trouble batsmen of any ability.
Biggest Hitter – Sam Lowry
With a collection of cricket bats as broad as Lowry’s you’d hope the Queensland Country captain could swing with the best of them. There’s no doubt he can. Lowry can cart bowlers to all parts of the ground with timing and power few can match at this level.
Best Fielder – Lachlan Ford
Ford was crowned the finest fielder in all of regional Queensland two seasons ago and his skills have remained razor sharp. Ford is a safe pair of hands and an accurate throw at the stumps. There are few more dangerous arms to challenge in Rockhampton this weekend that the Townsville star’s.
Second XI
Quickest bowler – Stanley Serovita
Serovita was a North Queensland under-16 representative a season ago but is blossoming into a potent all-rounder. His powerful batting translates into some rapid deliveries.
Biggest Hitter – Heath O’Brien
The master blaster from Suburban Parks is the most destructive fence-swinger in Townsville. O’Brien reached 50 in 21 deliveries to stun Norths for the first time in three seasons in the last round of the local season. In total O’Brien hit six sixes in that innings to underline his potency with the willow.
Best Fielder – Shane Squires
Veterans around Townsville Cricket know that catches hit in the vicinity of Squires of the Wanderers generally result in a trip back to pavilion. Squires has one of the cleanest sets of hands in the district and snaffles opportunities with regularity.
Mackay-Whitsunday:
First XI
Quickest bowler – Mason Kohler
The spearhead of the Nitros’ bowling attack, gets good pace behind the ball and leads from the front.
Biggest hitter – Darryn Dyer
Has been on an insane run of form recently encapsulated by a pair of centuries in the Bulls Masters Country. Is one of the in-form batters in the competition, expect more from him.
Best fielder – Shaun Austin
Very talented in any position on the field, capable of producing a key run out or snaring a spectacular catch.
Second XI
Quickest bowler – Harry Holmes
Another player who get plenty of speed behind the ball, expect Holmes to feature prominently in the wickets column.
Biggest hitter – Chris Day
Can take the game away from any opponent if he gets a run on. Has a history of big scores in franchise competitions and grade cricket.
Best fielder – Connor Muller
An agile fielder who gets on the ball quickly and is more than capable of taking the odd screamer when needed.
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