CQ Centurions U18s ready to defend North Qld Cricket Championship title

Coach Jeff Case reveals the strength of the Central Qld cricket team that is gearing up to defend its title in Mackay this weekend, including the star duo who will be key to the quest.

Rising stars Riley McDonald and Sam Gassman.

The CQ Centurions boast a host of talented all-rounders, something their coach believes could prove the difference at this weekend’s North Queensland Zone Championships.

Gladstone’s Jeff Case takes the reins of the under-18 outfit, which is looking to defend its title at the event starting on Friday in Mackay.

A former first-grade cricketer in New Zealand, Case has not long moved to Central Queensland and has just been named in the Queensland Country open men’s team.

He is excited for his coaching role which has provided an introduction to some of the underage talent in the region.

Case has high hopes for the Centurions, who will take on Far North, North Queensland and Mackay-Whitsundays in 50-over matches, starting on Friday

“I’m confident that if I can help get them in the right frame of mind and have them ready to perform, then their skills will be enough to win,” he said.

CQ Centurions under-18 boys cricket coach Jeff Case.

“It was a tough selection and I’m really happy with the squad that we picked.

“The strength is we’ve got a lot of guys who bat and bowl, and having those all-rounders is really good for us going into three days of hard cricket.

”It will be an opportunity for different guys to stand up on different days and show their skills.”

Case has seen firsthand the ability of two of his charges - team captain Riley McDonald and Sam Gassman.

He played alongside them in the Central Queensland open men’s team which a fortnight ago was crowned North Queensland champions.

The in-form duo was also part of the Rockhampton Grammar School First XI that won the Queensland Cricket state T20 competition in September.

Captain Riley McDonald has been in top form with bat and ball.

McDonald then excelled in the team’s biannual cricket tour in Brisbane that followed, his best performances being an unprecedented innings of 210 runs off 157 balls and a stirring bowling spell of 5/7 off four overs.

McDonald and Gassman play in the Rockhampton A-grade competition with Frenchville, as well as third division with Grammar.

Case said McDonald was a “natural fit” for the captaincy, his leadership and maturity complementing his coaching style.

Skill-wise, he was a solid batsman with a growing range of shots, a bowler with good control and match awareness, and an athletic fielder with a very safe pair of hands.

“Riley is a great student of the game. He is keen to learn and develop skills,” Case said.

Sam Gassman will be looking to bag plenty of wickets this weekend.

Likewise, Gassman was a player with plenty of potential who was always putting in the hard yards to elevate his game.

“He’s a young seamer, who is tall and quick and hits the wicket,” Case said.

“I know he’s been working really hard over the last few years to develop his game.”

Case said he would be stressing to his team the importance of flexibility and adaptability.

“If we do happen to lose a few wickets early on, it’s not the end of the world because we’ve got plenty of batters to come,” he said.

“Likewise, if we find an opposition batter having a good day, we’ve got a lot of options with the ball that we can turn to to try to take the wickets.”

CQ Centurions line-up

Eddy Grice, Colby Rudd, Riley McDonald (c), Chad Charlesworth, Jonty Haward, Oliver Spyve, Josh Peckett, Walt Lanson, Sam Gassman, Jackson Baillie, Cayden Kent, Sam Graham