GPS First XI cricket grand final: TSS on the verge of yet another premiership after beating Nudgee
The Southport School were on the verge of yet another premiership after toppling St Joseph’s Nudgee College in the top-of-the-table clash today at Southport.
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The Southport School were on the verge of yet another premiership after toppling St Joseph’s Nudgee College in the top-of-the-table clash today at Southport.
TSS need to beat St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace in Brisbane next weekend to claim the title after moving ahead of previously first placed Nudgee College today.
Having set Nudgee 173 to win, St Joseph’s were dismissed for 139.
Yet again the TSS slow bowlers hunted as a pack, with Jack Sinfield the pick on the bunch in terms of figures, but just one individual in what was another elite team bowling effort.
Backed by a ring of fieldsmen, Kelly, Gossett, Crump, Sinfield and Chabert encircled their rivals, choking them in the run chase.
Premiers in 2019, TSS were now just one win away.
“We are in a good position,’’ said TSS head of cricket Steve Baker.
He said the quality of the contest was oustanding.
“There is no shame in how Nudgee went about it. There was everything you wanted in GPS cricket on show today.
“Playing at home, we fought back. It was an impressive day of cricket.’’
He stressed Nudgee offered to play at Ross Oval if TSS could not get the Village Green going after rain, but tireless work at Southport by ground staff led to the match proceeding.
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Nudgee coach Terry Oliver said TSS were too good. “They out-played us around the park. “They recovered well and their spinners tightened the screws on us,’’ Oliver said.
“We were gallant, we tried to get out of it but they deserved the win.’’
On most occasions TSS defend 172, and certainly the odds increase of them successfully curtailing a chasing batting line-up on their home deck.
The Nudgee batsmen knew, the watching spectators knew it.
And the stakes were raised with the two early losses of Daniel Fielding and Luke Maugeri, dismissed LBW by Crump and Gossett respectfully.
Nudgee tiptoed through the first 15 overs to be 3-20 and never recovered.
The team’s best batsman, Jackson Mills, scored 25 before being bowled by Sinfield and then the lower order followed quickly.
The difference in the two teams was a rookie called Billy Walker.
TSS were making steady progress after the loss of early wickets, and then the acceleration came courtesy of Tom Gossett (51) and Walker (39) who, playing in only his third First XI match but actually getting his first bat, blasted a run-a-ball 39.
TSS were 6-129 when Gossett was dismissed, but in stepped Walker at No.7.
Walker brushed off the pressure of the grand final to stroke four fours and two sixes, sending his side racing past 150.
Earlier, batting first, Louis Chabert displayed as much patience as a saint in accumulating 15 in 112 minutes for TSS.
After watching Markham, Crump and batting ace Sinfield dismissed cheaply, Chabert went about rebuilding the TSS innings from 3-13 to 55 before he was dismissed by Tom Malone.
Chabert withstood an opening salvo by arguably the competition’s best new ball bowler, Kallum Russell (2-18), whose first five overs cost just six runs.
His new ball partner Tom Balkin (2-26), perhaps striving for additional pace, sent eight wides beyond the reach of the batsmen, but fought back well.
Tom Gossett was positive at the crease as TSS eased to 4-64 at the halfway point of the innings, before Justin Faber took on the bowlers.
Faber launched to 21 off just 19 balls until batting-all-rounder Jackson Mills held his nerve bowling off spin.
Faber came hard at Malone, but Mills maintained his line and length to bowl Faber to again halt TSS’s momentum.
Gossett then progressed to 30 (50 balls) as TSS looked to move the running rate along.
At Ipswich, Noah Emmerson (82, 65 balls) was at it again with a big score in Ipswich Grammar School’s imposing first innings total of 230 against western neighbours Toowoomba Grammar School.
TGS gave the run chase a shout, reaching 203 and had they batted out their overs, Toowoomba Grammar could have won.
Callum Galvin played beautifully for 50 while down the order Thomas Sippel nearly swung the match with a blazing 40 in an hour.
Indeed another 15 minutes of batting and Sippel may have won the match, instead he was last man out in what was a thrilling match.
Early on for TGS Rex Tooley (33) challenged during an hour of batting, but as a bowling group Singh, Denny, Bloomfield and of course Emmerson worked together.
Bloomfield really put the breaks on, with his first four overs conceding just four runs, while also capturing a wicket.
He finished with the amazing figures of 8.3-3-15-3.
IGS’s Emmerson can take a bow. With both bat and ball, Emmerson has been one of the players of the season.
Only once has he failed to pass 20 and with the ball he had never conceded more than 40 runs while taking wickets with his off-spin.
Two towering sixes in an over took by Emmerson took IGS to 3-183 from 40 overs, leaving the side ideally placed to push well past 200 in the final 10 overs.
In all Emmerson faced just 65 balls in reaching a season high 82.
The launching pad for Emmerson’s innings was laid early by James Ross-Lavender (30, 70 balls) and Harry Sheppard (33, 58 balls), who earlier in the season scored a century.
Lachlan Cumming was also a willing partner for Emmerson.
TGS actually did very well to reel IGS in and restrict them to 230, with Jem Ryan (3-33) and Will Kruger (4-40) coming back late in the innings to halt the Ipswich Grammar onslaught.
Ryan has now taken 15 wickets this season, but that only tells part of the story because his aggression, control and economy rate has indirectly contributed to team success in the field.
Kruger has also been outstanding since breaking into the First XI mid-season, with 10 wickets coming in his four appearances.
Harry Meiklejohn again applied pressure with his economy in support of Ryan and Kruger.
The other two games today were draws because of the wet weather.
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