GPS First XI cricket Players to Watch, season draw
GPS First XI cricket: We reveal 22 key Players to Watch in the powerhouse schoolboy competition.
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The time-honoured GPS First XI premiership started on Saturday and the www.couriermail.com.au was there to cover this elite cricket competition.
It is a production line for many of Queensland’s finest players, with competition old boys littered across Queensland under 17 and under 19 sides, and through the Heat, Shield and Second XI teams.
The likes of Marnus Labuschagne (BSHS), Jack Clayton (BBC), Matt Renshaw, Paddy Dooley (BGS), Mitch Swepson (Nudgee), Xavier Bartlett (TSS), Blake Edwards (BSHS), Brian Hain (TSS), Joe Burns (Nudgee) Matthew Kuhnemann (TSS), Hugo Burdon (TSS), Ben McDermott (Churchie) and Will and Jack Prestwidge (Terrace) were examples of just some GPS old boys who have come through the powerful schoolboy system.
So who will be some of the Players to Watch this season?
NUDGEE COLLEGE
Jack Balkin: Jack Balkin does it all - bat, bowl and captain. If there is a player to watch this season it’s him. Balkin, who earlier this week captained the Queensland under 17s to the national championship, is a big time player and an astute skipper. With his Knowledge of the game at schoolboy level, the Nudgee outfit will be composed and strategic with each move.
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The younger brother of old boy Tom, Balkin proved himself last year as a batsman in the GPS competition and is shaping as a key player. Balkin’s economical off spin bowling upfront will be a tool that Nudgee will use throughout the season.
Kane Nielsen: Nielsen is definitely a player to look out for this year after proving himself in last year’s team as a young opening batsman where he was the leading run scorer for Nudgee’s 2022 campaign. Nielson impacted matches with his assertive and aggressive batting style, averaging 56.40 and made our Team of the Season.
CHURCHIE
Clancy Brady: The 2023 Captain of Cricket, Brady is a top/middle-order batsman who will be playing in his third year of First XI cricket.
Selected for the Qld Rookie Challenge 2022 (Under 16 State Challenge), Brady recently benefited from the experience of playing in the Lord Taverners new T20 competition. “I particularly enjoyed the ability to develop and expand my skill set in a challenging format which we aren’t often exposed to,” Clancy said.
His goal this year was to “contribute positively to the team environment and entire school program as we hope to lead Churchie to another premiership.”
Jayden Draper: The Year 11 student was one of the leading wicket keepers in 2022 where he was mentored by head coach Peter Drinnen - a former Queensland Sheffield Shield gloveman.
A second season player in the First XI, highlights of Draper’s cricketing career to date include making the 2022 Lord Taverners grand final where he captained his club team, and being selected in the 2022 under 15 Queensland Schoolboys side.
Draper said two goals were to be part of a premiership winning side in both the GPS and Lord Taverners this year in 2023.
But he was primarily focused on doing his job to the best of his capability at Churchie which would benefit the team as a whole.
BRISBANE BOYS COLLEGE
James Alexander and James Martens: Both were UQ club players, with all-rounder Alexander returning for his third year of GPS cricket. A talented sportsman who also played First XV rugby last season, Alexander can make an impact in all three facets of the game.
He will be on a high, having returned this week from helping the Queensland under 17s win the national championship.
Martens is also an impact player – a powerful hitter and fast bowler who is absolutely one to watch this season.
IPSWICH GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Luke Harper: The year 11 student who plays club cricket with the Ipswich Hornets will be making his First XI debut as a right arm off-spin bowling all-rounder.
TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Sewmith Samarawickrama: Fresh from helping bowl Queensland to victory at the under 17 national carnival, Samarawickrama will be back for his third season of GPS First XI cricket. He will skipper TGS and will have a big role to play with bat and ball.
BRISBANE GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Callum Vidler: He’s back. A genuine fast bowler who delivers thunderbolts, Vidler had a huge impact last season when he helped BGS to the First XI GPS premiership. An Australian under 19 representative, watch for him bowling downhill with the wind at Northgate. He was a member of our 2022 Team of the Season.
Oliver Skerl and Oliver Spence: Skerl will mesmerise opposition line-ups with his spin and guile while all-rounder Oliver Spence, a member of last year’s premiership winning team, will contribute as a hard hitting top order batter and crafty spinner.
THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL
Griffith Williams: A promising fast bowler who is returning to the side after 2022, Williams is fresh from helping the Queensland under 17s claim the national championship. He took an impressive 24 wickets at just 12 before Christmas in the under 16 Lord Taverners club competition.
Zac McDermott: McDermott is an exceptional all-rounder who can both take the new ball, and impact an innings batting No. 4 or No.5. The son of former Test champion paceman Craig, McDermott’s batting has come on nicely in grade cricket. He was a member of our Team of the Season last year.
Jacob Bath: Another returning First XI player, Bath was in the mix for selection in the Queensland under 17s and has benefited from hard Premier cricket for the Dolphins.
BRISBANE STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Jack Sonter and Daniel Skipwith: Both boys are returning GPS First XI players and will enter the season on a high after helping the Queensland under 17s win the national championship earlier in the week.
There were times when Sonter looked a class above the pack last season and he will be looking to turn 20s and 30s into 60-plus this season.
Another classy batsman, Skipwith will bat high up for BSHS and is coming off scoring an unbeaten 32 not out (118 minutes) against NSW Metro in the under 17 grand final.
ST JOSEPH’S GREGORY TERRACE
Tom Stubbin: The right arm swing bowler and hard hitting all-rounder will captain Terrace this season. A returning First XI player, he is from the Norths club and is following in the footsteps of his father who represented Ipswich Grammar in GPS First XI cricket
Angus Kelly: A talented all around sportsman who played First XV rugby last season, Kelly is a skilful middle order batsman and the team’s vice-captain. He also plays his club cricket at Norths
Hayden Evetts: One of the leading all-rounders in the competition who is equally adept with both bat and ball. Evetts bowls upwards of 135 km/hr and will have plenty of confidence having played in the Firsts last season. He also plays at Norths
Will Ilott: Will is a crafty left arm orthodox bowler and handy middle/lower order batsman who played in a strong Souths Lord Taverners side in 2022.
Christan Jardine: A hard working opening batsman, Jardine enters the competition with two pre-season hundreds, including one in fourth grade for his club Redlands.
Jonathan Morgan: Morgan is a hard hitting all rounder who provides great options with the ball, as well as being a reliable middle order bat. He is a highly skilled player from the Norths club.
Footnote: The www.couriermail.com.au will again provide regular cover late afternoon each Saturday, but also midweek.
GPS FIRST XI ROUND 1
Saturday:
Brisbane Grammar School v Brisbane Boys College (at BGS)
The Southport School v Ipswich Grammar School (at TSS)
Churchie v BSHS (at Churchie)
Gregory Terrace v Toowoomba Grammar School (at Tennyson)
Bye: Nudgee College
Round 2
Nudgee College v IGS
BGS v Churchie
Terrace v TSS
TGS v BSHS TGS
BBC: Bye
Round 3
BBC v Churchie
Nudgee v Terrace
TGS v BGS
BSHS v TSS
Bye: IGS
Round 4
IGS v Terrace
BBC v TGS
BSHS v Nudgee
TSS v BGS
Bye: Churchie
Round 5
Churchie v TGS
IGS v BSHS
TSS v BBC
BGS v Nudgee
Bye: Terrace:
Round 6
Terrace v BSHS
Churchie v TSS
BGS v IGS
Nudgee v BBC
Bye: TGS
TGS v TSS
Terrace v BGS
Nudgee v Churchie
BBC v IGS
Bye: BSHS
Round 8
BSHS v BGS
TGS v Nudgee
BBC v GT
IGS v Churchie
Sat, 18 Mar 2023 TSS v Bye
Round 9
TSS v NC
BSHS v BBC
IGS v TGS
Churchie v Terrace
Bye: BGS
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