NAMED: Taverners Queensland Boys Under 17 Team of the Season
Revealed: Our Taverners Boys Under 17 Team of the Season, including two stars from the Gators and aces from both Coasts, Brisbane and Toowoomba sure to shake up the GPS First XI cricket competition.
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To celebrate a bumper Taverners Queensland Boys Under 17 season, we present our Team of the Season.
University of Queensland were this year’s premiers following a clinical victory over the Gold Coast on Sunday, a win that capped off the dream season where they were the best team from start to finish.
Players like Blake Armstrong, Lakshdeep Singh and Steve Hogan were among the first picked, but several came down to the wire with plenty of players deserving of a spot in the XI.
We have come up with a squad full of all-rounders, and with deep batting depth.
TAV’S TEAM OF THE SUMMER
Blake Armstrong (University)
The University opening batter began the season with a knock of 64. He followed his hot start up with scores of 27, 34, 21, 62 in a ripping start to the summer.
Armstrong continued to bat brilliantly at the top order, and with a high score of 77, the BBC student spearheaded his team into the finals.
They won that and Armstrong, who averaged 44.33 during the home-and-away season, was the key to their success. He then garnished his season with 40 runs and two wickets in last Sunday’s grand final win for University.
Zac Robinson (Sunshine Coast)
Like Armstrong, Robinson began the season with a splendid innings where he scored 63 in a win over Toombul.
And like Armstrong he backed it up with scores of 37 not out, 110 not out, and 57, announcing himself as the best first drop batter in the competition.
Along the way Robinson earned selection in the Queensland Under 17 squad, making his selection in this Team of the Season a no-brainer.
Robinson, a BBC student, had scored 408 runs at 51 before the two finals matches.
Rohan Brady (Ipswich)
Ipswich’s batting ace made the trek from Stanthorpe twice a week for training and a third on the Sunday for the game.
Travelling five hours to get to and from training spoke volumes to the type of player, and young bloke, Brady is and how rewarding it was to see him have the season he did.
Often doing his best work beside Sippel, Brady accumulated 398 runs at 49.75, with a 58-run-effort a nice way to end the season.
Steven Hogan, (Sandgate-Redcliffe)
Hogan is the ants pants of this group. He is a junior cricket prodigy who captained this star studded Sandgate-Redcliffe side throughout the season.
He scored scores of 114 and 109 in the two games leading into the finals, led the competition in just about every batting category and is a Year 10 student playing grade cricket on the Sunday.
He is a fine prospect who scored 722 runs at 90.25.
Harley Malpass (Wynnum-Manly)
Speaking of fine prospects, how good is Iona College all-rounder Harley Malpass?
His team missed out on a top four finish but Malpass was class, despite not being his best, all season.
He had a stacked team featuring Liam Carter, Liam Johns, elite opening batters, and other talented batters Zac Joyce, Nicholas Bragger, Hayden Hamilton and Connor Rudman around him in the order. You know a team is stacked when Finn Thallon is not in the top six.
Captain Malpass had a topscore of 136 which he notched up against Wests in round four, and was an economical bowler who picked up wickets regularly.
He averaged 36.38 with the bat and took 13 wickets.
Jackson Steinhardt (Gold Coast)
The representative allrounder would have liked a big score, but across the summer he was consistent with scores of 46, 40, 33 not out, 35 and 24. Package up his batting with his bowling, including a match-winning spell of 4-14 against Uni in the home and away season, and his presence balances out out Team of the Season.
Alex Walduck (University)
Walduck was fabulous with the gloves, claiming a University club record number of dismissals in this age group competition while also scoring good runs - including top scoring (46) in last Sunday’s grand final when the match was in the balance at 3-79. He averaged 29.37 with the bat
Out of your crease? He stumped you.
Edged it? You might as well walk because Walduck makes no mistakes.
Walduck has only just finished Year 10 at Churchie this year where he played one match as a batsman behind Jayden Draper (see further down in this story), Churchie’s first choice keeper at the moment.
Both Draper and Norths Oscar Bodimeade were unlucky omissions.
Ted Waterman
Club: Gold Coast
Waterman was the bedrock of the Dolphins bowling attack. He was Mr Consistent, and around him the attack functioned and the likes of Jackson Robson, Angus James and Horne struck.
The medium-fast swing bowler from The Southport School was also a handy contributor with the bat, with scores of 23, 38, 31, 26 and 25 not out. It was a good season, that’s for sure.
Harry Langdon
Club: University
Pacemen Harry Langdon was the chief enforcer of the competitors deadliest bowling attack.
A genuine fast bowler, Langdon was consistently on the money, asking questions of his rivals and keeping them on their toes.
He took 21 wickets across the home and away season, and in the grand final bowled Gold Coast ace Jackson Steinhardt for a duck.
William Parkinson
Club: University
Indeed University had a variety of bowling threats. From Parkinson and Langdon to Jem Du, Theodore Bacalakis, Angus Storen, Christian Alexander and Armstrong (see above), their attack was fierce.
The best of them was Parkinson, whose fielding, pace and bounce made it hard for batters to put him and his teammates away.
He had 22 wickets before finals and was a large reason why University had the season they did.
Lakshdeep Singh (Sandgate-Redcliffe)
The Gators prime mover began the season with two wickets in each of his first two games before single-handedly taking care of Wide Bay with a tremendous five-wicket-haul.
The leading wicket-taker of the season (30) despite his team not making finals, Singh could be relied on to snare wickets and leak very few runs while doing so.
Charlie Lachmund, (Ipswich)
Like Sippel, Lachmund is a Toowoomba Grammar School student who played very well for Ipswich this season.
He took not one but two fifers, using his pace to get the better of his opponents.
Of course he is quick, but Lachmund is also accurate, tactical with his bowling approach and is quickly learning how to implement variation into his game.
He finished the season with 27 wickets, averaged 12.7, and was the competition’s second leading wicket-taker behind the sensational Singh.
13th man Jospeh Sippel, Ipswich
Toowoomba Grammar School student Joseph Sippel was Mr.Consistent for Ipswich throughout the season.
It felt like every week Sippel pulled a vote in our weekly 3-2-1 voting system, because each weekend he played the important role of batting at No.3 - and he succeeded.
The captain of the team, Sippel led from the front with his scoring, and in the field with his encouragement of teammates.
Sippel averaged 42.56 with the bat and was excellent.
14h man Lachlan Heycox (Wide Bay)
The Wide Bay vice-captain batted No.4 but we have him at No.6 here to get him in the side.
At times his team would struggle, and it was then where it seemed Heycox was the hero who could produce a half-centrury as well as a tidy spell to challenge the opposition.
He was a rock at No.4 for Wide Bay, while Isaac Lutz and Sam Stuchbery were consistent performers who, with Toby Lamond and River Felstead, did the heavy lifting.
UNLUCKY OMMISSIONS
Jayden Draper (Valley)
Draper would easily have gone into our First XI, but we rewarded his Churchie school mate Walduck for his runs and 19 dismissals.
Draper, who just completed his Year 11 studies at Churchie, was classy behind the stumps and excellent with the bat. He scored 270 at 30 and is an outstanding wicket-keeper prospect.
He gathered GPS First XI cricket competition experience earlier this year, has played grades at Valley and is positioned for a bumper 2024 season for Churchie in school cricket where he will play as a Year 12 senior.
Jackson Robson and Angus James (Gold Coast)
The boys, along with Waterman and Horne, were the key to the Dolphins push all the way into the grand final. James had some big days out - he took 4-9 against Souths and 3-25 against Wests - and around those haul he was consistent. Robson was an unlucky omission from our First XI while Horne captured good scalps consistently, including 3-24 and 3-13.
They all contributed to a good team bowling unit.
Oscar Bodimeade (Norths)
Oscar Bodimeade pushed hard for selection in the final XI. The Terrace old boy claimed a competitiom high number of dismissal standing behind the stumps.
Bodimeade would have liked to have nailed some 40 plus scores because he did bat high, but he was more than successful behind the stumps.
Sam Stuchbery (Wide Bay)
Stuchbery had a big campaign, snaring 10 catches among his 16 dismissals.
We was a shining light and is exactly what this competition is all about - exposing country kids to the big league and giving them a chance to stand and deliver. Well done to him.
Damon Bass, Sandgate-Redcliffe
Sandgate-Redcliffe opener Damon Bass had been brilliant all season for the Gators and we would’ve loved to have him opening the batting in this team.
But we opted to bump Robinson up to opener to allow for Harley Malpass, an all-rounder, to come into the line up as both a batting and bowling threat.
Bass averaged 44.5.
Dylan Fedrick (Darling Downs and SW)
He slowed down towards the back end of the season but in the first two months of action Fedrick was one of the best bowlers in the competition.
In a struggling side, Fedrick led the way with his fast bowling, picking up seven wickets in his first two games of the summer.
Fedrick took 16 wickets, as did Jackson Robson (Gold Coast), Harry Gulliver (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Sam Stuchbery (Wide Bay), and Will Noffke (Sunshine Coast) and those four missed out on making the starting XI by width of a tissue paper.
Will Noffke Sunshine Coast
Noffke was good, with hauls of 3-19 and 3-34 helping him to 16 wickets at an average of just 14.50. He also had batting scores of 32. 25. 27 and 54 at various stages during the competition.
ACE ALL-ROUNDERS
Louis Morris (Norths)
The Marist College Ashgrove off-spinner took wickets for fun and could also rescue an innings with his batting prowess.
Norths have a very good one here and Marist College Ashgrove are premiership frontrunners because of players kike Morris, and North’s teammates Joey Laner (14 wickets at 14.43) and Frank Piper (233 runs).
Eshwin Kapoor (Toombul)
Kapoor tallied 210 runs at 21, and took a handful of wickets throughout the season with his spin bowling.
The Queensland Under 17 selection wasn’t at his best however the best is yet to come for the Brisbane State High student.
High praise to Spencer Green (13 wickets) who was Toombul’s leading wicket-taker.
Will Tozer (Valley)
Tozer took 11 wickets, averaged 29.14 with the bat, and was arguably Valley’s most consistent player.
A Padua student, Tozer is a great asset to the Valley club and made a big difference this season with his fast bowling and aggressive batting style.
LATE TO THE PARTY BUT STILL INCREDIBLE
Toby Lamond (Wide Bay)
Lamond only played five games. When he played, he averaged 34.8 with the bat and was very good for Wide Bay.
Wide Bay were extra-threatening with him in the line-up.
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