Queensland Bulls top 50 players of the last 50 years. Today are numbers 36-50.
Queensland cricketers have been powerhouse contributors to Test and domestic cricket for decades. Today Andrew Dawson, who covered the Bulls first five Sheffield Shield title wins, rates his top 50 players since 1975.
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Queensland cricketers have been powerhouse contributors to Test and domestic cricket for decades. Today Andrew Dawson, who covered the Bulls first five Sheffield Shield title wins, rates his top 50 players since 1975.
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No. 50
CLINTON PERREN (Norths)
After a nervous start where he appeared to lack confidence, Perren’s batting technique stood by him and he blossomed into a key member of the Queensland batting engine room. Technically correct, he was also a steady citizen blended perfectly into the culture of the Bulls. He had a career to be proud of.
No. 49
ANDREW COURTICE (University)
Brave Queensland opener who played in an era when Australian Test new ball bowlers regularly played Sheffield Shield cricket. Together with the classy Rob Kerr, Courtice could be relied upon to take the shine off the ball for his middle order and his average of 35 was worth so much more to his teammates. Great team player.
No. 48
JOHN MAGUIRE (Wests)
A grand toiler for Queensland over a decade – minus a period when he was enjoying the spoils of Rebel cricket in South Africa. Tall and with a high arm action at the bowling crease, Maguire got ample bounce and bowled the right areas across 68 matches for Queensland which yielded just under 200 wickets.
No. 47
SHANE WATSON (Ipswich)
Of course Shane Watson would be a contender for Queensland’s best ever XI since 1975, but is well down on this list simply because he spent most of his career in NSW after breaking into first class cricket in Tasmania. But in these 25 matches for the Bulls he still averaged 41 with the ball and 27 with the ball and remains one of the finest players the state has produced.
No. 46
NATHAN HAURITZ
Delivered by Carl Rackemann’s midwife mother in the Burnett region, Hauritz was destined to be a cricketer of note. Although remembered by the young generation as a NSW player, Hauritz was first chosen for the Australian one-day team from Queensland after outstanding 50 over performances. An excellent off-spinner and a better batsman than his numbers indicated, Hauritz was also a great team player and popular among the Bulls training squad.
No. 45
LEE CARSELDINE (Valley)
Best known by the younger generation as a contestant on Survivor, Carseldine was a brilliant cricketer who never reached full potential because of a back injury. He was still good enough to play short form cricket for Australia, but it could – and I believe would – have been an even more decorated career had injury not plagued this gun left hander who also bowled whippy fast medium.
No. 44
LUKE FELDMAN (Valley)
Hard working fast bowling stalwart who toiled away in a manner pacemen from past eras would be proud of. No star - he never was and was never going to be - but he was tremendously effective on his way to a 250-plus wicket taking career and was a captain’s dream. Hats off to him.
No. 43
SCOTT MULLER (Gold Coast)
Muller’s career was all too brief but he was a high class fast bowler who haunted visiting teams to the Gabba. Tall, he could swing the ball and as a result had a sizzling strike rate which deservedly led to him playing two Tests for Australia. He thoroughly deserved those baggy green caps and in a white hot era of fast bowling in Queensland, Muller was as good as anyone on his day.
No. 42
MICHAEL NESER (Norths)
If this top 50 ranking is done in five years time, it would surprise no one if Neser was rated 10 or 15 positions higher. He is a marvellous modern day swing bowler who has been on the verge of Test recognition. Watch this space.
No. 41
MATT RENSHAW (Toombul)
You know you have a terribly strong list when Matt Renshaw is ranked no higher than No. 41. His ranking is a reflection on the quality of contributors to Queensland cricket of the last five decades, not a negative for him. It would surprise no one if, by the end of his career, Renshaw is not rated higher up this list, such is his undoubted ability. Renshaw has a great temperament who has expanded his shot making to all corners of the ground. He is an elite player, that is for sure.
No. 40
BEN CUTTING (Souths)
Cutting is a gun, an absolute star who should have played Test cricket as an opening bowler before stealing the T20 spotlight. He was fast and furious and got as far as 12th man for a Gabba Test. But he ended up being a star short form batsman who could hit a cricket ball as long as anyone in the world. Queensland, and the Brisbane Heat, have been lucky to be blessed with his services.
No. 39
PAUL JACKSON (University)
Numbers alone do not go within cooee of emphasising Jackson’s contribution to the Queensland team. On the surface his 150 wickets at just under 40 make for unflattering reading, but there was much, much more to Jackson who was a perfect foil to the pace bowling battery of Rackemann, Tazelaar, Bichel, McDermott and Kasprowicz of that era. Jackson undoubtedly got countless wickets for his fast bowling mates by building pressure at one end. He famously claimed the last wicket to fall to hand Queensland its first ever Sheffield Shield title in 1994-95. A brave No. 9 or No. 10, Jackson was also a popular teammate, a little eccentric who balanced the dressing room nicely.
No. 38.
PHIL CARLSON (Norths)
Carlson was a high class Queensland all-rounder of the 1970s who rose to play Test cricket in the summer of 1978-79. A medium-fast swing bowler, Carlson was highly skilled who could make the ball sing. With the bat he averaged 30 and on many occasions mounted rearguard actions alongside Trevor Hohns and John Maclean in an era when Test paceman played Shield cricket more often than they did for Australia. One of the really good cricketers Queensland has produced.
No. 37
ASHLEY NOFFKE (Sunshine Coast)
A tremendous bowler in the Paul Reiffel mould who also developed into an outstanding lower order batsman. Injury cost Noffke as deserved Ashes tour where he would have been a sensation in English conditions. With a bustling run to the wicket, Noffke nagged batsman on and around off-stump and his 252 wickets at 27 is a reflection of his elite bowling. But he was also a technically correct batsman (2500 runs at 28) who once batted five sessions in a Shield final after coming in as a nightwatchman.
No. 36.
MITCHELL JOHNSON (Norths)
Only true love saw Johnson part company with Queensland cricket for a glittering career in Perth, but he will always carry a large slice of Queensland around with him. So upset was Johnson to leave the state after the Bulls had stood by him during his early hardship (back injury), that he walked around the offices of Queensland Cricket headquarters apologising. Had he remained in Queensland, Johnson would have been a top 10 contender but he still sits neatly at No. 36 after spending his formative years (2001-080) in Queensland when he first broke into international career. A fierce fast bowler but a thorough gentleman who does not forget his past, or those he was around on his rise to the top of the tree.
Originally published as Queensland Bulls top 50 players of the last 50 years. Today are numbers 36-50.