GPS First XI cricket 2021: The top 10 players of the season
Who were the top 10 players of the GPS First XI cricket season? We name the top 10, plus the best of the rest while naming the son of a Queensland great as the player to watch in 2022.
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The GPS First XI season has been run and won, with The Southport School pipping St Joseph’s Nudgee College for the title after a thrill-a-minute final round of fixtures today.
Batting to clinch the premiership, TSS stumbled against St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace bowlers Luke Davies and Frederick Marshall chasing just 108 for victory, but Tom Gossett (34 not out) secured the middle order.
At Ross Oval, Nudgee College put its best foot forward as Daniel Seaton amassed an amazing 146 not out in Nudgee’s total of 4-272 against Ipswich Grammar School, but Nudgee had to be content with second place.
But away from the bout between top two teams TSS and Nudgee, there was a flicker for the future when Matthew Love scored 90 not out (141 balls) for Brisbane Grammar School against Churchie.
The son of Queensland batting great Martin, Love garnished his season in style after learning the ropes across the previous seven rounds the best way possible – by batting time in the middle.
Without making a big score, Love consistently occupied the crease and saw off the new ball, with five of his scores between 10 and 25.
But his 90 not out today has positioned himself nicely for a second season in the First XI next year and we are happy to name him as a Player to Watch in 2022.
At Mills Oval on the Darling Downs, Harry Meiklejohn (88. 82 balls) took off like a scalded cat in pursuit of BSHS’s compelling tally of 226, which was pushed along at the end by Luke Hatherell who smashed 42 from 20 balls.
Meiklejohn delivered his team’s 100 inside 15 overs, although to the credit of BSHS pair Singh and Holmes, the scoring rate was slowed in the middle of the innings.
THE TOP 10
HARRY SHEPPARD (Ipswich Grammar School)
Sheppard blazed his way to more runs this season than another other batsman in the GPS – not a bad effort when you consider some of the contenders for batting aggregate. Around his century he consistently scored runs.
KALLUM RUSSELL (Nudgee College)
Russell was arguably the bowler of the summer, with his left arm pace snaring wickets almost at will in what was a summer of dreams.
JACK SINFIELD (TSS)
The Brisbane Heat squad member was a class act in all departments for the premiership winning The Southport School. With the ball he kept things tight while also snaring 13 wickets, and with the bat he consistently peeled off.
DANIEL SEATON (Nudgee College)
Seaton played his way into the top 10 today with a superb century batting against Ipswich Grammar School. He had shown promise early in the summer by accumulating 198 runs in his previous seven knocks, but today it all fell into place and no IGS could halt his progress on his way to a season high 146 not out.
TOM GOSSETT (TSS)
Gossett was not light years behind Sinfield in terms of his all around contribution to TSS’s premiership winning performance. He kept things tight, snared wickets (13) and consistently scored runs across the summer, including today when TSS needed him most after the loss of three early wickets against Terrace.
LIAM O’CONNOR (TSS)
O’Connor made the ball sing for TSS, and his 20 wickets this season should not be under estimated. His season included the distinction of one five wicket haul.
LACHLAN CRUMP (TSS)
Crump will push hard for the TSS player of the season, scoring runs and taking wickets. He claimed 15 wickets across the season, including 3-8 today against Terrace. He also scored more than 250 runs and is easily one of the top 10 players of the season.
JEM RYAN (Toowoomba Grammar School)
The tall, raw-boned Ryan gave opposing batsmen plenty of curry with the gleaming new ball. No batsman was safe against Ryan, whose removal from the bowling crease after a spell must surely have been greeted with a sigh of relief from focused batsmen. He finished with 17 wickets, including three today.
NOAH EMMERSON (IGS)
Emmerson was comfortably one of the cricketers of the GPS season, a marvellous contributor bowling off-spin and batting. He was never far from the action.
TOM BALKIN (Nudgee College)
Balkin may have been beaten to the season’s wicket aggregate award, but statistics tell only part of the story. Balkin often roughed up opponents with pace and more pace, and was no doubt responsible for the success of his bowling teammates later in the innings, such was the pressure he placed on opponents.
BEST OF THE REST
STEVE TIMMS (Churchie)
Timms was one of the all-rounders of the competition and an unlucky omission from the top 10. He scored runs (200 at 28.52) and claimed wickets (12) and together with Hamish MacDonald and Harry Zietsch gave Churchie a chance of bowling the opposition out in every match.
HARRY ZIETSCH (Churchie)
Zietsch was one of the bowlers of the competition, with his left arm swing causing all manner of concerns for top order opponents. One to watch.
LAURIE MAUGERI (Nudgee)
Maugeri did very well across the summer, scoring 222 runs at 24.66 while also consistently claiming wickets with his medium pace bowling first change.
JACKSON MILLS (Nudgee)
Mills was a classy operator for Nudgee and it is a complement to him that his dismissal was often greeted with one of the biggest cheers of the day from opposition fieldsmen. He was also a handy bowler who contributed to Nudgee keeping the pressure on once Russell and Balkin had left the bowling crease.
RELATED LINKS
100 PICTURES – THE GPS SEASON IN PICTURES
TSS WIN UNOFFICIAL GRAND FINAL
CALLUM GALVIN (TGS)
Galvin was a part of a very, very good TGS attack which ensured no batting line-up would have a free hit against TGS. Along with Jem Ryn, Harry Meiklejohn and Will Kruger, Galvin worked nicely as part of a bowling team to take seven wickets while also joining Meiklejohn in scoring runs across the summer.
HUGH WEIBGEN and ANGUS TOLHURST (BGS)
It was through no fault of Hugh Weibgen, Angus Tolhurst and Matthew Lockhart that BGS did not have more wins this season. Weibgen was an outstanding all-rounder who again scored 54 today to take his season tally to 199. Tolhurst scored 234 runs and consistency scored between 20 and 50.
ROBBIE SANDERS and MATTHEW LOCKHART (BGS)
Sanders was a find of the season with BGS, with his new ball bowling consistently getting BGS away to a flying start in the field as it did again today when he returned 6-2-12-3 in his first spell. Lockhart kept wickets and scored runs for BGS..
TAJ ANNAN (BBC)
Last season’s dual premiership winner in both rugby and cricket, Taj Annan was BBC’s best player in 2021, with 193 runs at an average of 27.57. He often scored his runs in a crisis. Blake Davis was also a sound all-rounder for BBC with eight wickets and 142 runs.
AARON JOBY (BSHS) and DYLAN CREES (BSHS)
Joby is classy, this lad, and it was appropriate he finished the season on a high after making 66 today. A left hander, he has time, can bat time while also having a nice array of strokes. Miron Nanayakkarawasam also had his moments with both the bat and the ball, while Crees was steady for BSHS, consistently scoring runs for his side including a half century today (55).
HARRY BLOOMFIELD (IGS)
Bloomfield was one of the reasons for IGS’s combative season, with his 16 wickets an outstanding return.
LUKE DAVIES and TOM CAMPBELL (St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace)
The competition saw flashes of brilliance from these Terrace all-rounders. Davies finished the season on a high with two new ball wickets today against TSS, and with the ball he,
Campbell and Frederick Marshall teamed nicely for the famous Red and Black unit. Mitchell Bodimeade also displayed promise across the season, with a season high 86 highlighting his ability.
Originally published as GPS First XI cricket 2021: The top 10 players of the season
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