Helensvale’s spin twins took identical figures of 3-35, the only difference between them that Baird bowled 14 overs to Bandara’s 11.

It was a shallow batting performance from the Centaurs, with heavy lifting done by Max Houlahan (76 - caught and bowled Baird), Ned Hanrahan (43 - caught and bowled Bandara) and Lucas Poeppman (39) accounting for 75 per cent of their team’s score.

With those batters out of commision at 5-196 the Hawks swept up the tail for just 15 runs.

In 19 overs Helensvale reached 1-46.

Coomera Hope Island suffered a batting nightmare in the middle, having bowled itself into a commanding position at the change of innings.

Charith Anthony’s 4-39 haul helped dismiss Burleigh for 142 but any momentum was lost instantly when Coomera lost two wickets for a single run.

Leading bat James Kleinschmidt was run out for two before opener Kushaal Ram joined him in the pavilion, the scoreboard a dour 4-10 from just 10 overs.

A Daley Miller-inspired Surfers Paradise bowling attack struck gold against Alberton Ormeau, dismissing the Hurricanes for 148.

A diamond duck to Harish Kumar, on the arm of Michael Phillipson, mired Alberton at 2-15 in the ninth over.

Miller took 4-36.

Surfers is 82 runs away from the first innings victory with nine wickets in hand.

Broadbeach Robina is in trouble at Salk Oval, bowled all out for 158 in 62 overs.

Kyle Brockley, Reece McDonald and Sean Fitzsimmons reached scores in the 30s but none could press on for a decisive innings.

Finn Lonnberg led the bowlers with 3-25 with Ryan Kettle, James McNeil and Brent Anderson chipping in with two wickets each.

The early wicket of Ryan Kettle for seven was the perfect start to a difficult defence.

PBC require 128 runs for victory with nine in hand.

Mudgeeraba were bowled out for 190 at Corbwood with Luke Diven (37 from 145) leading the scorers against Southport.

Second Grade: Leaders in trouble

BOTH Queens and Burleigh have mountains to climb if they are to stay unbeaten atop the second grade standings.

Opener Peter Goodchap (62 off 70) produced a stellar knock but the Queens innings was otherwise muted, as the Helensvale attack led by David O’Donnell (3-9 off 5.3) consigned the visitors to 154.

By the end of the opening day’s play, openers Richard Sen (26no off 90) and Paul Baird (59no off 89) had the hosts in a commanding position at 0/97.

It was worse for Burleigh, bowled out for 92 with Coomera Hope Island, led by Reece Matthews (48 off 71), reaching 6/112 by the close of play.

Howard goes bang

BONOGIN third grade skipper Ryan Howard hit 19 boundaries - nine of them sixes - to spearhead the Bulls’ nine-wicket thumping of Coomera Hope Island on Saturday.

Howard (108 off 47) decided he had somewhere to be on Saturday afternoon, powering through the run-chase after Coomera had previously set a mark of 137.

Opening partner Matthew Phillips (25no off 23) handed control to his skipper, who lost his wicket just 11 runs short of the target, as Bonogin brought up its first win of the season.

Elsewhere, Helensvale and Burleigh played out match of the season, with the latter falling one run short in the chase.

Tomsett on top again

GOLD Coast’s top runscorer extended his lead over the field with another dominant hitting display on Saturday.

Kent Tomsett (106 no) struck one of only two centuries from the weekend – but it still wasn’t enough.

Tomsett accounted for almost 58 per cent of his side’s innings total, as Mudgeeraba Nerang limped to 6/183.

A more even batting performance from Tamborine Mountain, led by all-rounder Andrew Mahony (72 off 39), helped the hosts chase down the target with seven balls to spare.

Only Mudgeeraba Blue and Palm Beach Currumbin remain unbeaten.

Fifth Grade: All-rounder is Singh-ing

FIFTH grade Mudgeeraba Nerang Colts all-rounder Simrampal Singh produced the fourth-best innings in all of Coast cricket batting at eight on Saturday.

Singh (85 off 36) came in at 6/74 and blasted an incredible 10 sixes to lift the hosts to 8/182 from their allotted overs.

Broadbeach Robina bowler Chris Kwan (4-56) finally put an end to Singh’s big-hitting heroics in the final over but by then the damage was done.

Broadbeach could only muster 9/158 in reply, leading to its first loss of the season.

Bonogin and Southport both stayed unbeaten with wins over Helensvale Gold and Palm Beach Colts respectively. Surfers Paradise chased down Runaway Bay with less than two overs to spare, Coomera Hope Island had an impressive 53-run win over Helensvale Green, while Alberton and Mudgeeraba Red drew.

Sixth Grade: Bonogin Bull-ies rivals

A DEVASTATING spell from Bonogin Gold bowler Robert Reynolds propelled the Bulls to a seven-wicket win over ­Alberton Ormeau in sixth grade on Saturday.

Reynolds (5-12 off 6) ripped through the Alberton middle order, before an impressive fourth-wicket partnership from Jared Long (62no off 56) and Curtis Cause (59no off 32) got the visitors home inside 26 overs.

Back at the Bulls’ home, Bonogin Green opener Nam Oh produced sixth grade’s top score with a hard-fought 87 against Palm Beach Currumbin.

Bonogin posted what looked to be a respectable 3-211, however the visitors timed their run chase to perfection.

Palm Beach Currumbin brought up the winning runs with four balls and a wicket to spare in an instant sixth grade classic.

Dolphins deliver at Matt makes magic in NQ

AS MATTHEW Kuhnemann was wreaking havoc for the Bulls in Townsville, his Gold Coast Dolphins put paid to Wynnum-Manly with an equally brilliant bowling display at Bill Pippen Oval.

It was Kuhnemann’s scalp of Wynnum-Manly opener Nicholas King the previous weekend that put the Dolphins in a commanding position going into day two of the Queensland Premier Cricket First Grade clash.

But the Queensland spinner was not on-hand for Sunday’s return – instead putting in a matchwinning 10-wicket display for the Bulls in Queensland’s 96-run Sheffield Shield win over Tasmania.

On the Gold Coast, Wynnum-Manly opened the day at 2/7, chasing the hosts’ 257. But the visitors suffered an early double blow when Sukhveer Singh (5 off 47) and former Dolphins all-rounder Liam Hope-Shackley (1 off 5) were sent from the crease.

Jackson Smith (3-30) and Callum Taylor (3-31) led Gold Coast’s bowling brigade in Kuhnemann’s absence, as the Dolphins rolled to a comfortable first-innings victory.

The Dolphins women slumped to their fifth Katherine Raymont Shield defeat in sucession, falling this week to Sunshine Coast by a whopping 170 runs in a one-day clash.

The three-match winning streak of late September feels a distant memory, with the Dolphins now just one win from four in the one day competition and two from eight in the T20.

Against Sunshine Coast it was the team’s bats that again failed to boom in the face of a Lucy Hamilton bowling masterclass, collecting 3-12 from seven overs.

Just two Dolpins bats found their way to double-digits, in Ella Fernleigh (29 from 61) and Macy Hauser (14 from 58).

From 4-81 with both in the middle Gold Coast lost five wickets for no further run.

Star Carly Fuller retired hurt in the seventh over.

Is Runaway Bay the real deal: Coast Cricket Wrap Week 3

RUNAWAY Bay’s pace attack secured maximum points over Queens with star quick Steven Graham taking 12 wickets to rocket to the top of the Kookaburra Cup bowling stakes.

Having taken 6-52 in a career-best performance last week Graham backed up with another six-wicket haul, this time for 53 runs, to bowl out Queens for 106 inside 40 overs.

Bay won the first innings and the match outright on the back of Graham’s incredible fortnight, with capable support from opening bat Jayden Hoare (77 from 85; eight not-out) and pace partner-in-crime Matt Madeley (3-55 and 1-23).

Graham’s 18 wickets are the most in the Kookaburra Cup after two matches while Madeley’s 13 are good for second.

No other bowler in the competition has taken more than eight and no other duo more than 14 combined wickets, to the Seagulls’ 31.

Graham said this calibre of performance was the benchmark he had set for himself after returning from years with Wynnum in Queensland’s state competition.

“That’s what I was hoping for, coming back,” he said.

“Bay is always a good deck but the wickets generally aren’t as good as in the QCA so I would hope at least one of us can get a bagful each week.

“I haven’t won a flag in senior cricket so the goal is to win the comp here and at the moment I’d say we’re looking pretty good.”

Defending champions Mudgeeraba and semi-­finalists Surfers had to wait four days for their first taste of Cup action in 2021 after an early bye round and a washout but delivered enough drama for all of them in a one-day thriller at Nielsens Road.

Mudgeeraba won by 10 runs after bowling out Surfers in the penultimate over.

Josh Nelson led his team with the bat in his return from a sickening on-field collision in the T20 final four weeks ago with 59 not out.

That score and partnership with captain Dylan McLaughlin’s 55 not out helped the Bushmen post 3-154 at the close of innings.

A second-ball duck to opener Wayne Phillips brought former Queensland Premier Cricket MVP and UQ captain Michael Philipson to the crease for his Surfers Paradise debut at 1-0.

Philipson scored 97 runs before spooning a straight drive back to spinner Kevin Chapman to leave his side 8-138, 17 runs shy of victory with five overs to play.

On a day the Demons missed 2020-21’s leading run-scorer Nathan Reardon dearly that was the wicket that broke the team’s chase.

The final two wickets fell for six runs.

Helensvale surged past PBC’s day one total of 254 in a five-wicket victory thanks to 103 runs to Sam Lickiss and 55 not out to brother Harry Lickiss.

Alberton Ormeau picked up all 12 competition points in a big win against Southport Labrador, despite a maiden century from recruit Dhanushka Mitipolarachchi in the Tigers’ second innings to reach 6-239.

It was an confidence-boosting knock for Southport after being rolled for 88 runs last week.

Burleigh opened its 2021-22 campaign with an away win against Broadbeach Robina.

Set 204 for victory, the Cats showed early patience with the opening partnership of Clint Grassick (40) and Liam Denniston (39) registering 83 without loss in the 36th over.

Sam Yabsley and Matt Grant swung into action to break the partnership and then some.

The pair took all 10 wickets between them to bowl out Broadbeach for 175, 29 runs short of victory.

Captain Reece McDonald was the only unbeaten bat with 48 not out as a brittle middle order and tail collapsed around him in the space of 30 overs.

Engel’s five-for sinks Southport charge

SOUTHPORT Labrador completed its stunning comeback from a first-innings top-order collapse to claim victory against Alberton Ormeau on day two of the second grade clash from Belling Appliances Oval.

Southport 8(dec)-207 and 6(dec)-63 completed the first-innings victory but fell seven wickets shy of claiming maximum points at home, with Alberton Ormeau (112 and 3-72) seeing out the second stanza.

It was an incredible swing in momentum from the hosts, who the previous week found themselves at 4-6 after a bevy of top-order wickets fell early.

The middle-order renaissance, led by Paul Johnston (78 off 151), powered Southport’s first-innings charge.

But a five-for from Alberton’s Harry Engel (5-35) scuppered the hosts’ second-innings charge

.

Helensvale unbeaten in 3s

COOMERA Hope Island’s first innings score of 9-172 would have beaten 12 out of 13 third-grade teams this week but was not enough to topple the undefeated Hawks.

Led by opener Christopher Bartlett’s 62 atop the order and No.3 Garry Foran’s 29, Coomera set one of the most imposing totals of the round but could only watch as Helensvale powered past the score with five wickets in hand.

Wicketkeeper-captain Ben Daley topscored for the Hawks with 40 while Craig Pilbin (37) and Sean Clark (26) produced the match-winning partnership to get over the line.

Palm Beach Colts opener Todd Davis posted a round-high undefeated 67 to chase down Alberton’s 134 with six wickets in hand.

Bonogin, Broadbeach, Runaway Bay, Southport and Palm Beach all took their place in the winner’s circle.

Tomsett toils for third win

AN UNBEATEN 82 from opener Kent Tomsett has kept Mudgeeraba Nerang & Districts Colts’ perfect start to the fourth-grade season going.

Tomsett topscored as the hosts raced to 3-153 inside 23 overs, reaching the target set by Surfers Paradise who won the toss and sent themselves in to bat.

Craig Collins’ 64 proved the only real resistance in Surfers’ innings, as the Hayden Taylor-led Mudgee attack wrapped up the innings in the 32nd over.

Taylor (3-31) was the pick of an even bowling bunch, with threee others claiming multiple scalps. Elsewhere, Helensvale Pac Pines also stayed perfect with an eight-wicket win over Runaway Bay, while Palm Beach Currumbin, Mudgee Blue, Tamborine Mountain and Broadbeach Robina also recorded victories.

Bonogin build a duck farm

A CAREER-best bowling day from Bonogin’s Geoffrey Farmer helped the Bulls to fifth grade’s biggest win of the weekend, bowling out Alberton for just 63 runs.

Farmer took five wickets for nine runs, including three wides, from a four-over spell.

It could have been a hat-trick in his first over after dismissing No.3 Tom Living (11) and No.5 Perrin Davie (0) in consecutive balls.

Alberton had five batsmen in total dismissed for ducks with Farmer responsible for three of them.

Bonogin set 165 in the first innings and bowled out the Hurricanes for a 102-run win, their third from three.

Southport Labrador and Broadbeach Robina complete a three-way tie on 24 points.

Darren McNaughton (63) led the Cats to a six-wicket win over Helensvale Green while 50 runs to Liam Pollard was the difference for the Tigers in a 31-run win against Helensvale Gold.

Broadbeach romps home

A BRENDON Sheldrick batting masterclass proved ultimately unnecessary as Broadbeach Robina romped to its first win of the sixth grade season.

In his first game of the year Sheldrick blasted eight fours and as many sixes en route to 93 off 46 deliveries as the previously winless Broadbeach Robina rolled to 273 in 35 overs.

Helensvale Green lasted just 18 overs into the run chase, with a top score of six telling the tale.

Les Howard (3-3 off 6 overs) led the charge as Broadbeach Robina rolled its rivals for just 31 runs.

Sheldrick also chimed in with a wicket – the cherry on top of a stellar season debut.

Elsewhere, Runaway Bay and Coomera Hope Island both stayed unbeaten with comprehensive wins against Palm Beach Currumbin and Surfers Paradise respectively.

It was an absolute nailbiter at Brockman Oval, as Mudgeeraba Nerang held on for a four-run win against Alberton Ormeau.

Junior stars of the week: Josh Kelly and Taika Hoare

DYNAMIC batting duo Joshua Kelley (96 off 87) and Taika Hoare (90 not out off 57) fired Burleigh Maroon U12s to Coast cricket’s highest innings total of the weekend against club rivals Burleigh Green on Saturday.

Kelley (pictured) combined with Cooper McNee for an opening wicket partnership of 160, also a weekend’s-best, as Burleigh Maroon rolled to 5-400 on Saturday.

Kelley and Hoare both finished in the top 10 runscorers across all grades.

Elsewhere, Runaway Bay Turf Juniors Div 1 player Harry Sullivan’s 6-29 was the equal-highest wicket haul across Coast cricket.

But top kudos must go to Alberton Ormeau U14s gun Benjamin Harm, with ridiculous figures of 5-2 and five maidens off six overs.

Coast on top in two-dayer

GOLD Coast shrugged off a horror start to its batting innings to end day one in the box seat against Wynnum-Manly at Bill Pippen Oval.

In Saturday’s two-day encounter, the Dolphins recovered from the early loss of opener Max

Bryant to record a firstinnings total of 257, before wickets to Nathan Lyons and Matt

Kuhnemann left Wynnum-Manly floundering at 2-7 by the close of play.

The day started poorly for the hosts, who sent themselves in to bat and immediately lost

Bryant to the bowling of former Dolphin Liam Hope-Shackley.

The first-ball duck brought Hugo Burdon (65 off 105) to the crease, who helped right

the ship alongside Scott Palombo (18 off 34)before the latter was sent to the sheds at

2-48.

Trent Keep joined the fray at 5-128 and continued his stellar start to the season with 55 off

117 while Kuhnemann (41 off 103) helped the Dolphins home to apassable first-innings

total.

Needing to see out a tricky nine overs to end the day, Wynnum-Manly’s openers were

pinned down by Lyons and Kuhnemann.

The Dolphins pair combined for six maidens and two wickets.

Lyons made the breakthrough, trapping opener Corey Hunter lbw for a duck, before Kuhnemann bowled the out-of-form Nicholas King (4 off 8) through the gate to end the

Coast capitulates

A PROMISING innings turned bleak for the Dolphins Women in Sunday’s Katherine Raymont Shield clash with UQ.

Cruising at 1/142 when Carly Fuller (pictured) was trapped lbw, Gold Coast lost five

wickets for 34 runs to limp to 8-179.

Ruby Strange led the charge for UQ, blasting 63 not out in the runchase as the hosts hit the target with 10 overs to spare.

MAIDEN TON FOR STAR IMPORT: WEEK TWO WRAP

18 October 2021

STAR Palm Beach Currumbin recruit James McNeil scored a century in his first regular-season Kookaburra Cup start to pilot his new club to a competitive first innings of 254 against Helensvale ­Pacific Pines.

The former Melbourne University captain and Victoria Country representative batsman helped the Lions ­recover from an early collapse after top-order batters Canning Mason (6), Sam Jarrett (6) and Jeffrey Rosolin (0) were dismissed in single digits.

From 4-62, McNeil batted for 220 minutes, facing 189 deliveries to reach 108 before being caught off the bowling of Sam Lickiss in the 75th over. His side was 6-210 when he returned to the pavilion.

It was a match-saving innings that was ably supported by Zac Lopez, who led the scoring in their 109-run partnership to reach 60 from 68.

McNeil described the innings as “bloody good fun”.

“I really enjoyed it,” the 31-year-old said.

“Salk Oval is a really nice place to play cricket, and considering we had 110mm of rain during the week, it’s one of the better wickets I’ve played on.

“The leaders in the team said our job was to get through to tea with wickets in hand, then we could lift the rate.”

Helensvale’s bowlers chipped away at PBC. Harry Lickiss, Alex Hayes, Jack Baird, Chandima Bandara and Sam Lickiss each took wickets to bowl out the opposition with time left for seven overs of batting.

Ryan Maloney and Jake Grove were carefree in that period, scoring at a run-a-ball to reduce the team’s target to 212 next week.

At Sam Loxton Oval, another off-season acquisition made an impact for his club.

All-rounder Steve Graham fired with the ball for Runaway Bay to dismiss Queens for 127.

Graham, who returned to the Seagulls this year after a six-year stint with Wynnum-Manly, took career-best figures of 6-52 in a fearsome tag-team effort with Kookaburra Cup leading wicket-taker Matt Madeley, who recorded figures of 3-55.

The pair bowled all but seven overs to skittle Queens in the 48th over.

Bay went in for the kill but fell 21 runs short of completing first-innings victory.

Opener Jayden Hoare posted 63 not out to lead the chase and will resume with Zach Hollis at 2-107.

Broadbeach Robina’s Joe Madden recorded the best bowling figures of his cricket career with a five-wicket haul of his own against Burleigh. The Year 11 student at The Southport School bowled 23 overs for 70 runs as Burleigh was dismissed for 203.

Opening bat Jasper Schoenmaker was a rock atop the Burleigh order, scratching his way to 76 runs from 180 runs in more than four hours in the middle before being removed by Kyle Brockley.

Alberton’s Will Hudgson took 5-18 to tear through Southport Labrador, which was all out for just 88 in 45 overs.

Tigers opener Hiran Wickramasekera topscored with 51 runs in a lone bright spark for Southport. His 10 teammates combined for 33 runs, and three of them were dismissed for ducks.

Alberton passed that total in 32 overs.

Mudgeeraba and Surfers were washed out.

Monster day for PBC in second grade

HELENSVALE was pummelled for more than 300 runs in 80 overs as Palm Beach Currumbin flexed its batting muscle in second grade.

A century to top-order batsman Matthew Field and a half-century to No.7 James Guy did the bulk of the damage, with Helensvale set an intimidating chase of four an over to pass the Lions’ 323 runs.

Henry Shephard took 5-73 in the innings and Brett Burke 4-53.

Veteran Southport bowler Paul Johnston topscored with a career-high 78 with the bat before his side declared at 8-207 against Alberton.

Two wickets to Mitchell Johnson had the Cyclones battling at 2-6.

Mudgeeraba’s Brad Seath scored 74 of the Bushmen’s 179 runs against Surfers Paradise, who resume at 2-53.

The Bushmen’s Colts have a chance to rebound from last week after holding Coomera to 9-147.

Gross the hero in third grade

RUNAWAY Bay chased down Palm Beach Colts with seven balls to spare in an exciting third-grade clash on home soil.

Lions bat Rhys Saunders topscored with 57, having scored a promotion from fourth grade, to set a target of 179 for victory.

There were nervous scenes as Bay’s Alvin Pinho was dismissed for 22, leaving life member and No.10 Andrew Gross at the crease.

After two dots, Gross hit the matchwinning boundary to send his team to second on the ladder.

A 4-20 bowling day from Sam Whitbread sent Southport to first.

Mudgee early leaders in fourth grade

KENT Tomsett led Mudgeeraba Colts to the best batting performance of the round in fourth grade, defeating Queens by 59 runs to secure top spot on the table after two weeks.

The opener posted 82 runs from 76 balls in an energetic innings to help his side compile 208 runs for eight wickets.

A steady trickle of wickets kept Queens from amassing any momentum in their chase.

Alberton kept their undefeated season alive with a shaky win over Runaway Bay.

Extras were the Seagulls’ most productive scorer with 22 but the Cyclones only scraped to a two-wicket win despite time being on their side.

Helensvale’s Jeremy Gale was the round’s topscorer with 93 in an eight-wicket win over Burleigh, who were led by Daniel Kirk’s 77 not-out.

Bulls survive tough day in fifth grade

ON a low scoring day in fifth grade only two teams reached the 100-run mark: Bonogin and Helensvale, who met each other in the game of the round.

The key wicket of Bulls danger man Bevan Marks was won by the Hawks’ Chris Hallett for 37 to give his team a chance in the match.

With no other batsman firing, Bonogin was held to 158 from 38 overs, almost the same score that Marks posted solo last week.

Despite a valiant half-century from Helensvale No.8 Marcus Davidson there was no overcoming a middle order implosion that saw five batters dismissed for eight total runs.

Bonogin held on to win by 31 runs and maintain their hold on top of the table.

Broadbeach’s Isaac Jones enjoyed the best bowling performance of the weekend for fifth grade with a 4-8 effort to bowl out Alberton for 95.

Jones added 9* from 3 balls to notch a four-wicket win.

Farren goes aerial in sixth grade

COOMERA Hope Island’s batting line-up was the toast of the Cricket Gold Coast sixth grade competition, with two batsmen posting half-centuries and another two falling just short.

Broadbeach Robina found no answers for the Crocs in the middle, with Niall Farren posting a grade-high 74 runs from just 22 deliveries.

At Merrimac High School’s oval, Farren took to the skies, launching nine sixes over the boundary.

Partner-in-crime Brett Ritchie enjoyed a more balanced approach to reach 62 from 78 deliveries while Michael Ponsonby (47) and Wayne Lettice (44) came close.

Broadbeach had work to do to chase down 257 for victory but ran out of time, falling short by 62 runs.

Coomera have scored more runs than any team in the grade but Palm Beach Currumbin, who washed out this week, have a better per-game runs record after scoring 228 against Helensvale Gold last week.

Junior star of the week: Benjamin Harm (Alberton)

ALBERTON Ormeau under-14s leg-spinner Benjamin Harm (pictured) took five wickets in a six wicket spell while only conceding two runs. While junior leg-spinners can often be targeted by opposition bats, Harm’s ability to keep the pressure on was remarkable, said coach and veteran first grader Matthew Yiend.

“Most leggies tend to have that occasional bad ball but there was none of them on Saturday,” Yiend said.

“Benjamin is a very exciting young talent and he’s worked hard like all our kids do. Yesterday it just came out perfect for him.”

With Harm at the helm, Alberton bowled out Broadbeach for 68 runs.

Harm, batting No.4, arrived at the crease in the fifth over and stayed to hit the matchwinning runs.

Redlands inflict Dolphins first loss

GOLD Coast has suffered its first loss of the Queensland Premier Cricket campaign at the hands of Redlands.

The Dolphins, who are unbeaten in the one-day format and had their opening two-day contest washed out, were outmatched by an impressive Redlands hitting display at Peter Burge Oval.

Batting first, Gold Coast was all-out for 293, with Redlands racing to 7/351 in reply to take a commanding first innings victory.

Brisbane Heat medium-pacer Simon Milenko (5/63 off 24 overs) claimed the key scalps of Dolphins top-order contingent Scott Palombo (6 off 16), Hugo Burdon (18 off 39) and Josh Kann (4 off 17) as Gold Coast stumbled to 4/68.

Enter captain-coach Trent Keep and Xavier Bartlett, who combined for a 158-run fifth-wicket stand to breathe life back into the Dolphins’ innings.

Both middle-order bats struck 86 runs, combining for 28 boundaries, but once Bartlett departed and Keep followed soon-after, the Dolphins’ innings petered out.

Palombo and Emmaus Benn combined to run out Redlands opener Sam Heazlett early in the hosts’ innings, but from there Liam Smith (86 off 172) and Leigh Drennan (91 off 157) led the Tigers’ charge and their win was never truly in doubt.

Gold Coast is back in action on Saturday for the one-day grand final at home to Northern Suburbs.

Wheeler century not enough

GOLD Coast opener Tara Wheeler blasted 103 runs off 123 balls but the Dolphins fell just short in Sunday’s clash with Western Suburbs.

The Dolphins managed 7/221 from their 50 overs, with Wheeler finding little help with the bat.

Wests opened with a 120-run opening wicket stand and despite faltering through the middle-order, limped to the total with three overs to spare

-- Gold Coast Cricket Wrap Round 1: October 10, 2021 --

Eight-wicket hero Matt Madeley setting record pace

RUNAWAY Bay quick Matt Madeley brought the storm to the doorstep of the Alberton Ormeau Cyclones to score an outright victory on the opening weekend of the Kookaburra Cup with an eight-wicket bowling performance.

In one furious 17-over spell the Englishman produced the best bowling performance the competition had seen since Harrison Foyle took 9-45 for Runaway Bay against Coomera in round 16 of 2019.

Madeley took 8-41 to dismiss all of Alberton’s top six batters for a combined 72 runs, including the prized scalp of T20 leading run-scorer Harish Kumar who chopped-on for 1.

The 22-year-old Madeley only relinquished the ball when his opposition fell to 9-106 and the 10-wicket haul was out of his reach.

“It was just one of those days where everything went for me,” said Madeley, who hails from Derby in the UK.

“There were a few good catches in the slips and overall a pretty nice track to bowl on.”

With 13 first grade wickets already this season Madeley is comfortably on pace to reach 100 first grade wickets for Runaway Bay.

Madeley needs 24 wickets in 10 matches to beat David Saunders’ Runaway Bay record as the fastest to that total in the MyCricket era (2004-present).

Saunders took 100 in 51 matches between 2008 and 2013 while Madeley has 77 in 40 since debuting in 2019.

Veteran Alberton captain Corey Galloway saved his team from a day one routing with a 38-run final stand partnership with No.11 Caleb ­Arrold to end the side’s innings on 144 but they were not enough to avoid defeat on Sunday.

A maiden Gold Coast first grade century to Zach Hollis (100 not out) was enough to secure the win and send Alberton in for another bat in pursuit of bonus points.

At Helensvale-Pacific Pines, Hawks No.4 Harry Lickiss scored 93 to guide his team to a 57-run victory over Coomera Hope Island.

Lickiss led the Gold Coast in runs scored on Saturday night but dipped to second, behind Hollis at the conclusion of round 1.

It was a quiet day with the bat for the Hawks as Josh Henderson (3-28), James Kleinschmidt (2-14) and Josh Spies (2-32) kept Coomera in the hunt.

Kleinschmidt top-scored for his side with 68 but a six-wicket performance from Jack Baird nipped any chance of a Crocs comeback in the bud.

Queens captain Jack Winton’s half-century was just enough to get his side out of trouble against a Southport Labrador bowling attack led by key off-season recruit Dhanushka Mitipolarachchi.

The former Broadbeach Robina all-rounder took three wickets for 51 in a 16-over spell for his new club, including the wicket of Winton to pull the rug from under Queens’ first innings.

From 6-168 with Winton at the crease, Queens were bowled out for 186.

Poor batting meant the ­Tigers failed to take advantage from their early gains as Queens escaped with a 51-run victory.

JUNIOR STAR OF THE WEEK: BAILEY MCDIARMID

THE 11-year-old son of former Southport Labrador opening bat Shane McDiarmid scored a career-first century in the best batting performance of the weekend in Gold Coast junior cricket.

Batting for Helensvale in the Under 12s Northern Division, Bailey McDiarmid hit 18 boundaries to reached 101 not-out from 63 deliveries.

The century continued a remarkable unbeaten streak.

In 22 career matches McDiarmid, a wicketkeeper like his old man, has only gotten out twice.

The last time McDiarmid lost his wicket was on January 12, 2019, 19 innings and more than 1000 days ago.

McDiarmid’s Helensvale Gold side defeated Helensvale Green by 71 runs.

YOUNG PUPS SCHOOLED IN MUDGEE DERBY

MUDGEERABA-Nerang’s Colts side were taught a cricketing lesson by their senior Bushmen cousins in second grade, falling short in a 180-run defeat.

Senior middle order bats Luke Smith (91 from 172) and Gareth Morgan (70 not-out from 112) were visions of patience in the middle as Mudgeeraba batted out Day One to declare at 9-254.

There was no respite in the Colts’ batting innings either as bowler Luke Badham tore through the junior ranks, collecting 7-17 from a 15 over spell to help bowl out the Colts for 74.

That was still not the best bowling performance of the weekend in second grade, with Coomera’s Dan Folley taking a remarkable 8-24 to cripple Helensvale’s chase and win by 52 runs.

There were nine five-wicket hauls in total in a strong opening weekend in the grade.

CRUEL TWIST OF TIME IN THIRDS

FORMER Southport Labrador first-grade wicketkeeper Brad Sauer fell agonisingly short of his first century on the Gold Coast in a cruel twist of fate in third grade.

Sauer ended the first innings against Loganholme stranded at the nonstriker’s end on 95 not-out, having transferred the strike to Jayden Sands with a single in the third ball of the final over.

That would prove the final ball he faced.

In 43 matches on the Gold Coast it was the second time Sauer had passed 50 runs.

Southport won the match by 58 runs.

LIONS ROAR IN FOURTH GRADE SHOWCASE

PALM Beach Currumbin have stamped an early mark on the fourth grade competition with a 293-run batting performance against Runaway Bay.

The Seagulls lived to regret sending the Lions in to bat first as PBC set a target of more than eight runs per over to chase down over 35 overs.

Middle order gun Rhys Saunders, who scored 563 runs at 51.18 last season to book a place in the fourth grade team of the year, came within eight runs of a season-opening century in just 57 balls.

Half-centuries from Heath Downie and Robert Hale were big contributors.

The Seagulls were held to 8-181 for a 112 run PBC victory.

Queens, Mudgeeraba Blue, Alberton Ormeau, Mudgeeraba Nerang Colts and Helensvale Pacific-Pines joined Palm Beach in the winner’s circle.

BEVAN BLASTS TO 159

BONOGIN’s fifth grade skipper Bevan Marks scored one-fifth of his 2020-21 runs total in one afternoon, smashing 24 boundaries on his way to a season-opening 159.

The former Mudgeeraba lower grades stalwart was selected in the Bulletin’s sixth grade team of the season in his first year at Bonogin after scoring 599 runs at an average of 85.57.

In this form a promotion into Bonogin’s third grade side might be in order.

Marks toyed with Coomera’s bowling attack as his side ended the first innings at 3-298, with the opener bowled on the final delivery of the innings.

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Support arrived from club debutant Collin Taylor (64) and Zachery Saxvik (55 not-out).

Coomera were never up to the task of chasing down 300 in 35 overs and were cleaned up for 94.

Broadbeach Robina enjoyed a much tighter win over Surfers Paradise, with strong batting performances from skipper Jason Raffin (72 not-out), Matt Abrahams (66) and Josh Walker (40) contributing to an 8-265 first innings scorecard.

Surfers captain Craig Price led the chase with a team-high 90 but his side fell short 9-213.

Mudgeeraba Red, Southport, Runaway Bay and Helensvale were other winners.

HAWKS DEFEND NEST IN SIXTH GRADE

HELENSVALE Gold were the only sixth grade team to successfully defend their home ground in the season opener, chasing down Palm Beach Currumbin’s total of 228 with 12 overs to spare in an impressive batting performance.

Captain Daryl Woods led his side in the chase, hitting 15 boundaries to post 87 from 40 to help recover from a golden duck to opener Clifton Duck.

It was a matchwinning knock in every sense as Palm Beach Currumbin recorded the highest score of any losing team in sixth grade on the weekend.

Mudgeeraba’s Aqeel Khawaja produced the division’s top bowling performance with four wickets in less than three overs to clean up the tail of Helensvale Green for a win.

Khawaja conceded just 11 runs in the spell.

Chris Milne enjoyed a well-rounded match with a career-high 71 runs unbeaten and two wickets from six overs with the ball.

Runaway Bay, Coomera and Surfers notched wins.

KEEP FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL

GOLD Coast captain-coach Trent Keep batted for more than three hours to save the Dolphins from a top order collapse that threatened their undefeated start to the 2021/22 Queensland Premier Cricket season.

Keep, who joined the club from Broadbeach Robina in local cricket this season, arrived at the crease at Redlands down 4-68 after young stars Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon and Josh Kann suffered early dismissals.

With Brisbane Heat all-rounder Xavier Bartlett beside him the pair battled to produce a 156-run partnership to establish a foothold in the match.

Bartlett fell first at 4-226, caught by Heat teammate Sam Heazlett off the bowling of Nathan Collins, having scored 86 runs from 147 deliveries.

He was joined in the pavilion by Keep shortly afterwards, having scored 86 from 142 balls.

The Dolphins tail failed to kick with the side bowled out for 293 in the 86th over.

Former Tasmanian all-rounder Scott Milenko was the pick of Redlands’ bowling attack with five wickets for 63 runs from a 24-over spell.

Year 12 The Southport School student Jack Sinfield was Redlands’ primary workhorse in attack, bowling against his ‘home’ club for 33 overs, taking two wickets.

The Dolphins made early inroads into the Redlands’ innings when opener Heazlett was run out for five on the arm of Emmaus Benn to stand 1/19 going into day two.

DOLPHINS WOMEN FALL SHORT

CARLY Fuller (47) could not lead the Gold Coast’s women’s side to victory against Sunshine Coast.

Fuller and Dahlia Glennie were methodical in guiding the Dolphins into position to accelerate late in the match but lost their wickets and momentum for their side, closing the innings at 5-108.

Sunshine Coast took full advantage, chasing down the total in the 19th over for a six wicket win.