Every Cricket Gold Coast centurion from 2003 to now: All grades

Since MyCricket records began in the 2003/2004 season more than 1200 Gold Coasters have raised the bat across every grade, from first grade to U10 South. Find them all here.

Since MyCricket records began in the 2003/2004 season more than 1200 Gold Coasters have raised the bat across every grade, from first grade to U10 South.

The Gold Coast Bulletin’s team of cricket writers have inputted the list into a searchable database, allowing users to compare centuries across players, grades, clubs, seasons and even by round.

For example: Search (1st) and then sort by Club to find every 1st grade century scored by each club, ranked from biggest to smallest.

Search the database below

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THE GREATEST FINALS CENTURY

IT TOOK being dropped from Mudgeeraba’s defending champion first grade team to ignite the fire in Ryan Beere that produced the Gold Coast’s greatest finals century.

Beere was 24 years old when he played his last Kookaburra Cup game for the Bushmen in 2007/08, not 12 months removed from breaking a 30-year premiership drought as Mudgeeraba’s first-choice wicketkeeper.

2014: Ryan Beere of Surfers Paradise Demons plays the delivery of Ryan Kettle of Palm Beach Currumbin during the Kookaburra Cup match played at Sir Bruce Small park, Gold Coast. Picture: Regi Varghese

Six matches later, in a second grade semi-final clash against Broadbeach, Beere was sent in to open the batting.

He returned some 120 overs later, with 201 runs to his name and passage to the grand final guaranteed for his team.

Since MyCricket’s launch in 2003/04 more than 20 batsmen have recorded centuries in finals fixtures across all Gold Coast grades but only one has reached the double-ton.

It is a piece of Gold Coast cricketing history that may forever belong to Beere after rule changes were introduced to prevent teams from triggering a tie-break by batting out the clock.

Reflecting back on the innings 13 years later Beere is still sheepish about his place atop the record books.

“There’s nothing really to write home about it,” the 37-year-old said.

Kookaburra Cup cricket, Southport-Labrador v Surfers Paradise.Surfers Wicketkeeper Ryan Beere. Picture Mike Batterham

“I’d been dropped from first grade, which I deserved and probably deserved a few years back.

“I don’t really remember much of the innings, it just blurs together … but that (being dropped) gave me a bit of a spur to go okay.

“I had a bit of luck. We lost the toss but were sent in to bat on a great batting deck.

“I was caught behind on 40 and not given out. I was dropped as well.

“I was never known for hitting a lot of boundaries so I was fortunate the game was a final and we could bat for that long.”

His 201 remains the highest recorded tally in second grade history and the third-highest two-day score behind first graders Chris Wicks (206*) and Andrew Robinson (203).

Beere went on to win the grand final the following week, scoring a more down-to-earth 13 in a 15-run victory over Palm Beach Currumbin.

It would be his final act with Mudgeeraba, joining the Gold Coast Dolphins for a four-year stint in the Queensland Cricket Association before returning to the Kookaburra Cup with Burleigh and then Surfers Paradise for another 90 first grade matches before retiring in 2019.

That double-century was the final ton of Beere’s cricket career, for the club he called home for more than a decade.

“That was definitely a happy ending with the club,” he said.

“I’m definitely not one for talking about my achievements but just to do it for the team, I was happy to be out there contributing.

“I’ve had other decent knocks but that was the biggest for sure. Having played a lot of cricket it’s cool to have a slice of history like that.”

DOUBLE TON THAT TIME FORGOT

FORMER Helensvale opener Chris Wicks remembers November 10, 2007 as the date of the last perfect ­innings of his cricketing career.

But thanks to a glitch in stats archive MyCricket, his Kookaburra Cup record 206 not-out against Coomera Hope Island is not listed in the Gold Coast’s batting hall of fame.

According to the hall, that innings never happened at all because a user error when uploading the scorecard left Wicks’ balls-faced column blank – wiping his score from the database and thus handing the honour to Andrew Robinson, who scored the only other double-century in recorded Gold Coast first grade history nearly a decade later.

Wicks won’t ever forget his first century on the Gold Coast, 14 years ago on Wednesday.

“I didn’t hit many singles,” the 49-year-old recalled. “It was just one of those days. I’d had been batting on past reputation for years but I would have averaged 10 runs an over that day.

“I played lower grades QCA cricket at Wynnum for years, indoor cricket three nights a week and with all the training you were seeing the ball like a beach ball at the time. I could have kept going if we didn’t get all out.”

Wicks gave away no chances in an innings where he ended day one against Coomera at 190 not-out.

Cricket at Sir Bruce Small park, Benowa, between Surfers Paradise and Coomera. (L-R) Batsman Chris Wicks

He raised the bat again on day two as the last of Helensvale’s batting line-up fell around him, 10-322.

It was an exhibition of Wicks’ unorthodox, across-the-line batting style that frustrated old-school coaches at former clubs.

“I wasn’t technique-perfect but I wasn’t a slogger either, it was just controlled hitting,” Wicks said.

“You don’t play across-the-line on the stumps but you watch for half-volleys outside off and that should ­always go for 6.

“You don’t score 206 by blocking and none of the bowlers were doing anything tricky with the ball.”

His batting heroics were ultimately unrewarded as Coomera hung on to draw the match at 8-218.

Wicks finished ninth on the runs leaderboard for 2007-08 with 375.