Gold Coast Cricket: Ranking the top run scorers and wicket takers

Who are the top run scorers and wicket takers in Gold Coast cricket? We reveal who is topping the charts, ranking every player. See where every player is ranked here.

The Bulletin has released the full list ranking all 3201 batters in Gold Coast cricket this season by runs scored and 2584 bowlers by wickets taken.

Scroll down for full list and use the search bar to compare how you rank, against your mates, your clubmates and how you rate in your grade >>

RUNAWAY Bay fifth grader Hitesh Virmani has opened an 89-run lead on the rest of the Gold Coast in the district’s race for leading runscorer honours.

The all-rounder has scored 516 runs at a Bradman-esque 129. 75 batting average through 10 innings to overtake Bonogin’s Bevan Marks (fifth grade) and Helensvale’s Harry Lickiss (first grade).

Virmani said to extend his killer form into the second half of the season and win the overall batting aggregate would be the ultimate personal achievement.

“I’m seeing them like a beachball right now,” he said.

WEEK 10

Two wickets to Burleigh’s Matthew Grant in a win over Queens at the weekend has propelled him into top spot on the bowling rankings with 27 scalps through Week 10.

Grant now leads Kookaburra Cup contemporaries Joshua Henderson (Coomera) and Steven Graham (Runaway Bay) who sit equal second with 26 wickets.

In the batting ranks, Runaway Bay all-rounder Hitesh Virmani extended his lead over fifth grade big-hitting rival Bevan Marks (Bonogin). Virmani’s 461 runs from nine innings leads all-comers, ahead of Marks (430) and Helensvale’s Kookaburra Cup star harry Lickiss (392).

WEEK 7

RUNAWAY Bay fifth grader Hitesh Virmani is the district’s top all-rounder after six weeks of competition, as the only local cricketer ranked in the Gold Coast Bulletin’s top 50 batsman and bowlers in 2021/2022.

The Bulletin publishes full batting and bowling leaderboards on Goldcoastbulletin.com.au each week, ranking nearly 3000 players in every senior and junior grade from first to last in key statistical categories.

Virmani, with 274 runs at an average of 91.33, is fifth grade’s second-leading runscorer and the fourth overall on the Gold Coast.

The right-arm offspinner is also fifth grade’s leading wicket-taker, with figures of 10-79 through 24.1 overs to squeeze inside the Gold Coast’s top 50 bowlers at No.49.

No other cricketer on the Gold Coast ranks inside the top 50 in both disciplines but Virmani, who ranks in the 99th percentile of batsmen and 98th percentile of bowlers.

On form he is due a promotion but the 32-year-old truckie is loyal to his team and teammates in fifth grade.

“I do interstate driving five days a week, then every Saturday morning I drive to Runaway Bay from Park Ridge in Brisbane to play cricket with my best mate,” Virmani said.

“The only reason I do it is to play with Paul Saunderson. I enjoy playing cricket with him and all my mates and that’s the reason I’m at Bay in fifth grade.

“The season’s gone pretty good for the team, really the whole club. It’s a good club to be a part of and I love playing cricket with these blokes.”

With Virmani leading the charge Runaway Bay have won four and lost two to sit third on the fifth grade table after six weeks.

The team has a Bulletin Power Ranking score of 2287, 13th best of 73 senior teams in Gold Coast cricket this season.

Virmani’s nearest challenger in the all-rounder stakes is Alberton Ormeau fourth grader Michael Zantiotis.

The former Burleigh first grader has taken 12 wickets at an average of 9.25 and scored 137 runs at an average of 27.4 to sit 23rd and 71st respectively in the bowling and batting ranks.

Current Burleigh first grade spinner Matt Grant is the leading all-rounder in the Kookaburra Cup, with 19 wickets at 11.74 and 105 runs at 21 opening the batting.

1. Hitesh Virmani, Runaway Bay 5th Grade

Bowling Rank 49; Batting Rank 4

2. Michael Zantiotis, Alberton 4th Grade

Bowling Rank 23; Batting Rank 71

3. Ben Fleming, Alberton 2nd Grade

Bowling Rank 76; Batting Rank 42

4. Ryan Overweg, Burleigh 3rd Grade

Bowling Rank 32; Batting Rank 86

5. Cooper Johnson, Southport Turf Juniors Div 3

Bowling Rank 55; Batting Rank 67

6. Gurdev Mehta, Broadbeach 6th Grade

Bowling Rank 35; Batting Rank 91

7. Dylan Gula, Alberton 4th Grade

Bowling Rank 84; Batting Rank 43

8. Joshua Kelley, Burleigh U12 South

Bowling Rank 104; Batting Rank 46

9. Josh Petersen, Burleigh 3rd Grade

Bowling Rank 59; Batting Rank 113 = 171

10. Matt Grant, Burleigh 1st Grade

Bowling Rank 2; Batting Rank 171 = 173

LORD’S CHEF LEADS GC IN RUNS SCORED: WEEK 3

MUDGEERABA fourth-grader Kent Tomsett has returned from eight years in London as a senior chef at the Home of Cricket to lead the Gold Coast in runs scored across every junior and senior division.

Tomsett spent nearly a decade as sous chef in the Long Room kitchen at Lord’s cricket ground, feeding patrons in the iconic pavilion that players cross to reach the hallowed playing surface.

Chef Kent Tomsett takes the field at Lord's. Picture: Supplied

Chef Kent Tomsett in the kitchen at Lord's. Picture: Supplied

It appears some of that magic has rubbed off on the 33-year-old, who has scored 214 runs across three innings to set the pace in the race for the Coast’s top run-scoring ­honours.

Tomsett’s batting average sits at 107, with 82 not-out in his last innings to overtake Bonogin fifth-grader Bevan Marks into first place.

On Saturday Tomsett was primed to score his second club century since joining Mudgeeraba last year but had to retire to make it to his shift as sous chef at Star Casino’s Food Quarter on time.

“The biggest problem I have is I work at the casino so I have to retire if I have to go,” the opening bat said.

“I used to play a bit of first grade cricket on the Sunshine Coast in the late 2000s until I moved to England to play cricket in Suffolk in 2009.

“I ended up playing for one full season then got a job ­cheffing at Lord’s, where I used to run the Long Room, where I taught some of the players like Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Alastair Cook how to cook.”

After a strong debut season in fifth grade last year, scoring 508 runs at 50.8, taking 16 wickets at 14.13 and scoring a place in the Bulletin’s team of the season, Tomsett hung up the whites.

It took an invitation from a mate, Mudgeeraba’s fourth grade captain Jack Corbett, to bring him back to lend some experience to the Bushmens’ Colts side.

What’s happened since Tomsett puts down to luck.

“We’re playing on concrete pitches with people who drop catches,” he said.

“I’ve been lucky, I should have been run out or caught a few times and had to pick up the pace and get the game moving so I can go to work.”

Tomsett has booked in several Saturdays off in the coming weeks in the hope of earning a promotion up the grades, or at least the chance to complete a full match with his teammates.

Helensvale first grader Harry Lickiss is fifth on the list with 148 runs from just two ­innings.

Burleigh under-12 Taika Hoare is the top junior, seventh overall with 144 runs also in two innings.

RUNAWAY Bay’s Sam Loxton Oval is home to all three of Gold Coast cricket’s leading wicket-takers after three weeks of competition.

Across all grades only four bowlers have taken double-digit wickets so far, three of them for the Seagulls.

First graders Steven Graham (18 wickets) and Matt Madeley (13) are leading the district while 47-year-old second grader Scott McGrath (12 wickets) is making his case for a shock promotion.

Scott McGrath at Runaway Bay. Picture: Supplied

In 34 second grade overs since moving from Southport Labrador, McGrath’s club of the past eight years, the medium-pacer has taken 12 wickets to average 6.25 with the ball, taking one wicket every 17 balls.

“Not trying to bowl too fast certainly helps, as did taking 11 in my first game for Bay,” the veteran bowler said.

“It’s mostly just taking care of impatient batsmen who think they can smack the old bloke around.”

McGrath turns 48 next week.