Gold Coast Cricket Wrap Week 10: All six senior grades + Dolphins
THE last unbeaten team in the Kookaburra Cup has been toppled. Palm Beach Currumbin stopped Mudgeeraba Nerang in a rematch of the Kookaburra Cup grand final from last season.
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RUNAWAY Bay’s rotten month of Kookaburra Cup cricket hit rock bottom on Saturday, with the former table-toppers ambushed by 10th-placed Southport Labrador for a 42-run defeat.
Rebuilding Southport had not won back-to-back matches since the opening rounds of the 2020-21 season, until Saturday’s conquering of the Seagulls.
Runaway Bay’s undefeated start to this season now seems a distant memory after four straight defeats.
There was no shame in narrow losses to the competition’s current top three sides, having won three-from-three to open the season.
Frontrunners Mudgeeraba (lost by four runs), third placed PBC (six wickets) and second-placed Surfers Paradise (two wickets) is the toughest three weeks of scheduling any team has faced in the Kookaburra Cup this year.
Southport Labrador, one spot removed from the bottom of the table with one win to its name, presented as the ideal rebound match.
Bay allowed that chance to slip through its fingers.
Off-season acquisitions Phil Tunnicliffe, the 2018-19 Sam Loxton medal winner for player of the year, and all-rounder Dhanushka Mitipolarachchi led the Tigers to a great underdog victory.
Tunnicliffe posted 52 runs atop the order, his second-half century in a fortnight, as Southport recorded its best opening stand of the season with 77 runs, alongside Luc Hart de Keating.
Mitipolarachchi, Shubham Rawat and Paul Moorhead carried Southport to 162 runs from 40.3 overs.
Mitipolarachchi (4-22 off 9) led the charge with the ball with TJ Miller (3-16) and Jakson Webb (2-25) helping to bowl out the Bay for 120.
Only opener Jayden Hoare (41) and No.9 Sam Burdock (28) escaped single digits for the Seagulls.
It was the second time this season the side had failed to reach 200 in an innings.
In the weekend’s game of the round, Mudgeeraba Nerang extended its lead atop the table with a 21-run victory over Helensvale Pacific Pines.
First innings half-centuries to opener Kevin Chapman (56) and skipper Dylan McLaughlin (66) saw the Bushmen return to the sheds ahead 6-205.
Regular wickets hamstrung the Hawks’ chase, with the required run rate climbing to 8.6 through the final 10 overs with five wickets in hand.
The dismissal of topscorer Shaun Snyder for 34 pushed the 62 required runs for victory out of reach.
PBC’s top order were untroubled by Alberton’s bowling attack, setting up a 97-run victory at Trevor Hammel.
Canning Mason (84), Ryan Kettle (45) and Zane Beattie (39) took the Lions to 3-190, with the final tally reaching 4-237.
The Hurricanes went from 0-17 to 3-18 in eight balls, eventually bowled out for 130.
Former Queensland under-19 quick Ryan McCloy took five wickets for 26 from nine overs.
Broadbeach produced the finest batting performance of its season to beat Coomera Hope Island by 113 runs.
Clint Grassick, Reece McDonald and Steve Baker were leading scorers in a 219-run first innings, with McDonald (3-14) and Kyle Brockley (4-19) taking the Crocs to 5-19 and then all out for 106.
Josh Henderson scored 47 and Jimbo Martin 25.
Burleigh moved into seventh place with a chasedown of bottom-ranked Queens.
SECOND GRADE: Coomera bowlers co-op a collapse
IT TOOK Coomera Hope Island bowlers Jayden Brown and Hudson Izzard just 17.4 overs to dismiss joint 2nd Grade competition leaders Broadbeach Robina in a remarkable result on Saturday.
Izzard (6-11) and Brown (4-27) ripped through the visitors with relative ease – seven ducks on the scorecard told the tale of a terrible day out for Broadbeach.
It all started so promisingly, too, when the visitors bowled Coomera all out for just 95, with Nathan Bell (3-20) leading the charge.
Elsewhere, Southport moved into top spot on percentage with a 104-run win over Runaway Bay, while Palm Beach Currumbin kept pace by accounting for lowly Alberton Ormeau. Surfers bested Mudgee Colts, Burleigh knocked off Queens and Helensvale was too good at home for Mudgeeraba.
JUNIOR STAR OF THE WEEK: Miserly bowling a four-for feature
JUNIOR Coast cricket was without question a bowler’s paradise over the weekend, with 11 players bagging four-wicket hauls.
Even more incredibly, six of those 11 players conceded runs in the single digits – leaving the Bulletin with little room to crown a solo junior of the week. Instead, those six players can share the title – starting with the best of the bunch, Broadbeach Robina’s Luke Franks, who took figures of 4-2 in his Turf Juniors Division 2 outing at the weekend.
It was a busy division for brilliant bowlers, with Alberton’s Jared Smith (4-8) and Helensvale’s Riley Bell (4-6) also hailing from rival teams.
In Division 1 Harry Sullivan (4-8) put in a shift for Runaway Bay against Mudgeeraba Nerang, while Helensvale’s Nathan Tanner went 4-9 in the Division 3 clash with Surfers Paradise.
Rounding out the list is Surfers’ Oscar Humphris (4-3), who led the way in a big Under-12 South win over Bonogin.
THIRD GRADE: Pettit powers Burleigh past PBC
AN UNBEATEN 74 from first drop Nick Pettitt has powered Burleigh to an upset third grade victory over Palm Beach Currumbin.
Pettitt was the only bat from either side to score more than 26 runs as his mastery of the Merv Craig Oval wicket proved the difference in a 67-run Burleigh win – crucial for the club in its quest to stay in touch with the top four.
At Corbwood Oval, a Stephen Hess five-for helped Mudgeeraba to a six-wicket win over PBC Colts, while at Sam Loxton Oval Surfers Paradise reached Runaway Bay’s total with three wickets to spare.
Helensvale romped to a 70-run win over Bonogin to move into the top four, while Tamborine Mtn topped Loganholme in a crucial mid-table battle that could have end of season ramifications.
BRISBANE HEAT: Bartlett playing it cool with the heat
BRISBANE Heat bowler Xavier Bartlett cringes when asked if he’s ready to be considered an all-rounder.
After two Big Bash games the 22 year old Gold Coaster is Brisbane’s leading runscorer, despite batting down the order at No.8 in a team that also contains global T20 superstar Chris Lynn and the explosive up-and-comer Max Bryant.
He scored 26 not-out in Canberra against the Sydney Thunder and 34 not-out in Perth against the Scorchers.
Ready or not, his powerful batting is drawing attention across the competition.
On the irregular oval of Metricon Stadium, Monday night’s hometown BBL fixture against the Melbourne Renegades could be the game that puts Bartlett’s bowling specialist tag to bed for good.
“I definitely wouldn’t say I’m an all-rounder,” The Southport School and Surfers Paradise junior said.
“I’ve been injured for the past six months so all I’ve really done is bat.
“I’ve been able to help out the team in the last few games but I’m still a bowler first and foremost.
“In T20 cricket it’s so hit and miss that you’ve got to be a bit lucky, which I’ve gotten.”
The highlights reel disagrees with the humble Queenslander.
Bartlett’s team-high nine boundaries, including one six, have been launched like missiles all around the ground.
He credits his batting evolution to the work put in when a stress-fracture in his back forced him out of bowling.
Batting was all Bartlett could do, with highly-credentialed role models there to observe and demonstrate T20 technique.
“I’ve been asking them (Lynn and Bryant) for tips,” Bartlett said.
“I try to get into strong positions and just watch the ball, try not to overhit.
“I just watch Max and Lynny do that as well.”
If Bartlett’s report of his mentors’ form in training this week is anything to go by, crowds at Metricon on Monday night had better reinforce their KFC bucket hats with steel plates.
Lynn is coming off one of the tamest T20 performances of his career against the Scorchers, with 27 from 33 which included just two fours.
Bartlett said the 31 year old was due for a monster knock.
“Bowling to them in the nets and the middle these last few days hasn’t been too much fun,” he said.
“The way they strike the ball I’m sure their fortune will turn. Both have had good success at Metricon over recent years and with those boundaries they’ll target the small pockets.”
Gold Coasters will likely be heavily represented in the Heat side, with Dolphins players Bartlett, Bryant, Matt Kuhnemann and Hugo Burdon eligible for selection.
Bartlett said the chance to perform in front of friends and family on home turf was another key advantage.
FOURTH GRADE: Markey leads Mudgee Blue
MUDGEERABA Blue looks to be back in title-winning form after comfortably accounting for Helensvale Pacific Pines in Saturday’s fourth-grade clash at Davenport Park.
Openers Markey and Dan Maitland put on a 95-run opening stand and Mudgee Blue needed just 14 overs to chase down Helensvale’s 116 with eight wickets in-hand.
It’s the champs’ second win on the trot after a two-game losing skid earlier in the season. Mudgee Colts however were bested by Alberton Ormeau at Riesenweber Park.
A brilliant 72 from Andrew Mahony powered Tamborine Mountain to a 116-run win over Runaway Bay, while Broadbeach Robina hung on for a 16-run victory over Queens and Burleigh broke its duck with a big win to Coomera.
GOLD COAST DOLPHINS: Smith’s five to sink Sandgate
JACKSON Smith’s first five-for of the Queensland Premier Cricket campaign has set Gold Coast up nicely in its two-day home tilt against Sandgate-Redcliffe, but the run chase did not start according to plan.
Smith (5-35) was the chief destroyer for the hosts, who limited Sandgate-Redcliffe to a first-innings total of 172 but the Gold Coast will return next weekend with nine wickets in hand after the early loss of opener Bradley Radford (duck off 10 balls).
In the visitors’ innings, Smith and Dolphins ‘keeper Lachy Aitken combined to dismiss Sandgate opener Daniel Seaton (24 off 64) and second drop Jack Cooper (4 off 5).
Aitken finished with four catches behind the stumps.
Nathan Lyons (2-51) and Bradley Munro (2-22) both bagged double scalps, while Chris Taylor (1-46) chimed in with the key middle-order wicket of Caden Sweeney.
But it was the Munro-Radford combination to dismiss Sandgate-Redcliffe’s No.3 Rory Livingstone (61 off 149) that proved the key wicket, with the next four dismissals all coming within 20 runs as the Dolphins wrapped up the tail quickly.
Playing without the competition’s leading runscorer in Max Bryant, it was Radford’s turn to open in his second first grade start of the season.
But his afternoon came to an end trapped lbw for a duck, leaving Scott Palombo (4 off 21) and Hugo Burdon (8 off 13) at the crease.
In Sunday’s T20 semi-final at Bill Pippen Oval, Callum Taylor (85 not out) carried his bat and Burdon (79) starred in a stellar 2/189 innings.
Wynnum-Manly could only manage 99 in reply.
Gold Coast is now into next Sunday’s decider.
FIFTH GRADE: All-rounder bats 100-not
THE battle for fifth grade’s best bat has another twist in its tale after Runaway Bay all-rounder Hitesh Virmani’s stellar unbeaten century pushed him ahead of the ‘Bonogin Bully’, Bevan Marks.
While Marks (6 off 6) failed to fire in Bonogin’s six-wicket win over Mudgeeraba Red, Virmani (100 not out off 92) dominated the winless Helensvale Green to move 31 runs clear of his big-hitting rival in the seasonal scoring charts.
A 79 from Arno Coetzee was the ticket for a 66-run Helensvale Gold win over Mudgee Colts at D’Arcy Doyle Park, while at Riverstone, Palm Beach Colts dropped just one wicket in chasing down Coomera’s 84.
Meanwhile at Brockman Oval, Southport’s middle-order dominance kept it in top spot with a 57-run win over prospective finals rivals Broadbeach Robina.
The top four now boasts a two-game buffer to the pack.
SIXTH GRADE separation
THE top three teams in sixth grade have separated themselves from the chasing pack after a weekend of as-expected results.
Runaway Bay retained its place in outright first with a flawless 10-wicket win over winless Helensvale Green at Rugby Park.
Troy Maher (56 off 28) and Ian Coyne (25 off 32) cruised to Helensvale’s 79-run total inside 10 overs.
At Yaun Park, Coomera Hope Island’s top order faltered but the finals hopefuls were helped along by Cameron Williamson’s unbeaten 56 to set a 9/144 target that Bonogin Green fell 50 runs short of.
Third-ranked Broadbeach Robina kept pace with its top of the table rivals by bowling Mudgeeraba all out for 141 – 20 runs shy of the target set at Pizzey Park.
And at Trevor Hammel Field 2, Alberton Ormeau second drop Jason Evans produced the highest sixth grade score of the weekend as his unbeaten 67 helped the hosts to a 73-run victory over Helensvale Gold.
DOLPHINS WOMEN split T20 results
IN SUNDAY’S first T20 at Ashgrove, Tash Wheeler (58) and Carly Fuller (31 not out) starred as Gold Coast raced to 2/132, before limiting the Jess Jonassen and Georgia Prestwidge-led Valleys to just 8/107 in reply.
In the second outing against Sandgate-Redcliffe, Courtney Sippel top-scored with 56 not-out in a losing effort.
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COAST CRICKET WRAP WEEK 10
THE last unbeaten team in the Kookaburra Cup has been toppled.
Palm Beach Currumbin stopped Mudgeeraba Nerang in a rematch of the Kookaburra Cup grand final from last season.
Nine months earlier it was the Lions who were left shattered by defeat but on Saturday, led by the batting of experienced Victorian recruit James McNeil, Palm Beach overcame early adversity to chase down Mudgeeraba’s 163 for a comprehensive six-wicket victory.
The result ended a 12-match winning streak for Mudgeeraba that stretched back to January this year.
It was the side’s first defeat at home in more than 1000 days.
Mudgeeraba is the second major scalp Palm Beach has claimed in its last two starts, having dealt Runaway Bay its first defeat of the season three weeks ago.
It would not have been possible without the bowling of seamer Jared Neuhaus.
The all-rounder delivered the finest bowling performance of his career, taking his first five-wicket haul and ending the first innings with six in total for 32 runs.
Mudgeeraba was 2-108 in the 33rd over but lost all eight remaining wickets for 55 runs in the space of 11 overs.
Mackenzie Barclay gave his side a chance by removing both PBC openers cheaply but an 85-run partnership between McNeil and Year 12 graduate Lachlan Crump, playing his second Kookaburra Cup match, brought the win within reach.
Crump was dismissed for 48, leaving McNeil (68 not-out) to finish off the match in the 39th over.
Ladder leader Surfers Paradise took advantage of Mudgeeraba’s stumble by moving to the top of the table with a win over Runaway Bay.
The Seagulls got off to a flyer when opener Jayden Hoare’s 68 helped the side reach 2-141 but could not maintain that momentum, losing the final eight wickets for 61 runs to reach 202.
Surfers recruit Michael Philipson put in a man of-the-match effort, leading his side’s bowlers with 4-49 and an important 55 runs from No.3 to recover from the loss of dangerous opener Nathan Reardon for four.
Middle-order hero Steven van der Walt’s 67 got the Demons over the line for a fifth straight win and Runaway Bay’s third loss in succession.
Southport Labrador (9-169) defeated Broadbeach Robina by 13 runs to notch its first win of the season. Off-season recruit Phil Tunnicliffe was player of the day for the Tigers with a run-a-ball half century and a team-best 3-29 from 8.4 overs with the ball.
Queens’ miserable day with the bat set up Coomera Hope Island for an easy win.
The Centaurs were saved from a record defeat by skipper Jack Winton (25) and Nathan Hill (22) to reach 78, having fallen to 4-12.
Coomera passed the total in 19 overs. Opener Kushaal Ram blasted a six on the final ball to bring up his unbeaten half-century.
Helensvale (180) was awarded a Duckworth-Lewis victory over Burleigh after the match ran over time.
Armstrong steers Broady to the top
BROADBEACH Robina all-rounder Ryan Armstrong’s stunning day with bat and ball has lifted his side into outright top spot on the second grade ladder.
In the top of the table clash with Southport Labrador at Belling Appliances Oval, it was Armstrong (85 off 97) who anchored the innings from second drop to help Broadbeach to 9/199 at the close of innings.
The hosts started the chase in promising fashion, before Armstrong’s first scalp – Southport opener Joel Smith for 33 – started the collapse.
Armstrong (3-24) and Amit Bhasin (5-9) then went about dismantling the best batting line-up in the competition to have Southport all out for 137.
Broadbeach now stands alone atop the second grade standings with just one loss through seven rounds.
Bowlers save grand final
THE Gold Coast Dolphins have triumphed in the grand final of the elite under-14 to under-16 Lord’s Taverners One Day competition with a final over thriller against Sunshine Coast.
The Gold Coast’s top juniors overcame a horror first innings that saw seven batsmen dismissed for three runs or fewer with a clutch bowling performance to deny their northern rivals a victory that seemed almost assured.
Gold Coast hit just two boundaries in the first innings with Shaun Roy (37), Jacob Bath (29) and Coby Fitzgerald (23) accounting for 89 per cent of runs scored from the bat.
Extras were Gold Coast’s saving grace with 31 freebies taking the Dolphins to 9-131.
Sunshine Coast required just 2.62 runs per over for victory but were foiled by the economical bowling of their opponents.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Oam Patel (pictured) from the Surfers Paradise cricket club bowled seven maidens in 10 overs, capturing figures of 2-12 to lead all bowlers.
Patel’s excellence would have been wasted if not for a superlative defensive performance from his teammates.
Mudgeeraba’s Fitzgerald (1-18) and Griff Williams (1-23) followed Patel into the trenches, as did Runaway Bay’s Harry Sullivan with 1-26.
Gold Coast bowled 15 maiden overs out of 50.
Sunshine Coast needed 17 runs from 12 balls and fell just seven short in a classic junior decider.
Brothers lead team to win
SURFERS Paradise’s Chabert brothers posted third grade’s top partnership in a seven-wicket chase-down win over Broadbeach.
Year 12 student Louis Chabert (pictured) opened the batting alongside younger brother Etienne, two years his junior, chasing Broadbeach’s 164.
The TSS students combined for 101 runs, 56 to Louis and 45 for Etienne.
Leader Southport (157) beat Helensvale by 53 runs while PBC is hot on the Tigers’ heels after bowling out Runaway Bay for 53.
Loganholme (5-106) chased down Mudgee.
Mudgee U13 girls run up the score
THE ALL-GIRLS Mudgeeraba Red team has sent a warning to its Under-13 Division 2 rivals by blasting 234 runs in just 25 overs and cruising to a 129-run victory at the weekend.
Hayley Flynn (52 off 21), Eva White (50 off 58) and Alvina Rauf (53 off 36) all retired not out en route to 5/234.
First-year player Sancia Stephen claimed her maiden wicket and finished with match-best figures of 2-9 from four overs.
It was Mudgee Red’s third win of the season and kept them in second on the U13 Division 2 ladder.
With 1245 runs scored in just five innings, this Mudgeeraba Red team is the most dominant batting line-up in its division and definitely deserving of a top junior performance wrap.
Smith six-for sinks Surfers
A BOWLING masterclass from Zachary Smith, coupled with an incredible tie between Palm Beach Currumbin and Coomera, has lifted Broadbeach Robina into outright first on the fourth grade standings.
Having first failed to fire with the bat in Broadbeach’s still-impressive 7/193 innings, Smith more than made up for it with the ball. In what proved a devastating bowling spell Smith (6-20) claimed six consecutive Surfers scalps as the hosts went from 2/50 to 8/66 in short order – eventually all out for just 81.
Broadbeach’s win coupled with an incredible tied contest between PBC and Coomera lifted Smith’s side into top spot.
At Sam Loxton 4, Coomera could manage just two runs in the final four balls to tie PBC on 165 runs apiece at stumps.
Booming bats rule the fifth
THREE centurions led their teams to victories on a brilliant day for batting performances in fifth grade.
Palm Beach Colts opening bat Josh Taylor scored a district-high 119 not out to chase down Helensvale Green’s 6-178 with 10 overs to spare for the side’s first victory of the season.
The wicketkeeper hit 11 sixes and four fours in his seventh match for the club – a nine-wicket victory.
Bonogin’s Dyson Smith posted 107 to set Surfers a daunting 211-run chase, laying the platform for a 116-run victory.
Broadbeach Robina leapfrogged Runaway Bay into third thanks to an unbeaten 100 performance from Andrew Peers.
The wicketkeeper-batsman’s big knock saw the Cats record the top score of the grade this weekend with 5-228.
Southport denied Bay to remain top of the table.
McDonald’s terrific ton
A CENTURY from opener Ryan McDonald anchored the biggest sixth grade innings total of the weekend and helped lift Bonogin Gold into the top four.
McDonald (103 off 94) and first drop Nathan O’Brien (88 off 78) produced a stellar 152-run second-wicket partnership as Bonogin Gold brought up 5/255.
Mudgeeraba could only manage 8/113 in reply.
The 142-run win was Bongin Gold’s fifth in six matches – leapfrogging Mudgeeraba into fourth spot in the process.
Elsewhere, Jarrod Newman (81 off 80) and Edward Dornan (80 not out) produced the third and fourth highest sixth grade totals of the weekend and Palm Beach Currumbin rolled to a resounding 110-run win over Helensvale Green.
Meanwhile, Runaway Bay won the battle for top spot with a 15-run win over Coomera, and Broadbeach Robina dropped just one wicket in chasing down Bonogin Green’s total of 7/127 at Sam Loxton Oval 5.
Welcome back Georgia
THE return of Georgia Redmayne from representative duties inspired a stunning form revival for the Gold Coast Dolphins in the Katherine Raymont Shield T20 competition.
Redmayne blasted 95 runs from 45 balls alongside Tara Wheeler’s 73 from 72 to end the first innings at 1-191. Gold Coast held Wynnum-Manly to 6-105 for its best win of the season.
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