Palm Beach knock off T20 kings Mudgeeraba in All Ballsports Cup

Palm Beach Currumbin have officially dethroned the Gold Coast’s T20 kings at the All Ballsports T20 Cup.

Palm Beach Currumbin after winning the All Ballsports Cup over Mudgeeraba. Photo: Hannah Davies.

Palm Beach Currumbin have officially dethroned the Gold Coast’s T20 kings Mudgeeraba Nerang at the All Ballsports T20 Cup on Sunday.

Man of the match Jaiman Patel was strong for Palm Beach taking two early wickets and scoring 23 from 26 balls, including two fours.

Connor Carroll smashed 23 from 13 balls, including two sixes and a four, from Palm Beach’s score of 5-103.

Palm Beach captain Zane Beattie said the win was long due after his side had struggled to get the chocolates over Mudgeeraba at all in the past few years.

“It’s really exciting,” Beattie said.

“It’s been a long time coming, we’ve been there or thereabouts for a few years now, so it’s really good to get one finally.

“We’ve had a fair few loses to Mudgee in finals and big games so it’s exciting to get one back over them.”

The All Ballsports T20 Cup grand final at Golden Wheel Park/Southport Labrador Cricket Club. Picture: Richard Gosling.

Beattie said the team had high hopes ahead of the tournament, which now proves their capability heading into the one-day season in October.

“We definitely expected to be in the top four there or thereabouts, we’ve got a young side so it’s exciting times for the year ahead.

“The goal is the two day premiership, but it’s nice to get a stepping stone along the way.”

Mudgeeraba had been the competition benchmark for the past two years, winning the last two grand finals against Helensvale who were knocked out by Mudgee by 24 runs in the semi-final.

Picture: Richard Gosling.

Joshua Nelson was dominant for Mudgeeraba against Helensvale where he scored 63 not out from 54 balls, but a similar performance was sorely missed for the losing side in the final.

The loss was a shock for Helensvale, who days before expressed high confidence in taking out the reigning champions after losing to them in the past two Cup grand finals.

Palm Beach began strong, taking several early wickets to put the pressure on Mudgeeraba from the get-go.

They dominated all day from start to finish, making it impossible for Mudgee to come back.

Beattie credited the win to teammates Patel (2-11) and Finn Lonnberg (2-14), who showed promising signs for the season to come.

Opening bowler Connor Brown also chimed in with 2-18 off his four overs.

Connor Brown bowls for Palm Beach. Picture: Richard Gosling.

The Cup is a major win for Palm Beach as they look to improve on their performances in the Taper Financial Solutions Cup, which was again dominated in 2021 by Mudgeeraba, Palm Beach and Runaway Bay.

Both Palm Beach and Mudgeeraba were knocked out of the competition in semi-finals against Surfers Paradise and Runaway Bay, who went on to win the series.

The Taper Financial Solutions Cup will begin on October 8.