GCA 2024: Murgheboluc batter Brad Brown headlines the top performers from the weekend

A Murgheboluc batter more than doubled his season tally in one stunning innings. Plus, see who else starred from every grade.

All the top performers from the weekend in the GCA.

By Brad Brown’s own admission he had been inconsistent this season.

Having hit 68 runs at 11.33 – including a half century – at the top of the order for Murgheboluc in six digs in GCA2 firsts, he took the field against the Marshall Bears with the aim of playing straight.

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Hours later, Brown had more than doubled his season runs tally in the one innings, finishing with a monster 156 from 181 balls – the largest total in GCA2 first grade this season – as Murgheboluc declared on an ominous 6-306 after 67 overs.

Brown began the day circumspect before accelerating after he had passed his half century, with one big over surging him towards his breakthrough century, the third of his career.

“It was kind of one of those when you start from the start and you know you’re on,” Brown said.

“I started off going at a strike rate of about 50 and then ramped it up when I was 60-70 and thought I may as well have a crack here.

“There was one big over when I was on 80, 16 off the over so that got me to 96. Then that’s kind of where I got a bit nervy at the other end thinking how do I get the next four? But then instinct kicked in again and it was just play how you’ve been playing the last 90 runs.”

It has been an underwhelming GCA2 premiership defence for Murgheboluc, sitting a win outside the top four with a three wins, four losses and two no-results.

A big win, or even an outright victory over Marshall Bears, will be critical in their race for the finals.

“Like last year really we are sitting in an awkward position, need to win a couple of games, but as soon as we win those games and get into the top-four we can definitely win it,” Brown said.

GCA1 1ST XI

BATTERS

P Visser - 74 (North Geelong)

C Balshaw – 67 (North Geelong)

B Nicholls - 59 (South Barwon)

A Hodgson - 52 (St Joseph’s)

J Riding – 50 (St Joseph’s)

BOWLERS

J McMahon - 5-37 (East Belmont)

J Lewis - 5-58 (Newtown & Chillwell)

N Burke - 4-42 (Newtown & Chillwell)

J Wrigglesworth 3-45 (Grovedale)

C Ford - 3-54 (Grovedale)

D Blatherwick (Lara) - 3-66

GCA2 1ST XI

BATTERS

B Brown – 156 (Murghebuloc)

J Grozdanovski – 67 (Murghebuloc)

D Ford - 61 (Leopold)

J McPhee – 52 (Geelong West)

M Kennedy – 50 (Leopold)

BOWLERS

A Russell - 4-35 (Torquay)

G Singh - 4-53 (Torquay)

W Skene - 4-70 (Marshall Bears)

R Nolan - 3-21 (Bell Post Hill)

B Muir - 3-29 (Bell Post Hill)

GCA3 1ST XI

BATTERS

M Grohmann - 109 (Modewarre)

C Hood - 84 (Corio)

N Matthews – 81 (Modewarre)

Z Mevissen – 63 (Alexander Thomson)

BOWLERS

L Osborne - 5-25 (Bannockburn)

H Jamieson - 3-42 (Highton)

J Brown - 3-47 (Highton)

D Tom - 3-74 (Manifold Heights)

GCA4 1ST XI

BATTERS

T Bott – 89 (Meredith)

N Fairchild – 68 (Little River)

BOWLERS

J Ellis - 4-11 (Waurn Ponds Deakin)

P Dillon - 4-14 (Lethbridge)

R Kennedy - 3-4 (Teesdale)

N Fairchild - 3-17 (Little River)

A Ullah - 3-18 (Little River)

G Singh - 3-31 (Guild St Mary’s)

M Campbell - 3-19 (Teesdale)

B Moreland - 3-34 (Meredith)

GCA1 2ND XI

BATTERS

R Pickering - 77 (St Joseph’s)

D Bergamin – 65 (Newtown)

C-Paull – 57 (Grovedale)

B Knight - 53 (East Belmont)

BOWLERS

S Ray 7-58 (South Barwon)

W Ritchie - 5-35 (Highton)

C Meehan - 3-25 (North Geelong)

C Ferguson - 3-35 (North Geelong)

G Blatherwick – 3-49 (Lara)

GCA2 2ND XI

BATTERS

B Sleeman – 65 (Bell Post Hill)

H James – 50 (Leopold)

BOWLERS

J Le Maistre - 6-23 (Leopold)

T Green - 4-43 (Geelong City)

R Harvey - 4-55 (Murghebuloc)

B Putt - 4-68 (Murghebuloc)

GCA3 2ND XI

BATTERS

S Bremner – 79 (Corio)

G Dixon – 67 (Modewarre)

BOWLERS

Y Singh - 4-40 (Corio)

D Smith - 3-22 (Corio)

N Chaudhari - 3-24 (St Albans Breakwater)

J Crispin - 3-61 (Manifold Heights)

GCA4 2nd XI

BATTERS

J Dolby – 54 (Newcomb & District CC)

P Smith – 50 (Waurn Ponds Deakin)

BOWLERS

V Yadav - 5-54 (Guild St. Marys)

Z Whykes - 4-13 (Meredith)

K Chambers - 3-19 (Teasdale)

S Vaartjes - 3-25 (Meredith)

K Sloan - 3-25 (Guild St. Marys)

W Denham - 3-30 (Lethbridge)

GCA1 3RD XI

BATTERS

O King - 84 (St Joseph’s)

H Norman – 61 (Newtown & Chillwell)

B Lodge – 60 (Highton)

R Kiddle – 54 (Newtown & Chillwell)

BOWLERS

D Kinsella - 4-60 (Lara)

C Ayres - 4-44 (East Belmont)

B Slorach - 3-17 (Grovedale)

GCA2 3RD XI

BATTERS

T James – 77 (Bell Post Hill)

T Kosic – 69 (St Peters)

A Dowd - 52 (Leopold)

T Doran – 51 (Leopold)

BOWLERS

J Bode - 4-38 (Geelong City)

J Dunell - 3-14 (Marshall Bears)

B Lynch - 3-22 (Geelong West)

T Ratnayake - 3-48 (Geelong West)

GCA 1 4TH XI

BATTERS

M Blain – 100 (Grovedale)

A Carmody – 76 (St Joseph’s)

T Clark – 63 (St Joseph’s)

BOWLERS

R Illig - 4-55 (Lara)

J Williams - 4-19 (East Belmont)

l West - 3-27 (Newtown & Chillwell)

G Kustera - 3-36 (East Belmont)

T Agar - 3-50 (Newtown & Chillwell)

S Panjeta - 3-56 (Lara)

Originally published as GCA 2024: Murgheboluc batter Brad Brown headlines the top performers from the weekend