Find out how the teams stack up and which players to watch in our Mackay Cricket junior grand finals preview

With Mackay Cricket’s junior grand finals coming up on Saturday, see how the teams shape up and which players we can expect to lead their teams to victory.

Marcus Sammut is a key player to watch ahead of Mackay Cricket’s under-17 grand final. Picture: Mitch Turner

Mackay Cricket’s junior competition is set to reach its climactic conclusion on Saturday as the under-12s through to under-17s prepare for the Big Dance of their respective competitions.

Find out how each team in the under-15s and under-17s stacks up and which players they’ll be looking toward to lead them to victory:

Under-17s - Proserpine Junior CC vs Walkerston CC

In what has been a short and sharp season for much of the under-17s competition due to the inclement weather the region has seen, Proserpine nonetheless emerged as one of the benchmarks of the competition with four wins from six completed matches.

Meanwhile, Walkerston finished third on the ladder but may have been unlucky to be that low, having recorded a better win rate than either Proserpine or second-place Magpies, but suffering from a competition-high five no-results.

Still, they were unperturbed in the semi-final, defeating Magpies by 54 runs to move through to the grand final.

Players to watch

Marcus Sammut (Walkerston) - The top-order batter produced a matchwinning 61 (73) in the semi-final, in a performance that has been typical of the competition’s leading run-gatherer this season.

With 268 runs at an average 53.6 with two other half-centuries to his name, Sammut is the player Walkerston needs to see fire with the willow.

Ben Valmadre (Proserpine) - Valmadre has the second-highest average in the competition standing at 47 with 188 runs under his belt including three half-centuries out of five matches played.

Expect him to be a solid contributor if Proserpine are going to win.

Under-15s - Proserpine Junior CC vs Norths CC/Magpies CC

With the semi-final between Norths and Magpies still yet to be played at the time of publication, it remains to be seen who Proserpine will have to be prepared for come Saturday morning’s conclusion

Proserpine and Norths have been the strongest two sides in the competition with just one loss each, while the Magpies cannot be counted out with just two losses to their name.

Matthew Logan has been one of the pre-eminent run scorers in Mackay junior cricket this summer. Picture: Mackay-Whitsunday Cricket Facebook.

Players to watch

Matthew Logan (Proserpine) - The under-15 competition’s premier run accumulator this season, Logan is closing in on the 500-run mark at a staggering average of 82.67, including a 57-ball ton earlier in the season and multiple other half-centuries.

Chaise Johnston (Magpies) - The closest contender to Logan as far as run-scoring goes, Johnston’s extraordinary 147 (100) was one of the competition’s biggest highlights this season.

He finished with 465 runs to his name at an average of 77.50.

Kiana Dunn (Norths) - Dunn has been dismissed just four times this year in the under-15 competition, with the Queensland Country representative coming ever so close to joining Johnston and Logan as century-makers with her 97 not out earlier this season.

Max Pomeroy (Proserpine) - The supreme strike bowler in the under-15 competition, Pomeroy has taken 19 scalps at an extraordinary average of 5.16.

In a show of his consistency, he has yet to take a five-for while missing out on a wicket just once so far this season, with his best figures being an astonishing 4/1 against Pioneer Valley.

Originally published as Find out how the teams stack up and which players to watch in our Mackay Cricket junior grand finals preview