Schembri stars as Mackay falls short on day one of NQ champs

The Pioneer Valley junior did it with bat and ball in an opening day loss to a quality Far North Queensland outfit

Mackay Whitsundays player Benjamin Schembri, 15, starred with both bat and ball in his team's day one loss to Far North Queensland at the NQ Championships at Harrup Park. Photo: Callum Dick

Benjamin Schembri's stellar showing with bat and ball is the silver lining from a disappointing loss to FNQ on day one of the U15 North Queensland Championships at Harrup Park this afternoon.

The Pioneer Valley all-rounder was joint top-scorer for Mackay Whitsundays in an eight-wicket loss to a quality FNQ outfit.

Coming in at seven, Schembri blasted 38 off 46, including six fours, to tie opener Joel McFarlane's total and help push the hosts' total out to 180.

Schembri was then the pick of the bowlers, particularly early in the second innings, with tight lines and smart fields keeping the FNQ openers under wraps.

Though FNQ struggled to get the scoreboard ticking early, the visitors refused to throw away their wickets.

That proved a point of frustration for Mackay Whitsundays coach Mitch Wadsworth, who tried 10 different bowlers throughout the innings searching for a spark that simply never game.

Schembri was the sole bowler to finish with a wicket, claiming the scalp of big-hitting batsman Angus Goetze, but not before the Atherton junior blasted his way to 50 off 62.

Far North Queensland representatives Benjamin Harrison and Angus Goetze, 15, combined for 132 runs in FNQ's eight-wicket win over Mackay Whitsundays on Day 1 of the U15 NQ Championships in Mackay. Photo: Callum Dick

Liam Zurvas' run out of opener Gareth Thomas midway through the FNQ innings should have sparked hope for the hosts, but instead it brought Goetze to the crease who, alongside patient opener Ben Harrison, went to work on the run chase.

Harrison remained unbeaten, finishing with 82 off 140, while Schembri's dismissal of Goetze was unfortunately too little, too late.

The visitors reached the total two wickets down with six overs to spare.

Wadsworth said it was an important lesson for his team to learn on day one of the championships.

"The key message was to learn from what their batters did today," he said.

"They had a lot of patience out there - they saw off the good balls, took their time early and capitalised at the end when they had their eyes in.

"Not having those set batters in place in the last 10 overs really hurt us in the end. We couldn't accelerate our run rate, whereas they could."

 

Mackay Whitsundays U15 boys cricket team. Photo: Callum Dick

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Wadsworth felt 180 was a defendable total with the quality bowling attack at his disposal, but ultimately lamented a lack of patience from his top and middle-order which cost them a 200-plus score.

"Because we only got 180 they had the opportunity to take it slow at the start when we were bowling our best," the coach said.

"With an extra 20 or 30 runs, you take that away from them and they have to go from the start, which changes their game and falls into our hands a lot better.

"With two games ahead of us, we get these lessons out of the road and learn from it today and we can set a good platform for day two and three."

Schembri said he and his teammates could take plenty of positives out of the performance into tomorrow's clash with Central Queensland.

"I think we played very well today," the 15 year old said.

"Cairns has always been a good team. I think against CQ and NQ we'll do all right."

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