Rams captain Joe McGahan to miss Great Barrier Reef T20 Champions Trophy

The Elders Insurance Rams are ready to take on the best short-form cricketers from Cairns, Townsville and Mackay in the first tournament of its kind this weekend.

Elders Insurance Rams’ skipper Joe McGahan won’t play this weekend due to a knee injury.

The Elders Insurance Rams from Rockhampton are looking to be crowned North Queensland Cricket’s T20 champions but they will have to do it without their star skipper Joe McGahan.

The all-rounder has withdrawn from this weekend’s inaugural Great Barrier Reef T20 Champions Trophy in Mackay after a knee injury flared up following his Queensland Country rep duties earlier this month.

He will have an MRI on Friday, and has his fingers crossed it won’t reveal anything too serious.

Rams’ stand-in skipper Lachlan Hartley said McGahan would be a big out, especially given he bagged two wickets and blasted 111 runs off just 55 balls in the Rams’ grand final win over Haymans Hammers.

It was that victory that qualified them for the champions trophy, where they will face off against the three respective titleholders from Cairns, Townsville and Mackay.

Todd Harmsworth comes in for the injured Joe McGahan.

Big-hitting Todd Harmsworth comes into the Rams, who are allowed a “like-for-like replacement” for McGahan.

Hartley said the Rams were excited to be part of the competition, being billed as a “landmark event in rural Australian and Queensland cricket”.

The teams will play each other once, with the top two advancing to Sunday afternoon’s decider.

The Rams will open their campaign against the Piccone Badgers (Cairns) before taking on the Custom Fluidpower Mudcrabs (Mackay) and the Golden City Bulls (Townsville).

“This is a new concept so I’m pretty excited to see how our boys go and I’m really interested to see what level of cricket the other regions bring,” Hartley said.

Lachlan Hartley, who captains Frenchville in Rockhampton’s A-grade competition, will lead the Rams this weekend.

“It’s going to be a bit of learning on the run in regards to playing these teams because we’re not all that familiar with them.

“But we’ve got plenty of experience and we’re not lacking in any areas so I’m sure we’ll be ready to tackle anything that comes along.”

Hartley said Tim Reid and Josh Hamilton could prove to be match-winners for the Rams.

Both were pinch hitters, with Reid an effective right-arm quick and Hamilton a formidable left-arm medium pacer.

Hartley would love for the Rams to be bringing home the silverware on Sunday.

“It would be pretty special,” he said.

“There would be nothing better than to be playing off in that grand final.”

Elders Insurance Rams line-up

Thomas Shackleton, Josh Hamilton, Francis Busche, Trent Acutt, Jonty Harch, Lachlan Hartley (captain), Brad Taylor, Steven Munchow, Tim Reid, Hayden Harvey, Todd Harmsworth, Murray Harch.

Originally published as Rams captain Joe McGahan to miss Great Barrier Reef T20 Champions Trophy