Sunshine Coast senior men’s cricket season preview 2023/24

The Sunshine Coast cricket season is underway as each senior men’s captain lifts the lid on their 2023/24 aims, off season recruits, key players and youngsters to keep an eye on.

Sunshine Coast cricket preview for 2023/24 season.

The rugby league, union, football and Aussie rules season is barely behind us and already the bats are being wielded as another season of top-grade Sunshine Coast cricket gets underway.

The T20 and two day formats have already begun with the limited overs competition beginning on November 25.

Caboolture were the standouts of the 2022/23 season securing the premiership in the limited overs and two day format.

Last season also had Maroochydore’s Luke McInnes and Caboolture’s Preston White finish the year tied for most wickets in the regular season with 51, while with the bat it was again Glen Batticciotto from Caboolture who topped the charts scoring a whopping 981 runs and averaging 61.31 across all formats.

See who else featured in the 2022/23 team of the season.

We caught up with each senior men’s captain to find out their aims for the new season as well as which players were the ones to keep an eye on.

Stay tuned for the full tier one women’s preview next week.

Men’s Division 1

Caboolture

Captain: Cameron Trask

Season aim: “Probably just hoping to build and looking to improve this year. We’ve lost a few key players from last season, so the aim is on bringing a few young guys up and just looking to improve their skills and improve as a team really.”

Squad breakdown: “It’s more younger guys coming through actually which is really good to see. We’ve held onto obviously a couple of the older guys and some older past players have come back so that’s good too. It’s got a bit of a mix of youth and old in the team, which is good. From those guys we’ve retained one has been Glen Batticciotto who will no doubt be key once again. Lachie Ryan is another guy that will have a good impact. He’ll get more of a chance this year with his off-spinners and his role with the bat in the middle order. Connor Corlet is another who is a very handy opening bowler plus an all rounder who can whack them.”

Caboolture cricket player Glen Batticciotto raises the bat. Picture: Michael Cee Photography

Rising stars: “We had one guy debut in the T20’s which was Jack Southgate. He’s only 14-year-old and still developing his game but we’re interested to see how he progresses throughout the season as I think he’ll play a fair role in the team.”

Biggest competition threat: “I think the Swans are still the team to beat. I don’t think they’ll have too much of a different side to what they’ve had the past two seasons. Along with Noosa, who are strong again, I think those two teams are the ones to beat.”

Tewantin-Noosa

Captain: Michael Eckard

Season aim: “At the moment, we’re just trying to find our feet. Obviously it’s a new season for me as well so I think the main thing is to build a good squad and then try and take everything step by step.”

Squad breakdown: “We’ve actually got a heap of young guys pushing through and they’ve all been really keen to play which makes it awesome. I think we’ve got about 16 blokes, probably more, that are really keen and are knocking on the door for the first grade spot. There’s a few new guys like myself and Andy Batten and then the other guys are players from last year or juniors that are climbing the ranks.”

Tewantin Noosa players Ben Claypoole and Zac Murray.

Rising stars: “I’d say there’s about three guys that have been impressive so far. There’s Zac Murray who has apparently just shot up and is bowling some decent pace at the moment. He’s standing out at the moment and then the other guys have all impressed as well. The big thing for me is just their excitement and want to be apart of it all. Usually you lose them once they finish school or are aged around 18 to 23 before they come back but these guys have been great and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Biggest competition threat: “It’s hard for me to be honest. I don’t really know too many of the teams but the vibe from our boys has been how strong Maroochydore will be. Everyone has said that the competition will be really strong and quite close too which is good.”

Coolum

Captain: Sam Curtis

Season aim: “We’ve built some reasonable depth in the club and have recruited well so a top four finish in all formats would be what we‘re aiming for. We started a bit scratchy in the T20s but a big step forward was when we beat Caboolture which is the first time we’ve achieved that as a senior first division club.”

Squad breakdown: “The big pick-up for us has been Jarryd Taig, who’s played cricket in New Zealand, in England and is the captain of the Canterbury club side over there. His folks live in Marcoola so he’s starting to hit his straps already which is great and his clubmate from Canterbury is Henry Smith. He’s got good potential and should make a difference too in our bowling attack. We’ve retained Brendan Kelly who was our leading run scorer last season and Stefan Hook is another that came in last year but was recovering from an ACL injury so he brings quality as well. That depth is massive for us because everyone in our squad is a genuine first grade cricketer whereas in the past there was only about three or four of us.”

Coolum cricket players Jarryd Taig and Corey Perren.

Rising stars: “One younger bloke is Rory Cowling who probably would’ve been playing for the Scorchers but he broke his wrist in the pre-season. He’s come back to Coolum and he’ll have to score some runs and take some wickets and do well in the field before they call him back into the squad but he’s looking really promising. There’s another player in Brayden Simpson who had a breakout year last season in the two day format, he’s a great opening bat and should be solid again and then young Corey Perren is 22 I think. He’s a bit of a loose unit but he’s putting together some really consistent performances and is a reliable player for us with the ball.”

Biggest competition threat: “I think Noosa are the pretty clear front runner but it also depends on who they get for all formats. Their captain Michael Eckard was impressive in the T20’s and obviously Ben Laughlin is such a smart cricketer and will have an impact on every game he plays. They will be really strong, Gympie have had some great pick-ups like the Brady’s. It’s great to see them back and I always enjoy playing against Gympie as a whole. Maroochydore are up there too, they’re always the best fielding team and have some really good players and leaders. Then there’s Caboolture too who have lost some players but still have Batticciotto and Trask who are quality and can’t be underestimated. If we can hang around in that mix of top four and top five it should be good. It’s been a long road because it was only about two seasons ago that the other clubs wanted us out of the top grade. We weren‘t doing much, we only won one game all year but last year we went on a bit of a run and finished fifth. I think now we have a pretty strong squad which makes things interesting and hopefully we can make a few people eat their words.”

Maroochydore

Captain: Blaine Schloss

Season aim: “We’ve been a finals team for the past couple of years and we’ll certainly be looking to keep it that way. We had a really good pre-season, all of the boys worked really hard and we’ve got some young guys that are pushing through from the two’s last year plus a few handy pick ups that will keep everyone on their toes. I think anything less than top four we’d view as a failure as we’re a club built on success and we’re hopeful for another successful season.”

Squad breakdown: “Of the 11 guys that played in the grand final last year we’ve maintained around seven or eight of them. We’ve got Callum Stitt who’s back from the Scorches so he’ll be a really handy addition for us at the top of the order as he brings some experience and some firepower, particularly in the short format. We’ve also picked up Hayden Guest from Palmwoods, who’s been playing second division there for the last couple of years and really dominating so he was keen to come across and try himself at a division one club. We’re really grateful we picked him up and he’s had a really good start to the season so far.”

Maroochydore players Blaine Schloss and Luke McInnes in action.

Rising stars: “We’ve been relatively strong in the two’s the last couple of years and that’s been largely due to the young guys who are coming through and who’ve pushed into the top team. We’re certainly looking at guys like Liam Johnson and Aryan Sanjay who have both been playing well. They’re probably more suited to the longer format, so I think we’ll see them feature more as the season goes on.”

Biggest competition threat: “There’s always some really strong teams. I mean, Caboolture is always a threat, particularly given they’ve got players like Glen Batticciotto and Cameron Trask who are high quality players. I think Noosa this year will be really strong, it looks like they’ve had a pretty good off-season in terms of recruitment. They‘re a really experienced team with Jarrod Officer and Ben Laughlin who lead the way really well for them. I think they’ll be really tough to beat at the end of the season but if we can build into our campaign I think we’ll certainly mix it with them.”

Glasshouse

Captain: Joel Owen

Season aim: “After a bit of a rough year last year it’d be just lovely to be back playing finals cricket again this year. Mainly in the two day format especially with the semis and everything and maybe even squeeze a final in the one day matches as well.”

Squad breakdown: “We’ve got a few new recruits. We‘ve got an English fella that’s come over to play this year and then there’s a few promising looking young kids that have come along and a couple more older fellas, which is handy.

Glasshouse captain Joel Owen and rising star Elijah Welsh.

Rising stars: “From our younger players I think they’re all going to be pretty key for us. They’ve all started the year well which is good. Our young keeper Elijah Welsh has looked comfortable with the gloves and he should continue to build in confidence and ability.”

Biggest competition threat: “Maroochydore, Noosa and Caboolture are always strong so they’d be my top three picks. Then I feel like the rest of us will all be pretty even which makes for some tight games of cricket and an exciting season.”

Gympie

Captain: Kelvin Cochrane

Season aim: “It’s probably a bit of a rebuilding year for us. We’ve had guys that have gone on to play grade cricket from our squad last year so we’re probably developing a lot of young guys this year. Our focus is to develop that squad, we don’t necessarily have any goals to make it anything in particular, but as long as we can develop players and play a good brand of cricket we’ll be happy.”

Squad breakdown: “We’re really lucky to have both the Brady’s back this year Steven and Josh. Those two boys hold the records for Gympie Gold for the most amount of runs scored and the most amount of wickets taken. We very much missed them last year so having them come back into the fold has been enormously appreciated. It’s a big boost to our squad for sure.”

The 2023/24 Gympie Gold team. Picture: Zahner Photography.

Rising stars: “Probably Cooper Keogh is one of our highlights that we've picked up this year. Cooper’s only 14 years old, which is particularly young to be playing first division on the Coast. He’s bowled really well for us so far and he scored 162 off not many for the under 15s in the century cricket competition recently. He’s definitely one that we want to watch and probably Nathan Roderick as well. He’s come from Murgon and he’s showing some really promising signs early on. He’s been strong with the bat and he’s elite in the field which you’d expect from the younger bloke.”

Biggest competition threat: “I think it’s pretty open this year, which is good. You want to see competition and I’d say probably the two strongest squads, as you’d expect to see towards the top, are going to be Noosa and Maroochydore. But I think it’s one of those years that it’s pretty open and I think everyone’s got a decent enough squad that if you have a good run, you could have a shot at any of the titles.”

Nambour

Captain: Nick Wallace

Season aim: “I think as a group we’re pretty confident that we can push for the top four this year. It looks like there’s a fair bit of player movement across the competition, which you can see from the T20’s, that any team can beat anyone on their day. I think that’s a really good thing for the competition because in the last few years, the top three teams have been a fair way ahead of the rest of the group, but it looks like it’s going to be a pretty tight year.”

Squad breakdown: “We’ve actually kept the core of last year’s squad together, which is probably the first time we’ve been able to do that in a while. Being able to work with the same group, plus having a couple of key inclusions as well, has been good. We’ve had Matthew Tebb come across from Caloundra who’s a left arm off spinner that adds a lot of experience to our bowling attack. We’ve also had Tim Close come back from the Scorchers. He’s a very handy leg spinner and those two guys compliment each other really well. There’s then a few young blokes coming through and two Poms as well that have come over so there’s plenty of healthy competition for first team spots.”

Nambour Cricket Club's Division 1 men's team from 2022/23. Picture: Facebook.

Rising stars: “I’d say Ollie Pitcher, he’s with the Scorchers Lord Taverners set up too but we were able to give him a taste of first grade at the end of last season and we were really impressed with how he went about it. He’s 16 or 17 so has had a bit more of a growth spurt now but has been kicking goals the last few months and should continue to thrive.”

Biggest competition threat: “It’s hard to go past the usuals, Noosa and Maroochydore are both looking pretty strong at this stage. They’ve had a bit of player turnover as well, but they’ve still got some really core and key players. Caboolture have had a bit of turnover as well but they’re always competitive especially with Batticciotto and Trask. They’d be the top three but as far as a bit of a smoky goes, I think from playing against Coolum, even though they were a little bit inderdone, there’s some really good cricketers among that group. They’ll probably be the big improvers over the season as will we be I believe.”

Caloundra

Captain: Will Carlile

Season aim: “Our coach was saying at the start of the season that it’s a season of opportunity. We’re in a bit of a rebuilding stage but we’ve got a lot of new guys and young guys coming through and we really would like to push for those final spots this year. We feel as a collective we have a shot at making those so we’ll see what happens but that’s where we’re at currently.”

Squad breakdown: “I’d say it’s more of a new look squad this season. We retained a few older heads and a few guys from last year but also added two guys from overseas and a few names from interstate. Ben Barney is one of those players, he’s from England and we’re hoping he can lead our batting attack this season.”

New Caloundra cricket club recruit Ben Barney.

Rising stars: “I think Tom Cain would be one guy that can have a breakout season. He’s at university at the moment and is continuing to grow his game.”

Biggest competition threat: “The two top teams are Tewantin-Noosa and Maroochydore. I think all of the other clubs are looking at them at the moment to be the ones to beat or the ones to look out for.”

Originally published as Sunshine Coast senior men’s cricket season preview 2023/24