Darling Dingoes win under-14 Brisbane Century Cricket tournament in dramatic fashion

The Darling Dingoes under-14s were a class above in last week’s Century Cricket competition as they claimed a stellar title featuring some of the most dramatic contests you will see. Check out who starred for the young guns here.

2024 Darling Dingoes Century Cricket side.

After falling agonisingly close to taking out the 2023 Century Cricket title, the under-14 Darling Dingoes went into this year’s competition with an unmatchable hunger to go one step further and take out the tournament in 2024.

And sure enough, the Dingoes’ hunger and drive was the catalyst to a thrilling champions’ run in the 2024 tournament.

“(I am) very proud, we actually came in and set ourselves an expectation to win and that put a bit of pressure on us,” Dingoes coach Tom Sippel said.

“They were confident in their abilities and we got it done.

“We finished second last year, that was part of the reason why they were hungry to win.

“We felt like we could have won it last year and we wanted to go and try to do it this year.”

Throughout a stunning run to the final, the Dingoes had their backs against the wall on multiple occasions throughout the tournament.

In the Dingoes’ opening game of the tournament, they played out an unbelievable tie with the Pirates, with both sides ending on 7-141 after 20 overs.

Then, in their third game of the competition, the Dingoes played out another tie, this time with the Rays.

With the Dingoes needing 124 for victory, they were under immense pressure at 7-99 and 9-115.

With run-rate not an issue, it came down to the final partnership with Robert Murree and Helika combined for an eight-run final wicket stand before Muree was caught and bowled by Josh Allen with an over to spare.

However, those narrow clashes put the Dingoes in good stead for when it mattered most as they defeated the Waveriders in the final in dramatic fashion.

With 12 balls remaining, they needed a difficult 29 runs to win with four wickets in hand, but Anuk Kottegoda and Max McKee were unfazed by the task ahead as they claimed a stellar championship with two balls to spare.

Sippel revealed the players who he believed held the keys to success over the four-day tournament.

“I think the big ones for us were Julian Hall – (he’s) a hard hitting batsmen,” he said.

“Dan McDonald our captain, this is his first year captaining and did a really good job.

“Everyone in the entire squad were very much high quality players.

“Out of the 13 players, 10 were very good top order batsmen which is good and bad.

“It was bad in terms of kids getting a chance in all the games but they responded to that well, they all did something all week.

“I wanted every kid to have a highlight that they could think of all week.”

Aiden Broomfield was another star for the Dingoes as he scored 232 runs at a stunning average of 77.33 with a top score of 69 not out.

With the ball, it was Robert Murree who led the way with an impressive 12 scalps at an average of 17.83.

With so many talented players on the roster, Sippel praised his side’s team-first mentality and said there were no egos among the squad, which helped the team thrive and take out the title.