GPS First XI cricket - key Players to Watch
Revealed: Here’s 30 GPS First XI cricket Players to Watch ahead of Saturday’s season opening round.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The GPS First XI cricket season will start on Saturday and we will be there to bring you all the thrills and spills from round 1 action.
One of Australia’s top cricket breeding grounds, the GPS competition is a place where Brisbane Heat BBL winning players like Michael Neser (TSS), Matt Renshaw (BGS), Mitch Swepson (Nudgee), Xavier Bartlett (TSS), Nathan McSweeney (Nudgee) and Matt Kuhnemann (TSS) went to cricket finishing school.
TAVERNER’S TEAM OF THE 2023-23 SEASON
And now many of the next generation of promising Queensland juniors will also be glimpsed in the GPS competition this season.
The Southport School
Jacob Bath: Bath set the highest of standards in round 1 last year with runs (50) and wickets (2-29) and will again be a valuable all-rounder as an opening bat and support bowler.
Ted Waterman: A right arm medium opening bowler, Waterman gave the 2023 premiers bricks and mortar on which to construct a successful premiership campaign. He is a real Mr Consistent who also made our Taverner’s club Team of the Season named last month.
Dushyant Thaman: Somewhat if a boy wonder last year, the left arm orthodox spinner burst onto the scene with an amazing capacity to build pressure. He took wickets as well, but it was his ability to restrict the scoring which was a big part of TSS’s successful title push last season.
Ryan Summers: Off spinner Summers was another of TSS’s slow bowling brigade which built a bridge leading to yet another GPS First XI premiership for his school.
Brisbane Boys College
Blake Armstrong: A dynamic player who likes taking the game on, Armstrong made our 2023-24 Taverner’s Team of the Season alongside fellow BBC opener Zac Robinson (see below). A left hander who had a season 2023 top score of 97, Armstrong will play a pivotal part with the bat and ball.
Zac Robinson: A Queensland 17s player who had a fantastic Lord Taverners season, Robinson has been a real mover and shaker at club level (Sunshine Coast Scorchers). Robinson has the capacity to influence the game with the bat, ball and in the field.
Angus Harris: Bringing in some fantastic form from the pre-season, Harris will look to go big with the bat in his last year of GPS cricket.
Ryan Atley: Atley was a revelation in season 2023 and will hope to play a similar role this summer. He brings energy behind the stumps and stability through the middle overs with the bat.
Ipswich Grammar School
Luke Harper: An off spinning all rounder who is capable of middle order runs, Harper has a reputation for being a fierce competitor.
William Pamenter: Pamenter will captain IGS this season and also lead from the front when he opens the bowling.
Churchie
Tighe Morris: A valuable all-rounder with considerable First XI experience, Morris will be both a top order batsman and off spinner.
Jayden Draper: A highly rated gloveman returns to First XI cricket after an excellent Taverner’s campaign with the Valley club. He is also a more than handy top order batsman.
Henry Hillier: It will be great comfort to the Churchie cricket community to see Hillier back for season 2024, his third season in the Firsts. He is a left arm orthodox spinner who often took the new ball, building pressure from the start.
Angus Storen: Storen is a big hearted fast bowler who will give the Churchie attack a bit of clout. He is also a more than handy batsman.
Aside from Morris, Draper, Hillier and Storen, Churchie’s wealth of talent includes Connor Rudman (top order batsman), Zac Griggs (middle order bat, off spinner), Year 11 gloveman Alex Walduck who made our Tav’s Team of the Season, returning pace bowler Daniel Boreham, fast bowler Sam Wilkins, slow bowler Rupert Bignall, left hander Daniel Desmet, leg spinner Lachlan Moore, bowling all-rounder Sam Drinnen and middle order batsmen Sean Hansen and Jake Arthur.
Toowoomba Grammar School:
Cooper Webster: A young veteran who burst onto the scene with arguably the catch of the season against Nudgee in 2022, Webster will be entering his third year as a First XI player. An off spinner and batsman, Webster has graduated to be the TGS captain.
Charles Lachmund: Right arm quick, Lachmund can hit the pitch hard. Noted as one of the Ipswich Hornets top three or four junior prospects, Lachmund will be playing his second season of First XI cricket. He made our Taverner’s Team of the Season in December.
Gurnoor Randhawa: Randhawa will add nice balance to the TGS campaign with his right arm off spin and lower order batting. He is a real asset.
Terrace
Oscar Bodimeade: Coming off an excellent Taverner’s campaign in club land where he claimed more dismissals than anyone, gloveman Bodimeade has silky hands and will be among the leading keepers in the esteemed competition this season.
Theo Bacalakis: An outstanding young talent whose batting skills were renowned, Bacalakis was also a developing leg spin bowler. He is one to watch for sure.
Harry Frost: A second season First XI player, Frost will bat in the top three while also bowling quality leg spin.
Tom Hallion: Hallion is a right arm fast bowler who can hit the keeper’s gloves at around 130kph. He had the benefit of playing First XI last season as well.
Brisbane Grammar School
Cruz Baker: Originally a Fraser Coast talent, all-rounder Baker is an eye-catching talent who was named in the Queensland indigenous side.
Isaac Lutz: Lutz will balance out the BGS side nicely with his ability both at the batting and bowling creases.
Nudgee College: Matthew Fielding: Fielding’s presence will give his team added depth because he is both an outstanding gloveman who bats in the top order.
Ed Kasprowicz: The tall First XV rugby lock, Kasprowicz will be returning for his second season of First XI cricket where the new ball will glisten in the hand of this right arm fast bowler.
Angus McLean: McLean formed a raw but exciting fast bowling new ball combination alongside Kasprowicz last season and both will return stronger and wiser for the experience. McLean was named in the Queensland under 17 cricket squad.
Brisbane State High School
Pranshu Dave and Jem Du
Pranshu was an unsung hero of the 2023 season with the ball, while Du showed promise as a left handed batsman. Both will be back, available for selection for BSHS.
Round 1, Saturday:
Churchie v BGS
BSHS v TGS
TSS v Terrace
IGS v Nudgee
Bye: BBC
Originally published as GPS First XI cricket - key Players to Watch
Australia’s next NBA star? Inside incredible rise of Kings rookie
From a tough, honest conversation with a high school coach, to a college basketball regular season title and now an NBL debut. Check out Jason Spurgin’s remarkable rise as he looks to build on a career he hopes will land him in the NBA.
Footy guns: The 30 Inclusion stars ready to shine for Twisters
A new group of touch footballers are ready to shine. Here’s our look at every Toowoomba Twisters player and their team mentors set to make their mark on the representative stage.
Ban on non-Aus goalkeepers puts international career under threat
A footballer’s international rep dreams hang in the balance after a bizarre Football Australia directive targeting just 1.5 per cent of the nation’s 192 elite goalkeepers. Find out about the crazy new ruling here.
REVEALED: Garden City stars set to shine on Pacific league stage
Toowoomba players could shape where the Pacific Championships trophy ends up with a number of players tied to the city in action. Find out who are new international league stars are here.
‘Didn’t like that answer’: How brutal meeting lit fire under NBL debutant
Jason Spurgin created Toowoomba Grammar history on the weekend when he became the first student to debut in the NBL. However, as a former coach reveals, it was a tough conversation ahead of chasing a college scholarship which sparked his incredible rise. Details inside.
REVEALED: QLD’s top strikers, players and football officials
BEST OF THE BEST: We reveal the best strikers, players, coaches and volunteers who made their mark on Queensland football this season. Find out who cracked the list here.