GPS First XI cricket Players to Watch includes some of Queensland’s best talent
GPS First XI cricket Players to Watch this season includes an elite talent fresh from Queensland’s U17 national championship campaign.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Can any school rise to challenge perennial champions The Southport School this GPS First XI season?
The Southport School enter the season having won 10 premierships in 14 seasons, and the www.couriermail.com.au will again be on hand seeing if anyone can dent the college’s dominance.
A host of players will be returning from representing the Queensland U17s at last week’s national championships when the young Maroons reach the grand final.
CLUB CRICKET LATEST: U19 TEAM OF THE WEEK
Those GPS players were featured in this story, along with a host of other students who will spearhead their team’s campaign in a competition which is one of the top two or three systems producing state and national cricketers in the country.
Round 1
BSHS v Nudgee
Churchie v TSS
Terrace v IGS
TGS v BBC
Bye: BGS
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Blake Armstrong
Brisbane Boys College all-rounder Blake Armstrong has confirmed himself as Queensland’s No.2 school age player after two outstanding performances at last week’s U17 national championships.
A left hander, Armstrong hit run-a-ball innings of 70 and 102 not out to establish himself as the state’s second best junior behind St Patrick’s College batsman Steve Hogan.
Armstrong, who will also bowl left arm orthodox spin, has been a regular in GPS Team of the Season or Taverner’s club cricket Teams of the Season for the last two years and will again be one of the most celebrated wickets in the competition.
Ryan Atley
Armstrong’s teammate in the U17 side, Atley will be both a top order batting enforcer and keeper whose presence gives BBC an extra bowling option.
He won’t die wondering and will be prepared to go hard at anything in his zone.
Team’s will be relieved to see the back of him.
Zac Robinson
A classy Sunshine Coast product, Robinson made his First XI debut last season after earning Queensland U17 selection in 2023-24.
Robinson gained valuable experience in this high class school competition last season and will be better prepared.
GPS FIRST XI TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
MAGIC MOMENTS OF TERRACE FIRST XI CRICKET
BBC’s BEST INCLUDES STUNNING TEST OMISSION
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CHURCHIE
Tighe Morris
A young veteran who, remarkably, will be playing his fourth season of First XI cricket, the leg spinning all-rounder brings skill and a wealth of knowledge to the table after making his Premier grade debut at Valley this summer.
Also an excellent batsman, Morris was a member of the Queensland U19 squad.
Angus Storen
The 2024 Churchie Bradman Medallist, this all-rounder is another senior member of the side who enters the season having played strongly in both Taverner’s age group cricket, and also grade cricket at the University of Queensland club.
Alex Walduck
The team’s gloveman, Walduck has had to do his apprenticeship in the Firsts behind last season’s senior Jayden Draper, but he will have the gloves to himself this season.
A member of News Corp’s 2023 Taverner’s team of the season when he broke a University club record number of dismissals, Walduck will also contribute with the bat.
Walduck scored 239 runs at 29.88 during this summer’s Tav’s campaign and is another senior player with experience money can’t buy.
Daniel Desmet
Desmet is a top order batsman and versatile bowler who was outstanding for Valley in this summer’s Tav’s season where he was a serious contender for News Corp’s Team of the Season.
Desmet scored 279 runs at 31, including successive half centuries, and bowled 85 overs of medium pace to take 15 wickets at 19.73.
For the school season don’t be surprised to see Desmet bowl left arm wrist spin.
BRISBANE GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Eli Brain
Brain is fresh off representing the Queensland U17s at the national carnival where he contributed well to the Maroons’ campaign.
Brain was unsurpassed as the best all-rounder in the Tav’s club competition leading up to Christmas when, playing for Norths, he scored 528 runs at 58.67, while also taking 12 wickets at 22.75.
Hayden Dalmazzo
Another returning First XI player whose all around skill will beautifully balance the BGS campaign.
He is coming off an excellent season in Tav’s for his club, Sandgate-Redcliffe, where he took 13 wickets at 28.08, but also scored 209 - including 73 from 59 balls in one innings. He is a very, very handy cricketer.
Harry Langdon
Fast bowler Langdon will be one of the most exciting players to watch this season after building on his knowledge base representing the Queensland U17s last week in Tasmania.
He had limited chances, but claimed six wickets in foreign conditions and is a project player for the future.
ST JOSEPH’S GREGORY TERRACE
Theodore Bacalakis
Bacalakis is fresh from representing the Queensland U17s where he opened the innings.
Terrace’s Player of the Season last year where he battled to impress on a difficult home ground batting pitch, Bacalakis will contribute with the bat and in the field with his athleticism and energy. With the ball his leg spin will also prove more than handy.
But it will be with the bat where Bacalakis will hope to impact the competition.
He is mature beyond his years and a good leader whose calm demeanour should settle more anxious teammates.
Ollie Nasser
Terrace’s First XV rugby forward leader, Nasser will proudly wear the college crest on his chest when he plays First XI cricket this summer.
A left hander, Nasser will hit hard and bring leadership to the group as a middle order player.
Harry DeSouza
DeSouza was one of the players of the season during this summer’s Taverner’s U17 season.
Known for his grit and willingness to compete, DeSouza punished loose balls like no one else in the club competition, striking a season-high 59 fours.
He will also contribute to Gregory Terrace’s campaign with the ball where he will bowl right arm fast deliveries.
Jackson McDonald
Terrace have a host of exciting young talent coming through the ranks after winning 12 of 25 GPS premierships contested last season, and one of those is Year 10 student McDonald.
A Queensland 15 years school selection, McDonald bats at No.3 but also bowls a heavy ball and he is athletic in the field.
McDonald is a hard worker who is by no means a schoolboy prodigy, but someone who strives to maximise their ability. They are the type of kids you want in a schoolboy cricket system.
RELATED LINKS
CLUB CRICKET PLAYERS OF THE SEASON - SO FAR
QUEENSLAND U17s INCLUDE MULTIPLE GPS FIRST XI ACES
MEET THE QUEENSLAND U16 GIRLS; CHAMPIONSHIP LATEST
George Hales (halfback)
Another First XV rugby player of note, Hales will swap the No.9 rugby jumper for a place in the Terrace side as an all-rounder.
Hales will likely bowl first change and bat No.7 where attack will be to the forefront of his mind. Like Nasser, Hales will compete hard for his school.
Toowoomba Grammar School
Rhys Johnston
Johnston can alter the momentum of a game with the twirl of his bat.
A Queensland U17 gloveman and batsman, Johnston scored the most extraordinary century during the Tav’s club season when he blasted 137 not out. He is an x-factor player who, on a fast outfield, can take the game away from opposition bowlers in a hurry.
Charlie Lachmund
He is back for a third this season in the First XI. Charlie is a fast bowling enforcer, a right arm quick who can smack into the gloves of the keeper.
He is coming off a strong National U19 Championships for Queensland and will spearhead the TGS attack.
Banjo Seaniger
A right arm off-spin bowler, Banjo was a recent selection in the Queensland Men’s Indigenous side. He is aiming for a strong season with the bat and ball.
Wildcard watch: Fraser Judd
Judd enters the season in fine form with two centuries to his name already this summer - one for TGS in the Neil Dansie Festival and one for his local club Met-Easts in the Toowoomba senior A-grade competition.
Hailing from Gladstone, the left-handed batter has been a force to be reckoned with for several years after first catching the attention as a 12-year-old, when he was called up to the Queensland Schoolboys’ team.
Since arriving in the Garden City in 2023, Judd has taken South East Queensland by storm, scoring hundreds for fun for the Darling Dingoes and Darling Downs representative sides.
IPSWICH GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Sohaan Sharma
A Queensland U17 representative, Sharma has come on in leaps and bounds since his spectacular debut season in the First XI.
He had the honour of scoring a century last season, and backed up his school form with an outstanding club season for Wests in the U17 Taverner’s season before Christmas. In that competition he scored 516 runs from just 661 deliveries, and finished with an average of 51.60.
Callum Pamenter
There will be some opening batsmen who will sleep uncomfortably on a Friday night knowing they have to confront Pamenter. A rugged campaigner who plays First XV rugby as a hooker, Pamenter is a threatening fast bowler who will hit the bat hard.
He is an ace in the pace for IGS.
Oscar Dioth
Dioth will be one of the first players picked in the First XI where he will be Pamenter’s new ball bowling partner in crime - should IGS opt for an all out, new ball pace attack.
Dioth is a right arm paceman.
THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL
Dusyhant Thaman
Thaman has been a huge contributor to TSS’s back-to-back premierships, and he will be to the forefront again with his left arm orthodox spin.
Thaman will be full of confidence, having just represented the Queensland U17s with distinction at the national championships where he was both a containment bowler, but also a wicket taker who dismissed eight wickets batsmen in his last four matches.
Thaman also had a strong Tav’s club season for South Brisbane with both bowl and bat.
Jaxson Davies
Mr Excitement Machine himself, Davies is a thrilling modern day batsman who will back his skills.
To give readers an example, Davies scored 108 from 89 balls in November playing for Gold Coast against Ipswich in Taverner’s U17 club cricket.
In all he scored 417 runs at an average of 52.13, hitting 46 fours and six sixes.
Hayden Trevethan
Hayden will open the bowling for TSS where his genuine pace will take batsmen out of their comfort zone.
So much of TSS’s remarkable premiership winning success comes from their slow bowlers, but the hard working Hayden will be someone who will quicken the pulse rate of batsmen when the new ball whistles through to the keeper.
Ishaan Sandhu
Sandhu was outstanding last season during yet another premiership winning season for TSS, and he will again be a pivotal player with the bat.
Sandhu will open the batting where he will hope to emulate last season’s performance when he made 333 runs at an average of 47.
BRISBANE STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Kethmin Meegasdeniya
A high class spinner from the Wynnum Manly club, Kethmin has remarkable control.
In the Tav’s U17 club season this summer he took 20 wickets at just 14.75 per wicket, with a remarkable strike rate of 25.10 which is elite for a left arm slow bowler.
Lenny Henry
Henry will be a bit of a wildcard this season.
Think Mitch Marsh (former Test all-rounder) and you have an idea of his statue.
He can score runs, as he did for South Brisbane in Tav club cricket, and has natural leadership qualities. He will be a front man for BSHS this summer.
Wildcard watch: Charlie McGrath
He’s an U15 aged student who captained his district, and who has dominated in the state carnival with an average of 98.5. He’s young, but is an exciting prospect who could be seen this season.
NUDGEE COLLEGE
Hayden Hamilton
Hamilton is fresh off representing Queensland U17s when he helped the young Maroons into the national carnival grand final.
Hamilton earned selection after a bumper Taverner’s club season with Wynnum Manly when he hit 572 runs at 57.20, while also taking seven wickets.
He is the real deal.
Spencer Green
Leg spin bowler Green made his First XI debut last season and with that experience behind him, along with another full season of Tav’s cricket, look for Green to be one of the competition’s leading bowlers this season.
Originally published as GPS First XI cricket Players to Watch includes some of Queensland’s best talent
NAMED: The athletes nominated for Sports Darling Downs Star of the Year
One of the biggest nights on the Darling Downs sporting calendar is here with the annual Sports Darling Downs awards night being held this Saturday. Check out the 24 athletes nominated for two of the biggest sporting prizes in the region.
TRL’s massive Madsen-Rasmussen announcement for 2025
After the Toowoomba Rugby League Madsen-Rasmussen mid-season final was cancelled in 2024, the TRL has made a major announcement regarding the future of the cup for 2025. Details here.
Cyril Connell Cup countdown: Western Clydesdales
The Cyril Connell Cup season is just around the corner and the Western Clydesdales are locked and loaded as they look to build from an impressive 2024 campaign. Check out the breakout players to watch and the full squad list in our season preview here.
Mountaineers make first 2025 signings including ‘face of the franchise’ player
The Toowoomba Mountaineers have confirmed their first two signings ahead of their 2025 QSL campaign including a player described as the “face of the franchise”. Check out the details here in our Mountaineers signing tracker.
Meet the woman at the heartbeat of Professional Bull Riding in Qld
She may never ride the bulls at rodeos, but Jody Ruhland is one of the most pivotal members of the South East Queensland bull riding community. Check out how she became an icon in the male-dominated PBR field.
UNVEILED: Our Toowoomba cricket T20 Team of the Tournament
After an action-packed T20 competition in the Garden City, we have named our Division 1 Toowoomba cricket team of the competition. See who made our dream team here.