GPS First XI cricket round 1, including As and Second XI highlights
The son of a Test gun starred, there was a late thriller while a new era at BBC started under the guidance of a former Australian coach.
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Churchie, The Southport School, Brisbane Boys College and Toowoomba Grammar School drew first blood as the GPS First XV cricket season started with a bang on Saturday.
Churchie, featuring a bevy of spinners, spun a web of intrigue around BSHS (70) to win by eight wickets.
Left arm orthodox slow bowler Henry Hillier (2-16), right arm off spinner Zac Griggs (1-5), leg spinner Charlie Moore (2-18) and right arm off spinner Tighe Morris (1-4) joined right arm seamers Daniel Boreham (1-10) and Ed Storen (0-16, seven overs) in turning Churchie’s No.1 Oval into an early season fortress.
The Southport School, with its Village Green long solidified as a fortress, produced an elite bowling and fielding effort as the players pinned Ipswich Grammar School to just 83, with Zac McDermott, the son of Test champion Craig, taking 3-4.
At Tennyson, TGS’s Richard Dean (30 not out, 42 balls) was a batting hero as Toowoomba Grammar School (7-199) reeled in 9-196 against Terrace.
Piece by piece, Dean got his side over the line in a tense late thriller.
Having earlier played second fiddle to Cooper Webster (37), Dean then became the main man, rising to the occasion to scramble his team past the winners post.
It was a great game after Terrace found 9-196 thanks largely to an opening partnership of 100 between Christian Jardine (69) and Oscar Bodimeade (39). More on that match below.
And at Northgate, Brisbane Boys College (230) ushered in a new era under celebrated Test and Sheffield Shield coach John Buchanan with an accomplished performance against Brisbane Grammar School.
How Buchanan would have marvelled at a collective team batting and bowling effort after opener James Martens (51, 50 balls) set the first hour of the match alight.
Included on his list of gold star performers for the day would have been Oscar Shaw who engineered two successive run outs to have BGS 3-36 and in trouble. More on that match below.
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At Churchie, Hillier had a huge morning against BSHS in the eight wicket win, taking two key wickets and garnishing Day 1 of the season by running out Palmer with a throw to keeper Draper.
Hillier got the key wicket of BSHS No.3 Jack Sonter who was threatening to build an innings alongside his Queensland under 17 teammate Daniel Skipwith (21).
Hillier bowled Sonter after also clean bowling opener Andy Corrie, and after his early success the Churchie attack overwhelmed a good BSHS side featuring Skipwith, Sonter and the established Paavan Singh.
In the run chase, Churchie opener Connor Rudman (45 not out) then fired his team to victory before 2pm with a thrilling run-a-ball knock as the home side made 2-71 from 14.5 overs.
On the Gold Coast, TSS, coached by Brad Sterling and Ross Wallace, had a 10 wicket win over IGS (83).
Medium-fast allrounder Zac McDermott (3-4) got the rewards, but it was a team performance as Ryan Summers (0-10, 10 overs), Ted Waterman (2-4), Griff Williams (1-29) and Jacob Bath (2-29) built pressure when TSS bowled first.
Bath, also the TSS opener, then fired off a run a ball 50 not out in response against the new ball and TSS were on their way to victory. TSS finished at 0-84 from 17 overs.
It is a daunting place at the best of times but to play TSS in game No.1 of a new season, when they are amped up after a rigorous off-season, was even more demanding.
Congratulations to IGS batsman Luke Sanderson (24) who withstood the pressure for 101 minutes to try and hold the innings together before he was bowled by McDermott.
At Tennyson, Dean (30 not out), Cooper Webster (37) and Chace Oates (50) were batting heroes in Toowoomba Grammar School’s early season thriller.
Webster took his side from 5-126 to the brink of victory, threading together a match winning partnership with Dean.
But adding to the drama, Webster was run out by the Kelly-Eustance combination and anything was possible in the last half an hour.
But Dean battled on to win the game for his side.
TGS had been given a chance at victory by Oates’s run--ball 50, but when he was dismissed, Terrace had the upper hand.
In the morning session, Terrace openers Jardine (65) and Bodimeade (39) added exactly 100 to lay foundations for a winning score of 9-196.
It was hard going for the Terrace boys, with Toowoomba Grammar School’s Queensland under 17 representative Thisaja Samarawickrama producing a class spell of slow bowling.
Terrace crept to 0-34 after 10 overs and 0-55 after 15 as Samarawickrama kept the brakes on.
Jardine batted for 126 minutes and Bodimeade for 102 minutes to ensure Terrace had wickets in hand for a tilt during the second half of their innings.
Terrace’s Hayden Evetts (20, 18 balls) tried to liven things up as his side scrambled to within touching distance of 200.
When TGS batted, Connor Walker (22, 96 minutes) dropped anchor and around him Charlie Bignell (24, 28 balls) and Chace Oates moved the game forward at pace.
However, with TGS 2-87 (22 overs) and positioned nicely, left arm orthodox spinner William Ilott claimed a wicket with his third ball to bowl Walker - and then the key wicket of Oates (50, 48 balls).
Ilott was magnificent at the bowling crease, and together with seamer Jonathan Morgan he kept the pressure on a TGS becoming more reliant on Oates.
We all know about Oates’ prowess as a rugby union player, but the talented athlete can play cricket as well and with him at the crease, TGS were always a strong chance.
After he was dismissed Webster accepted the challenge to try and get Toowoomba Grammar School over the line, and with Richard Dean in support, TGS needed just 33 runs from the last 10 overs.
Early in the TGS, their batsmen had confronted Tom Stubbins whose new ball effort yielded six overs for just 14 runs.
At Northgate, BBC opener Martens shone during his 68 minutes at the crease, reaching his 50 the same way he started his innings - with a quick single.
He achieved the milestone from just 43 balls, backing himself against anything short or pitched up.
Behind him captain Jamie Alexander, the Queensland under 17 representative, netted the innings together again after a hiccup, and with Ryan Atley, Jenson Scifleet (30), Oscar Shaw (10), Liam O’Higgins (23 not out) and Jack Heelan (21 not out) all contributing, BBC scored 100 in the last 20 overs to take the match away from BGS.
It was not all one way traffic. After Martens early domination, BGS’s leg spinners Skerl and Matthews changed the complexion of the match after a toiling Soham Sane had broken Martens’ opening stand of 55 with Blake Armstrong (14).
BBC lost 3-13 to be 3-68, with Oliver Skerl looping his leg breaks into the breeze and Jack Matthews quick arm action being used at the northern end.
Between them they bowled 14 overs for 34, before being rested to give Issac Lutz a trundle with the wind and Ollie Spencer (off-spinner) a bowl at the city end.
Earlier, BGS debutants Ashley Batchelor and Sane took the new ball in the absence of Australian under 19 fast bowler Callum Vidler.
Batchelor, his mop of hair bouncing around upon his approach to the crease, took the new cherry into the wind while the brisk Sane, featuring a direct, sprinting run up, came down wind.
The BBC openers Martens and Armstrong played cautiously, importantly looking for singles while playing within themselves.
It was Armstrong, a Year 10 student, who had the pleasure of opening the scoring for the season, dropping the ball to cover and scurrying through.
Martens then played the first forcing shot of the match, taking Batchelor on with a lofted drive which found the gap at extra cover.
A second grade player at University, he then drove square for two and rocked onto the back foot to clout the ball to the boundary courtesy of a classical pull stroke.
BGS’ fielders were on their toes, bounding around with great enthusiasm as the hardy cricket parents on the sideline enjoyed relief from the heat courtesy of a gentle bay breeze.
Batchelor beat the bat for the first time in the match when Armstrong, playing a supporting role, missed an attempted dab to third man.
Martens continued his positive approach, moving into the 20s as BBC reached 0-31 after five overs, and he flourished into the 30s with a magnificent six beyond the long on boundary rope off Batchelor.
He reached 40 from 31 balls, and having raised his team’s 50 from just nine overs, Martens almost came unstuck to leggie Skerl who lured him into a fierce lofted drive toward mid-on.
Finally the partnership was broken when Armstrong edged a hook into the gloves of keeper Wallwork from the bowling of a toiling Sane.
Skerl then spun a ball past the bat and the young wrist spinner was very much in the game.
Sane bowled unchanged for an hour before giving way to leg spinner Matthews, the brother of 2022 premiership winner Toby, who almost immediately claimed the vital wicket of Martens in his first over.
Protected by a long on and long off, he lured Martens into a drive and the right hander took him on, being caught in the deep by Lutz.
After the flurry of wickets BBC skipper Alexander steadied the show with keep-batsman Ryan Atley.
Alexander was positive to medium pacer Lutz, and the 100 was raised in over No.26, while Atley produced his most commanding shot, whipping Lutz to the mid-wicket boundary as BBC grew to 3-111 (27.5).
Alexander then monstered a ball from Spence, sending it high over the beautiful picket fences which surrounds No.1 Oval, and BBC were running down hill for the rest of their innings.
When Alexander was dismissed he thumped his bat into the ground in disappointment, but he need not have worried as Atley, Scifleet, Shaw, O’Higgins and Heelan picked up the baton.
Alexander then took the new ball with Armstrong and together they pinned BGS to the canvas, conceding just 30 runs from a joint 12 over effort.
Armstrong’s reward was the wicket of BGS captain Brad Mackintosh (16), while Martens was in the game again with the wicket of Spence (13) in between Oscar Shaw’s two run outs.
Armstrong then kept things tight with three maidens (1-22, 10 overs) and it was a bridge too far for BGS.
BGS battled hard, with Sam Wallwork refusing to give his wicket up easily despite facing certain defeat.
Other highlights across As matches yesterday included:
+ Matthew Olyott scoring 75 for BBC in the 11As
+ Oliver Nasser making 88 for Terrace (10As)
+ Hedley Donges scoring 51 for TGS (10As)
+ Jaxson Davies with a match high 47s (TSS) in the 9As
+ Noah Drinnen scoring a game high 46 not out for the Churchie 8As
+ Alistair Mckay taking 5-15 for TGS in the 11As
+ Lachlan Sanders taking 3-10 in the same 11As for Terrace
+ Harry Jensen (IGS, 11As) taking 3-10
+ Isaac Barnes making 72 for TSS’s 10As
+Armaan Timblo making 81 from 69 balls in the 9As
+ Terrace’s Xavier Copley taking 6-15 in the Second XI
+ Churchie’s Samuel Wilkins took 3-6 in Second XI
+ Churchie’s Rupert Bignall scored 56 and took 2 wickets in Second XI
+ Mitchell Camilleri scored 63 not out for the BBC second XI
+ BGS’s Jock Horton makes an even 50 in the Second XI
Round 2
Nudgee College v IGS
BGS v Churchie
Terrace v TSS
TGS v BSHS TGS
BBC: Bye
Originally published as GPS First XI cricket round 1, including As and Second XI highlights
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