Ressie stars: We rank our Top 10 Toowoomba cricket performances
After another exciting weekend of Toowoomba cricket, The Chronicle ranks the top 10 reserve grade players from round five. See the highlight performances and who made the list.
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There were some scintillating performances across the three Toowoomba reserve grade cricket games on the weekend, with batters and bowlers showing their prowess.
Souths proved too strong for Western Districts, while Met-Easts claimed a mammoth win over Highfields and Uni snuck home in a low-scoring affair against Northern Brothers Diggers.
Check out our list of the top 10 individual performers from the weekend below.
10. James Nardello (Met-Easts)
Highfields had no answer for Nardello as he took 3-23 and was the pick of the bowlers for Met-Easts.
9. Will Titterton (Western Districts)
Titterton takes the number nine spot for the second week in a row after he claimed another three wickets for Wests.
The Warriors bowler ripped through the Magpies’ middle order to end with figures of 3-19.
8. Callum Barnett (Souths)
The Magpies bowler ended his eight over spell with figures of 3-16 as he ripped through the Warriors top order.
He was extremely economical as he gave up just two runs per over and bowled three maidens.
7. Scott Schultz (Western Districts)
At 5-44, the Warriors should have had no chance of chasing down the 174 runs needed for victory.
However, Schultz gave his side a glimmer of hope as he soldiered his way to 41 off 48 balls before he was dismissed by Ajay Kumar to make it 8-130.
Ultimately, the Warriors fell 22 runs short of the Magpies’ total but it would have been much worse if not for Schultz’s effort with the bat.
6. John Littleproud (University)
With 129 needed for victory, Littleproud put his side in a strong position early as he scored 45 runs off 59 balls in a stint which included two fours and two sixes.
5. Ash Benham (University)
In a game which went down to the wire, the cameos from Benham with bat and ball were vital for University.
In the first innings, he took 2-18 off seven overs at an impressive economy rate of 2.57 runs per over.
Benham then backed it up in the second innings with a blistering 37 off just 22 balls as he smashed six boundaries, including three maximums.
4. Ajay Kumar (Souths)
Kumar was relentless with the ball as he took 4-21 off 7.2 overs at a tidy economy rate of 2.86 runs per over.
3. Liam Brown (Met-Easts)
Brown scored an impressive 50 runs off 52 balls and hit five boundaries along the way.
With the game in the balance, he stepped up to combine for a 138-run stand alongside Benjamin Kahler to take the game away from Highfields.
2. Declan Pickard (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Pickard nearly single-handedly stole the victory from the grasps of defeat for the Dragons as he delivered the best over in the TCI this season.
The Northern Brothers bowler took 4-4 off two overs, with all four wickets coming in the penultimate over of the game.
Wickets with the first, third, fifth and sixth balls of the 27th over had Pickard on a hat-trick and Uni went from being 4-126 with three runs needed to win, to 8-127, with the game in the balance.
However, Uni scored the winning runs in the following over which meant Pickard was unable to have his shot at a hat-trick.
1. Ben Kahler (Met-Easts)
Kahler scored a superb 105 off just 76 balls against Highfields at a damaging strike-rate of 138.15.
The Trojans batter hit an impressive 15 boundaries, which included five sixes in a stunning display of strength and power.
Round 4
Bowlers stole the show in round 4 of Toowoomba Reserve grade cricket with some superb individual displays across the three matches.
Met-Easts proved too good for University, while Northern Brothers Diggers and Western Districts both claimed solid wins as well.
Northern Brothers is in fine form with four wins from four at the top of the ladder, while Met-Easts is close behind with three wins, while Souths and Western Districts occupy third and fourth with two wins each.
Here is our list of the top individual performers from the weekend.
10. Lachlan Gersch (Met-Easts)
Gersch cleaned up the University tail in style to finish with solid figures of 3-31.
9. Will Titterton (Western Districts)
Titterton led the way for the Warriors with the ball as he was equally destructive and economical.
Titterton took 3-22 from his eight overs at an economy rate of just 2.75 runs per over.
8. Shaan Goradia (Souths)
Goradia put in a fine bowling display as he took three of his side’s five wickets against Northern Brothers to end with figures of 3-27.
7. Phillip Reinke (Met-Easts)
Reinke took 3-19 as he prevented the Uni batters from putting up a fightback.
He chimed in with key wickets throughout the middle-order to help bowl University out for just 119 runs.
6. Jason Randell (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Randell was another bowler to make a strong contribution as he took 3-17 in the Dragons’ five-wicket win over Souths.
5. Anthony Nunn (Western Districts)
Nunn scored a classy 60 runs off 63 balls which included eight fours and one maximum to help the Warriors to a comfortable victory with nearly 10 overs to spare.
4. Angrej Singh (Souths)
The Magpies had their backs to the wall early at 4-66 but Singh helped Souths post a defendable total as he came in and scored 56 runs off 63 balls.
He then chipped in with the ball as he took 1-24 from seven overs.
3. Grant Spies (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Spies showed his class with bat and ball for Northern Brothers as he claimed the vital wicket of Angrej Singh in the first innings before putting in a matchwinning cameo with the bat.
Spies came out to bat with his side needing 72 runs from 72 balls and immediately put the Magpies on the back foot as he scored a blistering 41 runs off 33 balls to guide his side to victory with more than two overs to spare.
2. Baxter Tzannes (Souths)
Tzannes showed his composure out in the middle as he scored 74 runs off 91 balls.
With wickets falling around him, Tzannes refused to let the pressure get the better of him and helped his side post a competitive total.
1. Brett Bizzell (Highfields)
Western Districts had no answer for Bizzell as he scored an elegant 84 runs off 120 balls.
Bizzell made his way out to the middle after just two overs and survived until the 40 overs were completed despite watching wickets fall around him with the next best batter managing only 17 runs.
With the ball, Bizzell also dismissed the dangerous Anthony Nunn but it was ultimately only a consolation as the Warriors claimed the win just two balls later.
Round 3
The third round of Reserve grade Toowoomba cricket saw some electric spells with the ball and some equally classy knocks with the bat.
Northern Brothers Diggers defeated Met-Easts by two wickets in a thriller, while Souths claimed a massive eight-wicket win with more than 25 overs to spare against Highfields.
At USQ Oval, Western Districts held on to claim a nailbiting six-run win over Uni in a high-scoring contest.
Here is our list of the best individual performers from round 3.
10. John Littleproud (University)
Littleproud scored a solid 40 runs off 45 balls in the second innings for Uni in his side’s narrow loss to Western Districts.
9. Anthony Nunn (Western Districts)
Nunn kept the scoreboard ticking over for Western Districts as he scored 41 runs off 43 balls.
8. James Nardello (Met-Easts)
Nardello led the way for the Trojans with the ball as he took 3/53 against Northern Brothers Diggers.
However, his economy rate of 6.62 runs per over and the fact he scored only 10 runs with the bat, meant he could not place any higher.
7. Matthew Dunn (University)
Dunn made an impact with bat and ball as he scored a solid 55 off 92 balls and took 1/39 off six overs.
6. Hayden Rowe (University)
Rowe ripped through the Warriors’ middle order as he took 3/40 off seven overs.
With the bat, he came in at number 11 and was left stranded not out without facing a ball.
5. Gavin Steger (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Steger scored an unbeaten 57 runs off 80 balls at a strike-rate of 71.25.
His impressive stint included eight boundaries as dragged his side home to a two-wicket win after they were 8/129 at one stage, with 37 runs still needed for victory.
4. Andrew Young (Met-Easts)
Young showed his class as opener as he withstood the new ball and helped lay down the foundations for the Trojans.
Young scored 63 runs off 114 balls and hit seven fours.
3. Rohan McDonald (Western Districts)
McDonald put in a solid performance with bat and ball as he scored 43 runs off 81 deliveries in the first innings and then backed it up with two wickets in the second innings.
2. Angrej Singh (Souths)
Singh was devastating with the ball in hand as he took 5/9 off four overs to help bowl out Highfields for 55.
He also scored eight runs to chase down the total in the second innings.
1. Nicholas Sheedy (Western Districts)
Topping this week’s list is Wests’ Nicholas Sheedy as he was pivotal with bat and ball in a game of fine margins.
In the first innings, he scored 72 runs off 66 balls and hit 13 boundaries.
With the ball, Sheedy had ice in his veins to help his side snatch victory from the grasps of defeat.
Uni was within touching distance of victory at 6/208, with 14 runs needed for victory.
However, Sheedy took three of the last four wickets, including the winning scalp of Harold Shelton to claim a thrilling six-run victory.
Round 2
10. Matthew Dunn (University)
While University was comprehensively defeated by Souths, Matthew Dunn put up a solid fight as he scored 37 runs off 66 balls as opener after taking two wickets in the first innings as well.
9. Sam Bogiatzis (Western Districts)
Bogiatzis was a shining light in the Warriors’ defeat to Met-Easts as he scored 54 runs in the first innings and then took a wicket in the second innings.
However, the fact he scored his 54 runs at a strike-rate of 69.23 meant he could not place as high as some of the other batters on this list.
8. Ajay Kumar (Souths)
Kumar was in fine form with the ball as he took 3/28 in the Magpies’ 80-run win over Uni.
He made his presence felt immediately as he took wickets off his first two balls of the game.
7. David Callick (Souths)
Callick scored an impressive 56 runs off 57 balls which included eight fours and one six as he took the Magpies from 2/9 to 3/109 at his departure.
6. Michael Coleburn (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Like Callick, Coleburn also scored 56 runs off 57 balls with the Northern Brothers wicketkeeper only taking a higher spot due to the fact he took a catch in the second innings.
5. Jordan Wikaire (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Wikaire put in a solid performance with the bat as he scored 68 runs off 72 balls which included five fours and one maximum.
4. Luke Guymer (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Guymer set the tone for the Northern Brothers innings as he scored 67 runs off 53 balls as opener.
His impressive stint included five fours and three sixes.
3. Hayden Rowe (University)
Rowe gave Uni a major chance of victory after his relentless spell in the first innings.
He took 4/19 off five overs at an economy rate of 3.8 runs per over.
2. Lachlan Howard (Souths)
Howard almost made it through the entire innings as he opened the batting and was dismissed in the penultimate over.
Howard scored 80 runs off 126 balls which included eight boundaries.
1. Jason Randell (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Randell tops this week’s list after an emphatic display with the ball and an electric cameo with the bat.
Batting at number nine, Randell came in late in the first innings and scored an unbeaten 25 off just 15 balls.
He then backed it up in the second innings as he ripped through the Highfields batting line-up to take 5/24 off his eight overs.
Round 1
The 2023/24 Toowoomba cricket Reserve grade season kicked off with a bang with big wins for three teams on Saturday.
Metropolitan Easts claimed a mammoth 131-run win over Souths, while Northern Brothers Diggers and University claimed comfortable victories in their respective games.
Throughout the three games there were some sublime performances with bat and ball.
Here is our list for the top 10 players from round 1.
10. Joseph Marsh (Highfields)
Marsh faced the difficult task of batting in the middle order with wickets falling around him but still managed to post a solid unbeaten 47 off 74 to help Highfields to 8-208 at the end of the 40 overs.
9. Pieter Geldenhuis (Highfields)
Geldenhuis remained unfazed at the top of the order despite losing his fellow opener off the first ball of the season as he scored 56 runs off 59 balls including 10 fours.
However, it was ultimately not enough as University chased down the Bulldogs’ total with eight wickets in hand.
8. John Littleproud (University)
The University vice-captain carried his bat to victory with an unbeaten 62 off 97 balls.
Littleproud kept the runs ticking over while making sure he was there to see it through at the end.
7. Brock van der Linden (Western Districts)
Van der Linden put in a solid performance with the ball as he took 3-13 off five overs at an economy rate of just 2.6 runs per over.
6. Gavin Steger (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Steger was immense with the bat as he withstood the new ball and posted an impressive 81 off 77 balls which included 12 fours and two sixes.
5. Tim Sullivan (Northern Brothers Diggers)
Sullivan put the Warriors to the sword with both bat and ball as he guided Northern Brothers Diggers to victory.
With the bat, he scored 59 runs off 52 balls in the first innings, before taking 3-17 with the ball in the second innings.
4. Darryl Pettit (Met-Easts)
Pettit’s stellar performance with the ball quashed Souths’ hopes of claiming a victory against Met-Easts in round 1.
Pettit took 4-33 off eight overs and bowled three maidens.
3. Dean Fry (Met-Easts)
Fry fell agonisingly close in his last-ditch attempt to score a century as he finished the innings not-out on 98.
Fry faced 90 balls and scored at a strike-rate of 108.88.
He scored 15 runs off the final over and needed just three runs off the final ball to reach the ton, however, he could only manage a single to fall just shy of the milestone.
2. Liam Brown (Met-Easts)
Brown scored a blistering 108 off 97 balls for the Trojans.
His magnificent performance included 11 fours and four sixes in an impressive display of power hitting.
1. Matthew Walls (University)
Walls scored a devastating 112 runs off a mere 60 balls to help University claim victory with six overs to spare.
Out of his 112 runs, 94 of them came from boundaries as he hit 10 fours and nine sixes in an unforgettable performance.
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