TCI finals: The 30+ cricketers to watch in this weekend’s one-day finals
The Toowoomba cricket one-day competition reaches its finale this weekend so here are the players who we think are set to star across all four grades. See who made our list.
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Finals cricket is upon us and the Toowoomba one-day competition champions will be crowned this weekend after an entertaining season.
With semi-finals taking place in all grades on Saturday and the grand finals on Sunday, it is set to be a blockbuster weekend for cricket fans in the Garden City.
Ahead of this weekend’s action, we have run the rule over every team to identify the star players to watch.
Check out our list below.
A-grade
Western Districts
Brian May
May has been in vintage form this season and is the A-grade leading run-scorer with 345 runs at an incredible average of 115.
His poise and elegant batting technique has been the backbone to Wests’ success this season.
Rylan Martin
Martin has been one of the spearheads of the ferocious Warriors bowling attack this season.
In eight games, he has claimed 12 scalps at an average of 17.67 and a healthy strike-rate of 29.
Southern Districts
Ruvith Karunarathne
Karunarathne is a lethal bowler who has led the way with the ball for the Magpies this season.
He is a proven game-changer and with 13 wickets at 18.54, will hold the key for Souths.
Nick Budden
Budden has been one of the most consistent performers this campaign with 249 runs at an impressive average of 49.8.
He has been a reliable presence at the crease with three half-centuries from just seven innings.
Northern Brothers Diggers
Aidan Watterson
The ultimate captain, Watterson has been at the heart of everything that has gone well for Northern Brothers this season.
With a batting average of 24.17 and 15 wickets at 17.07, he has been one of the best all-round players in the competition.
Aaron Convery
A young talent who has shown he is well and truly comfortable playing in A-grade, Convery has been a rock-solid opening batter.
With 217 runs at 36.17 and two 50s, he has what it takes to wear down and punish the opposition bowlers.
Met-Easts
Ben Brocherie
The swashbuckling opener has been at his scintillating best this season with one century and two 50s from five innings.
Brocherie has been one of the best batters in the competition with 292 runs at an average of 97.33 and a handy strike-rate of 108.55.
Hayden Campbell
The young pace bowler has hit the ground running this year with 13 wickets at 17.38.
Campbell is more than capable of putting in a matchwinning performance as he showed in round 4, when he took 5-47 against University.
In what proves as a tantalising match-up which could go down to the wire, Campbell’s ability to rip a team apart will be vital.
Reserve grade
Northern Brothers Diggers
Gavin Steger
Steger has electric with the bat this season, scoring three 50s in six innings.
With 279 runs at 55.8 and a highest score of 81 this season, there are few bowlers who can tie down Steger when he gets his eye in.
Jason Randell
Randell is a bowling all-rounder who strikes fear into batters’ eyes when he has his tail up.
His 13 wickets this season include a five-fa in the second round and is also a solid option with the bat, scoring 103 runs at 25.75.
Southern Districts
Angrej Singh
Singh has been a solid option to turn to with bat and ball for the Magpies this season and his class with the ball was there for all to see when he took 5-9 in round 3.
With the bat, all eyes will be on him in the opening stages of his innings as he has shown he can make an impact once he finds his footing but is also susceptible to being dismissed early.
Singh has departed for 10 runs or less on four occasions but the two times he has surpassed 10, he has scored 41 and 56.
Baxter Tzannes
Tzannes is a bright young talent in the Souths ranks and can make an impact with bat and ball.
So far this season he has a high-score of 74 runs and best bowling figures of 3-26.
Metropolitan-Easts
Ben Toohey
Toohey is a dark horse batter heading into finals that could be on the brink of a big total.
He leads Met-Easts in runs-scored this season with 207 and boasts a healthy average of 29.57.
With four scores of more than 25, the talent is certainly there, however, he has yet to completely take over with his highest score from those innings 47.
However, with the added pressure and tension of do-or-die finals, it could be the perfect setting for him to form as a diamond in the Trojans’ line-up.
Dylan Fedrick
The exciting young prospect has been in the thick of the action this year playing in both the TCI as well as several rep games.
With 20 games under his belt already, Fedrick has dusted off any off-season cobwebs and has been a star with the ball, taking 26 wickets at 21.31.
University
John Littleproud
The University veteran continues to shine and has scored 189 runs at an average of 63 this year.
There are few players in reserve grade with similar levels of consistency with Littleproud returning scores of 62, 40, 45 and 42.
Hayden Rowe
Rowe has been relentless with the ball, taking 12 wickets at a superb average of 14.75.
Making a breakthrough roughly every 21 balls he bowls, Rowe is a bowler who gives batters absolutely nothing and will look to up his game to another level with a trophy on the line.
B-grade
Met-Easts Blue
Brendan Redinger
Redinger has been in red-hot from this season from just four games.
The powerful batter scored a damaging 123 off just 92 balls in round 7 and is set to be a game-changer when Met-Easts Blue and Met-Easts White fight for a spot in Sunday’s grand final.
David Coates
Coates is a terrifying bowler at his best and has a knack of taking wickets in a flurry.
With one five-wicket haul and another outing where he claimed four victims, B-grade batters have had little answer for Coates when he has momentum on his side.
The Met-Easts bowler has claimed 17 wickets at 12.24 and could single-handedly decide the game if he finds his rhythm.
Met-Easts White
Chris Stearn
Stearn is a mesmerising bowler and a handy middle-order bat.
With the bat, he has scored 151 runs at an average of 21.57 but it is his talent with the ball which is what will make his competitors nervous.
Stearn has claimed 13 scalps this season at an amazing average of just 11.08.
In his last game, he took 5-15 so enters this game in raging-hot form.
Marko van Vuuren
Van Vuuren has been a solid bowling partner for Stearn with the ball and has regularly left has mark on the contest, taking 12 wickets in eight games.
Northern Brothers Diggers
Jacob Jeans
Jeans has struck fear into the eyes of opposition batters this year, taking an impressive 18 wickets in just nine games.
The Dragons bowler has a stunning average of just 10.39 and a superb strike-rate of 20.67.
He is also a solid option with the bat and has a highest score of 65, which came off just 40 balls back in round 8.
Jeff Philp
Philp is a destructive middle-order batter who can score vital late runs.
With a stellar batting average of 62 and a monster strike-rate of 153, no bowler is safe from the destructiveness of Philp.
Southern Districts
Andrew Winterbottom
Winterbottom is one of the form players with both the bat and the ball and is a big-game player.
With a stunning batting average of 42.57 and a bowling average of 11.21, Winterbottom has produced matchwinning performances in both facets of the game on a weekly basis.
With best figures of 6-12 back in round 6 and a top score of 102 in round 4, he is one of the most well-rounded players in the division.
Christopher Smythe
Smythe is another classy all-rounder who has been chipping in effectively for the Magpies.
With 253 runs at 36.14 and seven wickets at 31.86, he is a team player who you can always count on to make a contribution.
C-grade
Souths Crows
John Kaarsberg
Kaarsberg is reliable player to turn to with either bat or ball and has the ability to shift the tides of the contest with his performances.
The Crows all-rounder has chipped in with 13 wickets and 172 runs and will look to take his game to the next level with silverware on the line this weekend.
John Barrett
Barrett is a top-order batter who has shown glimpses of his talent this season but is yet to go off with a big score.
He has notched up 164 runs at 27.33 but has been dismissed for less than 10 on three occasions so bowlers will look to target any early-innings nerves.
Uni Phoenix
Michael Sheehan
Sheehan has been one of C-grade’s leading run-scorers with 352 runs at an amazing average of 88.
With one century and two 50s, he has been in outstanding form this year and it would not be surprising to see him continuing that into finals.
Daniel Skillington
Skillington is a consistent all-rounder with 12 wickets and 241 runs for the season.
Northern Brothers Diggers Gold
Kyrna Crump
Crump is a lethal bowler who has been in impressive form for Northern Brothers and the second grade Ipswich women’s team.
She has taken 23 wickets across all competitions this season at 14.04 and took 5-9 for Ipswich last weekend.
Robert Fenwick
With 396 runs at an amazing average of 99, Fenwick has been one of the best batters to watch this summer.
From Fenwick’s six innings, has only failed to reach a half century twice.
The Northern Brothers batter has taken on the new ball in style with scores of 48, 73, 82, 93 and 100.
He dominated the contest in all but one game in the lead up to finals when he was bowled for a duck in round 6.
Uni Bush Chooks
Jack Wiggins
Wiggins has been a solid contributor in the top and middle-order with 229 runs at 28.63.
He has also chipped in with eight wickets.
Declan Else
Else is an exciting all-rounder who can hold down the fort with the bat and break partnerships with the ball.
He has scored 185 runs at 26.43 and taken nine scalps at 15.33.
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