The family influence that helped University’s Hemal Shah win Toowoomba Cricket’s biggest award

Late nights at work and travel to games are tough for Hemal Shah. But the support of his wife and son has helped him to stick tough, and led to the all-rounder claiming the TCI’s biggest award.

CRICKET: He’s one of the most dedicated players in the competition, and now Hemal Shah has Toowoomba Cricket’s biggest honour to add to his accolades.

The University all-rounder was named Player of the Year for the 2021/22 season, edging out Western Districts quick Shaun McCarthy by one point in voting.

It serves as a tremendous reward for Shah, who routinely made the 100km trip on Saturday mornings after finishing work at 4am.

He said his family has served as the biggest motivation to put in the hard yards for the club.

“All credit goes to my wife Namisha,” Shah said.

“Without her support I wouldn’t be able to achieve that and I probably would’ve given up cricket a few years ago.

“Her words were that if I play, our son Mihan can watch.

“He knows that daddy is playing cricket and whenever I play he wants to go to the ground and clap for me.

Hemal Shah (right) was named Toowoomba Cricket Player of the Year for the 2021/22 season. Pictured with TCI president Angus Rathie. Photo: Contributed

“With work life I finish at 4am, get minimal sleep and drive back to Toowoomba to play cricket. It gets tiring, but it’s all about loving the game and University is a great club.”

Shah beat out a hot field of contenders to claim the award, the first for a University player in over 15 years.

“It was a very tight competition with a lot of good players across the region,” he said.

“It’s something that I’ve wanted to win for the last 10 years. I’ve gone close in the past, but I just had to wait for my time.

Hemal Shah bowls for University. Picture: Nev Madsen

“I feel really proud to have won this award among all these good cricketers.”

A consistent season in all forms of the game contributed to the award, with Shah praising his experience in the Brisbane Premier League for helping to add to his game.

“I was lucky enough to play in the BPL as a Covid replacement player,” he said.

“I was part of the Coastal Marlins team that had a lot of interstate and some international players.

“The chance to watch, observe, talk and play with these players really helped to build my game up.”

McCarthy didn’t go home empty-handed, named the Toowoomba Cricket Representative Player of the Year for his Queensland Country selection.

2021/22 AWARD WINNERS

Umpire of the Year: Michael Carmody

Tom Allen Memorial Cup for Club Championship: Northern Brothers Diggers

Mitchell Shield Players Player Award: Rex Tooley (Southern Districts)

Cavaliers Players Player Award: Pieter van der Kooij (Metropolitan-Easts)

Kerry Shine Junior Encouragement (U18 Player of the Year) Award: Rex Tooley (Southern Districts)

Toowoomba Cricket U21 Player of the Year: Hayden Campbell (Metropolitan Easts)

Toowoomba Cricket Representative Player of the Year: Shaun McCarthy (Western Districts)

Father Graham Memorial Trophy for Best and Fairest All Grades: Michael Crump (Highfields-Railways)

Norm Jenner Memorial Spirit of Cricket Trophy: Metropolitan-Easts

Team of the Year: Dean Sullivan, Liam Brown, Hemal Shah, Chris Hall, Dan Pollock, Luke Neale, Connor Philp, Shaun McCarthy, Harjinder Dhillon, Matthew Budden, Todd Martens, Brandon Walker

Toowoomba’s Winter chasing dreams of bringing the Heat

CRICKET: When talking about Toowoomba’s plethora of young cricketing talent, Olivia Winter is one of our bright stars.

The 17-year-old is one of a host of locals plying their trade in Brisbane first grade cricket.

Her journey in the sport started just seven years ago as a way to further connect with family.

“My cousins played cricket and basically I just wanted to catch up with them a bit more,” she said.

“I was playing with the University girls team and we’d play against each other. It was good fun, and there’s a good team environment and club culture at Uni.

“I got into it a bit more when I got older and am still playing now down at Ipswich.”

Winter created a big impression at T20 level for the Darling Dingoes, where she averaged 32.25 with the bat and took seven wickets in six games.

She has more than held her own for the Ipswich Hornets in the Katherine Raymont Shield in Brisbane, and said she is embracing the test of coming up against Queensland’s best.

“It was definitely daunting when I was younger,” she said.

“I was just 15 and you’re a bit starstruck coming up against the bigger players that you idolised.

“The competition I’m playing in, I’m really enjoying the experience of coming up against Brisbane Heat and Queensland Fire players.

“You can really learn a lot from them. I’m enjoying the learning experience and challenge of stepping up against them.”

As for the future, Winter said playing alongside the likes of WBBL players Georgia Voll and Ellie and Ruth Johnston is inspiration to take her talents as far as they can go.

“I definitely have ambitions to go further,” she said.

“Growing up and playing with them, it shows that there’s not an age that you have to be, if you try as hard as you can you can get there.

“It’s been good to see some bigger crowds for the women’s matches too. It’s an improvement from a few seasons ago.”

Away from cricket, Winter is also a talented hockey player, where she captained Newtown’s J1 girls to a grand final appearance.

“It’s a good balance, hockey is great for fitness,” she said.

“I’ve been playing it for years and it’s a great team environment.”

Winter was set to battle it out for a spot in the Queensland Country team this weekend as the South and North collided in Toowoomba.

Unfortunately continued wet weather has forced the postponement of the three T20 games, with a date in January or February on the cards.

Meet the Warwick spinner turning heads in Brisbane

CRICKET: Ever since she was a little girl, Laura Scheiwe has been inseparable from her love of cricket.

That passion from an early age has led the Warwick 15-year-old to fast developing a reputation as one of the brightest young talents on the Darling Downs.

“I was about four years old when I started playing Milo Cricket,” she said.

“My dad and my brother always played and I just ended up with them and it took off.

“I was always the only girl down in Warwick, so growing up with the boys was a challenge. It’s a bit different, but once you get out of Warwick there’s a fair few of us.”

Her latest achievement came just recently after representing the Darling Downs in the Queensland 13-15 State Championships, where she was chosen for the extra honour of the Queensland schoolgirls.

“It was a really fun carnival down in Ipswich,” she said.

“I didn’t play as well as I could’ve but it was good fun. I made the team last year but it ended up being a merit team because of Covid.

“In the September holidays we’ll go to the Sunshine Coast to play against the ACT.”

Scheiwe made her Brisbane first grade debut at just 14 for University of Queensland, where she enjoyed a debut to remember.

“It’s been really fun and I’ve had a great time with all the girls there,” she said.

“They’re older than me so it’s a bit scary sometimes, but there’s been a lot of tactical stuff I’ve had to learn which has helped me to become better.

“On debut we had someone on our team who plays for the New Zealand team (Holly Huddleston) and bowls really fast.

“You just have to deal with it (nerves), you just have to channel it to work in your favour.

“I took 4/9 off a couple of overs. They’ll never take that one away from me.”

Just recently the spinner claimed another milestone with incredible figures of 8/15 in a second grade match against South Brisbane, fighting back from a tough month.

“I had a few not very good weeks that caused me to get dropped from the team and I was just lucky that it happened,” she said.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, I know I shouldn’t, but the coach has been good in helping me to understand why I’ve been going up and down.”

Scheiwe hopes to follow in the footsteps of Downs trio Georgia Voll, Ellie and Ruth Johnston in breaking through at the WBBL level, and takes inspiration from one of Warwick’s greatest ever cricketers.

“My very ambitious goal is to be playing for the Heat by the time I graduate,” she said.

“It’s been great that they’ve played in Toowoomba and gone that far. I’ve met her (Kimmince) a few times and it’s great for the younger girls coming through to have her as someone to look up to.”

Anthony Clark has coached Scheiwe and gave the young talent the ultimate compliment.

“I’ve coached her for a couple of years now and she gets better and better with age,” he said.

“She debuted at UQ last year and took four wickets in her first game. It was quite an amazing debut.

“I’ve never seen someone with a work ethic like hers. She’s a gem to work with. You won’t meet a more dedicated cricketer and a more modest one either. An absolutely amazing person to coach and mentor.”

Toowoomba young gun’s bold ambitions

CRICKET: With players like Matthew Spanner in the ranks, the future of cricket in Toowoomba is looking bright.

The Western Districts batsmen is lining up in his second season of A-grade currently, and he’s full of confidence on the back of a career best knock in the top flight.

He blasted an unbeaten 43 against Laidley, and the 16-year-old said being in a side like Wests is helping to evolve his game.

“It was good to get some runs, especially against Laidley who’s the top side,” Spanner said.

“It gives me confidence for the next few games against Thunder and Mets, who are going really well. It’s good to get a few runs against a high quality side.

“There’s a lot of experienced boys around the team and it’s great to be at the club and learning a lot from them.

“Even in the nets, Brian (May) is always giving you tips and telling you what to work on. It’s great to have him there, not just for me but the other younger boys around the club.”

Spanner was chosen by the Coastal Marlins in the Brisbane Premier League, an experience he said the chance to learn in new surrounds is something he won’t forget.

“It was a great learning experience,” he said.

“T20 is a bit different to what we usually play in Toowoomba, but it was good having different coaches, our two from the Sunshine Coast were great. They didn’t try and coach us, just encouraging us.

“I prefer 50-over and the long format, but it’s good to play something different and I’ve come to like it a lot.”

With rep experience for the Darling Downs and South West Queensland, Spanner is setting his sights high on pushing as far as the game will take him.

“Probably next year or the year after I’ll be looking to go to Brisbane to play cricket,” he said.

“I’ll see how far I get in Brisbane grade cricket and if I can make first grade. You never know what might come.

“I’m just trying to enjoy my cricket at the moment, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

‘It’s his dream’: Meet one of Toowoomba’s most promising young cricketers

CRICKET: Arshvir Singh is quietly making moves in his climb up the cricketing ranks.

The 17-year-old is currently plying his trade in Brisbane for Northern Suburbs, where he has played in second and third grade.

It's the continuation of a season that the young Toowoomba talent is making people take notice.

His talent was abundant from a young age, making his A-grade debut for Southern Districts at 13.

During the inaugural Brisbane Premier League earlier this year, Singh starred with the bat for the Gold Coast Waveriders.

He finished with the most runs (348), most half centuries (four) and most sixes (12) as he led his team to a premiership success.

It capped off a big start to the season for the young man as he took a new opportunity with both hands.

“It’s been going pretty well and I’m excited for the future,” Singh said.

“It was a good opportunity (with the Waveriders) and I got to learn a few new things. It was a new concept and I wanted to be a part of it.

“I just wanted to play sensible and do my role.”

Such is the level of talent Singh has displayed at a young age, he was chosen for the Darling Downs Suns in the Bulls Masters Country Challenge.

The prospect of facing off against open men didn’t phase him, averaging 32 in the T20 format with a top score of 51.

“It was fun and I got to learn a lot from the senior players,” he said.

“There was a lot of experience there. It was new and a challenge.”

Singh has enjoyed a solid campaign with Norths so far, and with another GPS campaign coming up for Grammar, he has his sights set on going as far as the game will take him.

“Hopefully I can play first grade next year, and then I’d love to go on to Queensland and Australia,” he said.

“The support staff at Grammar is great and the support really helps me to develop as a player.

Father Preet Singh commended the dedication his son has put into his craft.

“He’s been working really hard,” he said.
“He will put in eight to nine hours continuously. We have a net set up in the backyard, and even on match day he’ll come home from Brisbane and get stuck in the nets.

“Arshvir really loves his game. It’s his dream. He’s talented, but also disciplined.”

Completing his studies at Toowoomba Grammar, the Year 11 student makes the time to perform whether it be at school or on the field.

“It’s a credit to him and his coaches. He gets good training from his clubs, school and Kent (Reimers),” Preet said.

“I’ve worked with him in the backyard and almost lost my shoulder from throwing balls at him.

“He performs well in his studies too. He wakes up, has time for meditation, yoga, fitness and school. It doesn’t matter if there’s rain or storms, nothing will hold him back.

“He loves the teams he plays for and treats everyone with respect.”