Toowoomba Cricket: The Chronicle ranks top 10 TCI players from A, Reserve, B, C and D-grade games
University and Western Districts produced an absolute thriller at the weekend finishing all square in a back and forth clash. A host of players from the thriller feature in our Player Power Top 10.
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CRICKET: Rain earlier in the week threatened to ‘cancel’ club cricket but some Friday sun dried out the wickets and play went ahead.
Uni’s Reserve Grade clash with Western Districts proved to be an absolute thriller with the two sides finishing all square on 193.
A number of players from that match feature in our latest Top 10 Player Power Rankings.
10. Henry Maunder (Uni B-grade)
Uni have Maunder to thank for posting a somewhat competitive total against Western Districts.
Maunder (70) scored half of his side’s runs with Noah Mellis the only other Uni batsmen to reach double figures
Western Districts won by six wickets.
9. David Else (Uni Reserve Grade)
Else’s run-a-ball knock in the Uni middle order played a huge part in his side’s ‘success’.
Stepping in at No.5, Else hit 71 off 71 balls (7 fours).
A handful of Uni batsmen got off to decent starts but without Else’s runs the match would’ve looked a lot different.
8. Samuel Monk (Western Districts D-grade)
Chasing 212 for victory Western Districts needed to get off to a good start and Monk was the right man for the job.
Monk hit 9 fours on his way to a total of 79.
7. Jordan Wikaire (Northern Brothers Diggers Reserve Grade)
This clash would’ve looked a lot different without Wikaire’s impressive knock.
Wikaire padded up at No.4 with his team in trouble after Nick Payne (12), Aaron Saal (4) and Luke Guymer (0) went cheaply.
His 83 off 101 balls (7 fours and 4 sixes) helped NBD post a competitive 194 total with Souths scoring the winning runs in the 39th over with four wickets in hand.
6. Brendan Barnett (Souths Magpies Reserve Grade)
Barnett got Souths’ run chase off to the perfect start in their clash with Northern Brothers Diggers.
With his team needing 195 for victory – the Magpies opener was scoring at nearly a run a ball hitting 71 off 76 (8 fours).
Barnett was the fire to teammate Baxter Tzannes’ ice who locked down the other with a patient 22 off 72 balls.
5. Richard Freeman (Metropolitan Easts B-grade)
Freeman scored a blistering 83 of 64 balls against Highfields Railways.
Batting in the middle order Freeman hit 7 fours and 3 sixes on the way to his impressive total.
4. Scott Thies (Highfields Railways D-grade)
Thies had a day to remember and a moment to forget against Western Districts.
Batting at number four, Thies hit 11 fours and 4 sixes in his innings but he fell a run short of his century.
3. Astin Riley (Highfields Railways Reserve Grade)
Highfields needed their bowlers to step up after posting a meagre 122 batting first against Metropolitan Easts.
Just two Met-Easts batsmen – Matty Boyle (14) and Benjamin Kahler (20) – reached double figures with the Trojans all out for 99.
Riley was the pick of the Bulldogs bowlers finishing with 3-10 off five overs.
2. Anthony Guse (North Brothers Diggers C-grade)
Guse clipped the wings of South Magpies bowling attack.
Opening the order for his side Guse hit 13 fours and 3 sixes in his century stand.
What makes his 126 run knock all the more impressive is the fact it came off just 125 balls.
1. Ash Benham (Uni Reserve Grade)
Uni and Western Districts produced an absolute thriller and Benham was at the heart of it all.
Benham tore through the Wests top order, claiming four of the side’s top five batsmen, finishing with 4-22 off his eight overs.
With Wests closing in on what would’ve been a thrilling win in the final over Benham struck again with just two balls left in the match.
Benham ran out Shaun McMinn and the two sides finished all square at 193.
November 26
10. Chris Stearn (Metropolitan Easts B-grade)
With his teaming chasing 125 for victory, Stearn set about making sure their time at the crease was short.
Stearn just missed out on a half century - hitting 48 runs off 62 balls.
More than half his runs, 28, came off boundaries in his side’s eight wicket win over Western Districts.
9. Matty Boyle (Metropolitan Easts Reserve Grade)
Chasing just 122 runs for victory, Trojans would’ve been forgiven for expecting an easy day at the crease.
Western Districts however had other ideas and some tight bowling early put Trojans under pressure.
Boyle was a rock for Trojans scoring 75 runs off 104 balls in his side’s seven wicket win.
8. Thomas Crooke (Uni C-grade)
The first of two Crookes who appear on our list.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat Uni were in trouble early with the loss of Andrew Catlow.
Crooke however was patient at the top of order - punishing the bad balls and playing a straight bat to the good ones on his way to 46 off 91 balls scoring 20 runs off boundaries.
7. Ben Jeffrey (Metropolitan Easts B-grade)
Brought on in the 19th over Jeffrey signalled his intentions with the first ball he sent down - claiming the wicket of Daniel Mortimer.
Jeffrey ripped through the Western Districts middle order finishing with 4-29 off eight overs.
The Trojans bowler clearly had his line and length dialled in - hitting the stumps on three occasions.
6. Andrew Crooke (Uni C-grade)
Earlier in the Uni innings Thomas Crooke was patient with the bat however Andrew Crooke was the opposite.
Batting down the order Andrew hit 66 off 36 balls (10 fours and two sixes) to really pad out Uni’s total.
5. John Littleproud (Uni Reserve Grade)
The veteran Uni player proved age hasn’t dulled his skills in the slightest against Northern Brothers Diggers.
Opening the batting Littleproud went big hitting 11 boundaries on his way to 62 off 43 balls.
Littleproud’s opening knock set the tone for Uni who went on to post a mammoth 6-319.
4. Joel Ridley (Uni C-grade)
Chasing 190 for victory the Northern Brothers Diggers top order looked good early against Uni.
Unfortunately NBD were unable to gain any real traction with Ridley claiming three of their top four bats.
The Uni bowler finished with 4-34 off eight overs.
3. Nathan Ottobrino (Western Districts D-grade)
Ottobrino ripped through the Souths batting line-up.
The Warriors bowler clipped the Magpies claiming 5-27 off his eight overs.
Ottobrino bowled four maiden overs during the impressive stint in his side’s six wicket win.
2. Michael Crump (Highfields B-grade)
Crump starred with the bat and ball in Highfields gritty win over Souths Magpies.
Sent into bat Magpies struggled with the bat with just four players reaching double figures.
Crump was the pick of the Highfields bowlers, claiming 3-10, before producing a game winning knock late in his side’s innings.
Highfields also struggled early but Crump’s 38 in the middle order steadied the ship with his side passing Magpies 118 run total in the 38th over.
1. Ash Benham (Uni Reserve Grade)
Benham had a day to remember against Northern Brothers Diggers.
After John Littleproud (62 off 43) and David Else (46 off 48) softened up the Diggers bowling attack, Benham put them to the sword.
Batting at number six, Benham hit nine fours and the same number of sixes on his way to a stunning 127 off just 72 balls.
November 19 Top 10
10. JEDD FEGAN (Uni D-grade)
Fegan crafted an impressive 30 off 41 balls in the middle order for Uni.
Building on the solid platform laid by his teammates, Fegan was patient in the middle with none of his runs coming by way of boundaries or sixes.
9. CHRIS STEARN (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
The opening bat got his side off to the perfect start in their clash with Uni.
Partnering with Paul Ambrosiussen (15 off 51 balls), Stearn scored 43 off 64 balls.
Stearn was rock solid and patient at the top of the order hitting just the two boundaries before being bowled.
8. RICHARD FREEMAN (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
Freeman was a force to be reckoned with in the Trojans’ middle order.
As the wickets fell around him, Freeman put the Uni bowling attack to the sword on his way to 47 off 50 balls.
Freeman hit six fours in his side’s 73 run win.
7. GRAHAM STRANG (Wests D-grade)
Strang looked good at the top of the order for Wests.
Opening the batting alongside Alexander Callcott (35 off 88), Strang finished with 60 off 87.
Strang hit five fours and a six on the way to his total.
6. SCOTT SOWERBY (Souths B-grade)
The Magpies were looking solid but not spectacular before Sowerby’s stunning knock.
Michael Lutvey (21), Stephen Bowles (30) and John Weier (27) got off to solid starts but it was Sowerby who put the Magpies in a position to win.
Batting at number 10, Sowerby hit nine fours on his way to a half century (57 off 65).
The Magpies finished at 9-195 and went to secure an 85 run win.
5. MARK ALEXANDER (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
Catches win matches and Alexander took a hatful at the weekend.
Alexander held on to four catches and contributed with a few wickets of his own taking 3-26 with the ball.
4. STEVE SCARLETT (Metropolitan-Easts C-grade)
Scarlett ripped through the Uni batting line-up.
The Trojans bowler finished with 4-30 off 6.4 overs.
3. TOBIN CHERRY (Metropolitan-Easts C-grade)
Cherry’s heroics down the order helped the Trojans secure victory over Uni.
Despite their top order struggles Trojans were on track for a win and Cherry pushed them over the line.
Cherry hit 12 boundaries on his way to a stellar 64 off 46 balls.
2. MICHAEL SCHMIDT (Wests C-grade)
Schmidt did it all for Wests at the weekend.
The Wests man took 3-3 off 5.1 overs before opening the batting for his side.
Chasing 75 runs for victory Schmidt hit 42 runs off 45 in an unbeaten partnership with Joel Fogwell (22).
1. THOMAS CROOKE (Uni C-grade)
Uni’s clash with Metropolitan-Easts would’ve played out a lot differently with Crooke.
They still lost but Crooke put them in a position to win.
Batting down the order Crooke narrowly missed out on a century – finishing unbeaten on 93 off 98 balls.
After winning the toss Uni opted to bat first but only the one batsmen reached double figures before Crooke stepped up to the crease at number 7.
Crooke scored 68 runs off boundaries and more than half his side’s total of 182.
Metropolitan-Easts won the match by three wickets.
ROUND 5
The strength of our Top 10 round 5 TCI one-day player list is enhanced when you look at the list of stars who missed out.
Cody Walker (37 runs off 80 balls), Matthew Nunn (59 off 121), Darren Koch (53 off 57), Andre Odendaal (44 off 50), George Casey (50 off 75), Andrew Johnstone (33 off 22), John Milton (47 off 74), Wayne Hamlet (69 off 88), Anthony Guse (57 off 110) and Rod Fogarty (50 off 59) all deserve special mention but there were plenty of other exciting performances as well.
Check out latest list here.
10. Luke Neale (Western Districts A-grade)
Neale got his side off to a great start against Diggers scoring 51 runs off 64 balls – hitting 4 fours and a six on is way to his half century.
9. Connor Philp (Northern Brothers Diggers A-grade)
In the end it was a ‘losing effort’ but Philp was gallant in defeat hitting 47 runs off 56 balls in the middle order in his side’s clash against Western Districts.
8. Bradley Siddans (Highfields-Railways C-grade)
After his team’s openers showed early promise but failed to ‘go on’ after solid starts – Siddans combined with Josh Agnew to steer his side to a competitive total. Batting in the middle order he hit 61 off 82 balls.
7. Josh Agnew (Highfields-Railways C-grade)
Agnew edges teammate Bradley Siddans (see above) by way of a better run rate. Agnew hit 51 off 51 including a four and 3 sixes.
6. Harjinder Dhillon (Metropolitan-Easts A-grade)
Dhillon tried his best to get the Trojans over the line in their close loss to Souths Magpies. He was the pick of his side’s bowlers taking 2-25 and chipped with a resilient 30 off 33 balls in the middle order.
5. Rylan Martin (Western Districts A-grade)
Martin took apart the Northern Brothers Diggers batting line up claiming 4-38 off his nine overs.
4. Harry Meiklejohn (Highfields-Railways A-grade)
Opposing bats have struggled to deal with Meiklejohn the past two weekends. Meiklejohn backed up the 5-31 he took in round 4 with an equally impressive 4-35 at the weekend.
3. Shoeb Harun (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
The Trojans put Souths to the sword at the weekend, winning by 116 runs, and Harun was one off their top performers. Batting at the bottom of the order Harun chipped in with a handy 26 runs off 34 balls and cleaned up with the ball in hand taking 4-12
2. Tom Coonan (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
Coonan is in rich form with the bat. Batting at number 3 he hammered the Souths Magpies scoring 95 runs off 84 balls – just a week after hitting 70 off 75. Coonan hit 5 fours and 6 sixes in the mesmerising performance.
1. Kim Rose (Souths Magpies A-grade)
Rose was the leading man in the Magpies 22 run victory against Metropolitan-Easts. After his side won the toss and elected to bat first, Rose quickly set about punishing the Trojans bowling attack on his way to 59 runs off 71 balls. Rose hit 10 fours and a six in the impressive knock. He was equally impressive with the ball in hand finishing with 3-31 off 7 overs.
ROUND 4 STARS
10. Brett Bizzell (Highfields-Railways B-grade)
Highfields-Railways were beaten to the tune of 109 runs but things could’ve been much worse. With his team chasing 211 for victory Bizzell was one of just two batsmen to reach double figures, scoring 50 off 59 balls. Highfields scored 101 runs in total.
9. Harry Lester (Uni B-grade)
His team fell short against Western Districts but Lester was impressive with the ball in hand taking 4-30 off his eight overs.
8. Jayson Ackland (Western Districts B-grade)
Ackland ripped through the Uni line-up – taking 4-22 off eight overs to lead his side to victory.
7. Adam Kerrigan (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
Kerrigan’s partnership with teammate Tom Coonan (who features on this list) played a massive role in his Mets success. The opening bat 65 off 83 balls.
6. Tom Coonan (Metropolitan-Easts B-grade)
Coonan edged out his teammate Adam Kerrigan on this list only because he scored five more runs. More than half his score came from boundaries and sixes with Coonan amassing 70 runs off 75 balls.
5. Dan Brown (Metropolitan-Easts A-grade)
His team fell 27 runs short in their clash with Highfields-Railways but Brown gave his side every shot at winning. Brown, who opened the bowling, took 5-35 off his nine overs.
4. Harry Meiklejohn (Highfields-Railways A-grade)
He fell short with the bat, scoring just the one run at the top of the order, but he made up for it with the ball. Meiklejohn took 5-31 off eight overs in what was a commanding performance with the ball.
3. Alistair McKay (Metropolitan-Easts C-grade)
Highfields-Railways had no answer to the Trojans bowler. McKay tore through the Bulldogs batsmen finishing with 4-12 off his eight overs including four maidens.
2. Brian May (Western Districts A-grade)
Few players can regularly produce big knocks and important inning like May. The Western Districts veteran was in his element at the weekend scoring 90 off 118 while the wickets fell around. Batting first Wests amassed 165 runs from their 50 overs and held out a determined Uni to win by 34 runs. As per usual, May’s big innings was key to his side’s success.
1. Andre Odendaal (Highfields Railways A-grade)
Highfields-Railways were in huge trouble when Odendaal walked out to the crease. Metropolitan-Easts quick Dan Brown had tore his way through the top order with the Bulldogs reeling at 4-15. Odendaal took control though hitting sevens fours and five sixes on his way to scoring 96 runs off 83 balls. The Bulldogs went on to win the game by 27 runs with Odendaal scoring nearly half his side’s 199 runs.
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