Toowoomba edge out Stanthorpe in Mitchell Shield showdown

How did Toowoomba fare in Mitchell Shield

AT THE CREASE: Brandon Walker bats for Toowoomba in their Mitchell Shield clash with Stanthorpe. Picture: Nev Madsen

CRICKET: After a below-par performance with the bat, Toowoomba knew exactly what needed to be done if they wanted to beat Stanthorpe at the weekend.

Despite losing opener Louis Reen (8) cheaply in the first innings, Toowoomba was cruising at 3-100 in the Mitchell Shield encounter.

Stanthorpe’s bowlers tore through the Toowoomba line-up though, with Jamie Carnell (3-10) and Brendon Barker (3-21) doing the damage and Jordan Lanza (3-51) among the wickets as well.

A late 23-run partnership between Jace Hudson (12) and Sebastian Knoll (6) helped add some respectability to the score with the home side all out for 158.

“Our batting was a bit below par,” Toowoomba coach Kieren Gibbs said.

“It wasn’t the score we would’ve liked considering we were 3-100 at one point – thankfully that late partnership between our number 10 and 11 pushed the score out a little which certainly helped us.

“After that performance we knew exactly what needed to do – we were going to need to produce an exceptional bowling performance to win the game.”

Ben Staley (8) and Jordan Lanza (96) got Stanthorpe off to a flying start, combining for a 48-run opening partnership, but Toowoomba’s ability to build pressure with the ball ultimately helped them secure the win.

“Kane Bradford was great opening the bowling, and when he came back after a break he bowled well again,” Gibbs said.

“I thought Harry Meiklejohn was also good with the ball.

“When I look at the performance I think the thing we did well was stick to our plan with the bowl.

“We knew exactly what we needed and wanted to do with the ball, and we stuck to it.

“We were able to take wickets in bunches and constantly build pressure.”

Gibbs was also impressed with his team’s efforts in the fields.

“We got three run-outs which really swung things in our favour at key points.

“Kane (Bradford) had one that made a huge difference.

“Those types of performances lift you up as a player.

“We didn’t do it the easy way, but at the end of the day a win is a win, and there’s still a lot of positives we can take away from the game.”