We name our top 100 Darling Downs and South West cricketers since 2000
From Test cricket superstars, to TCI legends and World Cup heroes, we reveal our top 100 Darling Downs and South West cricketers since 2000. Did we get it right?
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The Darling Downs and South West Queensland region has long been a hotbed for cricketing talent with countless players making their mark at state, national or international level through the years.
We have gone back through the archives and cast the net far and wide to rank the region’s 100 best cricketers since 2000.
Check out our list including the top 20 players ranked below.
Lachlan Stevens
Born in Toowoomba, Lachlan Stevens burst onto the scene at junior level for Queensland before making his mark in South Australia, where he made his List A debut in the summer of 2002-03.
The left-handed batting all-rounder returned to Queensland and made his First Class debut in 2005.
He only spent two years playing First Class cricket before he was dropped by the Bulls but he still managed to taste Sheffield Shield success in 2006 when he scored 66 runs as an opener in the final.
Stevens also took the title-winning catch in that game as Queensland defeated Victoria by an innings and 354 runs.
Following his retirement, he coached the Western Australian and Perth Scorchers men’s teams, and more recently, the Victorian and Melbourne Renegades women’s teams.
Jack Wood
Laidley’s Jack Wood is an elusive left-arm wrist spinner whose unorthodox bowling action keeps batters guessing.
His unusual bowling action is a joy to behold as batters are left perplexed by what unfolds in front of them.
The former DDBBL player broke into the Brisbane Heat side in the 2020-21 season and was a Covid-19 replacement player the following Big Bash season.
Still only 27, Wood has been making his mark in the T20 Max season this year as an all-rounder and scored 379 runs at an average of more than 50.
His impressive form with bat and ball earned him his first full-time contract with the Brisbane Heat for the 2023-24 campaign.
Nick Stevens
Born in Toowoomba, Stevens began to make his mark with the Gold Coast Dolphins, where he made his first grade debut at just 16 years old.
Stevens’ ability with the bat was clear to see for several years and he was rewarded with an Australian under-19 spot following a string of solid performances.
His impressive rise continued in 2013, when he made his First Class debut for Queensland at the age of 19.
However, his First Class career lasted just six games over the space of two years with his last game coming for the Cricket Australia XI against a West Indies tour side in 2015.
Chris Sabburg
Sabburg was one of the premier Toowoomba cricketers as a youngster and made two brief stints in the BBL.
As a teenager, Sabburg won the Toowoomba Representative Cricketer of the Year and Toowoomba Colt of the Year awards for the 2006-07 season.
He made his debut for the Brisbane Heat in the 2013-14 campaign as a batting all-rounder.
However, after playing nine games, he was unable to hold down his spot and did not feature in Australia’s top T20 competition again until 2022, when he lined up for the Perth Scorchers as a Covid replacement player.
The left-handed batting all-rounder was also a strong fielder and had one of the most reliable pairs of hands in domestic cricket.
Emma Jackson
Hailing from the Western Downs, Jackson has been an explosive opener for UQ in premier cricket for the last five years and was a part of the Queensland Country team which won this year’s country championships.
Ben Brocherie
Brocherie is one of the shining lights in Toowoomba cricket at the moment.
Captaining Met-Easts and the Darling Downs Suns Bulls Master side, the swashbuckling opener has been one of the most damaging bats in the competition.
His leadership was on full show in this year’s one-day competition as he led the Trojans to the Toowoomba one-day title.
Peter Reimers
Reimers is a rapid pace bowler and a relentless batter with an impressive rep cricket resume.
He has played for several Queensland rep sides and has been a pivotal player for Met-Easts over the years.
With more than 5000 runs at 41.2 and 200 wickets at 19.26, Reimers is one of the best all-round players to grace the TCI.
He was crowned the 2010 Sports Darling Downs’ Senior Sports Star of the Year after representing Queensland Country and earning a place in the Australian Country T20 team.
John Littleproud
The University icon has been a prominent figurehead in Toowoomba cricket for decades.
With more than 400 games of A and Reserve grade under his belt, he is one of the most experienced players in the competition and was only the second player in University history to reach the landmark.
Littleproud has scored more than 10,000 runs in his career which spans more than 30 years.
Geoff Thompson
Thompson was one of the most prominent wicketkeepers in Toowoomba in his prime.
The Highfields keeper led the A-grade competition for most dismissals for two years running with 17 in the 2008-09 season and 23 the following year.
Blake Anderson
Anderson is an explosive batter who can also make solid contributions with the ball.
With more than 8000 runs and 100 wickets, he is a key player for any team he plays for at either TCI or rep level.
Stuart Keene
Keene is a lethal bowler who sits at the top of the all-time leaderboard for wickets taken for Souths.
He took career-best figures of 9-7 in a Reserve grade game against University in 2016.
He has also proven to be handy with the bat, as he scored a century earlier this season.
Andre Odendaal
Odendaal is one of a growing list of stellar imports to grace the Toowoomba cricket region since 2000.
Odendaal creates plenty of swing with the ball and was a nightmare to face for several Darling Downs cricketers.
The Zimbabwe youth international wasted no time in making his presence felt in the Garden City as he claimed 39 wickets in the 2019-20 TCI season for Highfields.
Stuart Wedge
The English import tore it up for Highfields in his two years in the TCI as he took out the player of the season for the 2008-09 campaign.
Wedge was the first import to be named player of the year after he took 38 wickets at an average of 13.82.
He then backed it up with another 28 scalps the following year to end with 66 TCI victims at 16.21.
Kira Holmes
Holmes is the latest in a growing line of Darling Downs cricketers to join the Queensland Fire program.
As a junior, she developed playing in the TCI and Warwick competitions before making the step up to Queensland Premier cricket.
The young wicketkeeper proved herself as a star in the making as she made her WNCL debut last year.
Nathan Stains
Stains is a devastating all-rounder who was relentless during his time in the TCI and represented Queensland Country in 2009.
Luke Neale
The Western Districts and DDSWQ Schaeffer Shield captain is a perennial threat with bat and ball.
His prowess was on full show in round 2 of this season when he scored 59 runs and took 5-26 in the one game.
Greg Hilder
Hilder will go down as one of the all-time greats for Toowoomba Cricket and University.
With more than 800 wickets next to his name, there are few bowlers who can match his outstanding achievements.
Hemal Shah
Shah is a dedicated all-rounder who took home the 2021-22 TCI player of the season award after a stellar campaign with University.
With 473 runs at 47.3 and 12 scalps at 18.17, Shah could do no wrong.
His season was all the more impressive considering he would make a 100km trip to the Garden City each Saturday morning to play cricket after finishing work at 4am the night earlier.
On top of earning player of the season honours, Shah was also a regular in the TCI team of the year, showing that his stellar season was not a one-off.
Michael Miller
Throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s, there were few Toowoomba players who could match Miller.
After playing 18 games of First Class cricket, where he scored 745 runs at 24.83 and took 28 wickets, he returned to his hometown of Toowoomba where he was lethal with the ball.
The Northern Brothers Diggers bowler led the way in A-grade for wickets taken in back-to-back seasons between 2012 and 2014.
Chris Hall
Throughout the early 2010s, Northern brothers Diggers’ Chris Hall was one of the best wicketkeepers in Toowoomba and led the competition for dismissals with 24 in the 2011-12 campaign.
He was also a classy batter, scoring an A-grade high 498 runs in the 2012-13 season.
Nicolene Snyman
At just 16 years of age, Snyman has recently returned from representing Australia in the under-17 Indoor Cricket World Cup.
The Warwick junior talent has made South Queensland sides and is currently plying her trade for Wests’ first grade side in Brisbane.
The right-arm pace bowler can generate plenty of swing and is also solid with the bat.
Chris Webster
One of Toowoomba cricket’s greatest ever bowlers, Webster holds the record for most wickets for University with a staggering 934.
At his peak, Webster was the leading wicket-taker in A-grade seven times between 2004 and 2013 and took an amazing 50 scalps in the 2011-12 season.
Aidan Watterson
The Current Northern Brothers Diggers captain is a capable of breaking the game open in the blink of an eye with bat or ball.
Having previously played for Wests in Brisbane, Watterson is a classy all-rounder with priceless experience.
Watterson was the Toowoomba Cricket Colt of the Year for the 2014-15 season and more recently, was a part of this year’s Queensland Country side which won the Australian Country Championships.
Matthew Hallas
The Western Districts pace bowler has struck fear into opposition batters for several years now and is a big-game player.
This was most prevalent this season when he took 5-21 against Met-Easts in the top of the table clash in the one-day competition.
Samuel Doggett
The older brother of Brendan, Sam Doggett was a classy cricketer himself and was pivotal in Brendan’s rise to the Sheffield Shield and BBL.
Sam played for the Queensland second XI and has also represented the National Indigenous side on several occasions.
Adam Marjoribanks
Marjoribanks is a stellar bowler who has claimed more than 250 career scalps.
Between 2006 and 2011, he featured in the TCI team of the year on four occasions.
David Else
Else is a classy, experienced wicketkeeper who has been an integral player for University over the last 25 years.
He has represented Queensland and Australian Country and played against the likes of Brendon McCullum and Stephen Fleming when his Australian Country XI took on a New Zealand side in a tour match at Bradman Oval in 2001.
Nick Budden
Souths’ Budden is an elegant top-order batter who was a member of the Australian deaf team which took on England in 2022.
The Magpies batter has been a regular member of rep sides and has a career batting average of just under 30.
Sam Neale
One of the brightest talents to come through the TCI in recent years, the all-rounder is a Queensland representative and was named Queensland Cricket’s Most Improved Country Player in the 2019-20 campaign.
Throughout the 2019-20 Australian Country Cricket Championships, he averaged more than 28 with the bat and just 11.5 with the ball.
Matt Dennis
Dennis is a destructive batter who was named the Toowoomba Cavaliers Players’ Player of the Year for the 2012-13 season in a season where he was also the Toowoomba rep cricketer of the year.
He has played for Queensland Country and featured in Toowoomba Cricket’s Team of the Year as well.
Robbie Joseph
Robbie Joesph was a force to be reckoned with as he took 42 wickets for University in the 2015-16 season to take home the A-grade leading wicket-taker award.
It was a season to remember for the former country cricketer as he took an incredible 9-42 in one innings against Northern Brothers Diggers.
Felicity Koch
Koch is a rising star in Toowoomba cricket and has already represented Queensland at the U19 Nationals and Queensland Country in the country championships.
She showed she has nerves of steel in the country championships grand final as she scored a vital 12 runs off seven balls in the grand final to help Queensland take home the win.
Currently playing premier cricket for Ipswich, she has proven she is a class act with bat and ball and is a player to watch in years to come.
Jaimie-Lee Strang
Strang is another Toowoomba export now plying her trade in premier cricket.
She has recently taken on a leadership role with her Gold Coast side and has experience playing for Queensland Country.
Strang was also named in the Australian Country Cricket Merit team after this year’s country championships, where she helped Queensland take home the title.
The teenage sensation also became Leigh Cricket Club’s first ever international player when she signed for the English club in 2022.
Shaun McCarthy
The fearsome pace bowler has made several Queensland Country sides and has been key to the longstanding success of Western Districts in the last decade.
Matthew Nunn
Nunn has been central for the Wests juggernaut in recent years as his impressive glove-work and batting at the top of the order has been a catalyst for success.
Jaidyn Teske
Teske has represented Queensland and Australia in indoor cricket and won the Open Men National Championships for Queensland playing alongside his father Lyle.
Cody Walker
Walker is a Queensland Country representative who has also been a pivotal player for Northern Brothers Diggers over the years.
His classy technique has made him a solid option to bat at second or third drop as he can bat long and tire out the opposition to prevent any middle-order collapses.
Pieter Van Der Kooij
Van Der Kooij is one of the great players in recent history for the Trojans.
He has Queensland Country experience and was a top class player with bat and ball.
Kieren Gibbs
Gibbs has been a prominent member of the Toowoomba cricket scene for several years and has played for the Darling Downs Suns in Bulls Masters and is also a Queensland Imparja Cup representative.
Lilli Hamilton
Hamilton is one of the brightest prospects in Queensland cricket and despite still being a teenager, is already a pivotal first grade player in Brisbane.
At just 16 years of age, she has already represented Queensland at U16 and U19 level and the crafty spinner is now in her fourth season with Western Suburbs in Brisbane.
At the recent U19 National Championships, she put the entire nation on notice as she took 5-25 off 10 overs against New South Wales Metro.
The talented bowler has more than 200 career wickets already at an amazing average of just 13.37.
Dean Spanner
Spanner was one of the region’s top batters in the early 2000s.
In the 2000-2001 campaign, he scored a monster 834 runs from just 14 matches at an average of 64.15.
Cameron Glass
Glass was an exceptional all-rounder in the early years after the turn of the century.
The Northern Brothers Diggers star scored more than 2000 runs and claimed more than 200 wickets throughout a brilliant career.
Danny Coleburn
At his peak during the early 2000s, Coleburn was a fearsome bowler who was also talented with the bat.
The Toowoomba boy was briefly a part of the Queensland Bulls squad as well and played one List A game back in 1992.
In the first few years after the turn of the millennium, there were few TCI bowlers who managed sustained levels of consistency like Coleburn, as he was seemingly always in the top five for wickets taken during a season.
The 2003-04 campaign was particularly impressive as he claimed 35 wickets in A-grade at an average of just 12.89 which earned him TCI Player of the Year honours.
Adrian Bidgood
During his peak, Bidgood was the best all-rounder in Toowoomba and was simultaneously one of the best batters and bowlers in the Garden City.
The Northern Brothers Diggers legend has played for Queensland Country and played first grade in Brisbane, where he famously bowled Matthew Hayden.
He was also named the Toowoomba cricketer of the year for the 2001-02 campaign.
Bree Craven
Craven is now making her mark in premier cricket with UQ after playing for the Toowoomba Girls Cricket Hub as a junior.
She has represented Queensland at youth level and has also played for Queensland Country.
Brad Spanner
Spanner was a classy batter who has a mesmerising list of achievements.
The Northern Brothers Diggers icon has represented the Australian Country team in a game against the West Indies, captained Queensland Country and played several Queensland second XI games against icons like Shane Warne and Jacques Kallis.
After an incredible professional career, he has since turned to coaching and has been involved with several Darling Downs rep sides.
Laura Scheiwe
Scheiwe is a Warwick talent who has proven she has what it takes to compete under the bright lights.
She has been a regular at First grade level since she was just 14 and was a key member of the UQ side which made the First Grade final last season.
On top of this, she has also played 15 games for Queensland Country.
David Orange
Orange was Toowoomba’s best batter during the mid 2000s scoring more than 1000 runs between 2006 and 2008.
He featured in the Toowoomba cricket Team of the Year for three years straight and scored more than 3000 career runs at an average of 40.6.
Kris Glass
Glass is a powerful all-rounder with Queensland Country experience who can change a game with bat or ball.
He has scored more than 7000 career runs and claimed more than 300 scalps.
Brendan Jones
Jones was the Toowoomba Representative Cricketer of the Year for 2010-11 and 2011-12 and is a Queensland Country rep.
Brodie Clews
Clews was a classy wicketkeeper who also proved to be a damaging bowler.
With the gloves, he made the most dismissals in A-grade in the 2012-13 season, then as a bowler took the second most wickets in A-grade in the 2015-16 season with 35 scalps.
Darren Koch
Koch has been one of the mainstays in Toowoomba cricket over the last two decades
He was at his best in the 2010s as he made the team of the year twice in the space of five years and averaged 68.75 with the bat for the 2010-11 season.
Aaron Watson
Watson was a lethal bowler in the early 2010s, taking more than 100 wickets for Northern Brothers and Darling Downs rep sides.
Lucy Bourke
Warwick’s Lucy Bourke has been earmarked as one for the future for quite some time and has proven to be a force both in cricket and rugby sevens.
After making Queensland teams at youth level, she was first selected for Queensland Country as a 16 year-old back in 2022.
Rachael Lewis
Like her sister Jasmine, Lewis is a Queensland indoor representative and has made her mark in premier cricket with Ipswich.
Daniel Pollock
With more than 5500 runs and 100 wickets, Pollock has been one of the cornerstones to Met-Easts’ success in recent years.
He has scored more than 30 half-centuries throughout his career and is also a Queensland Country rep.
Rohan Drummond
Drummond has been the Souths A-grade captain over the last few years and was a key member of the Magpies side that claimed the club’s first A-grade title in more than 50 years.
Terrence Hall
Hall came through the junior ranks at Highfields before moving to Valley to play grade cricket in Brisbane in 2011.
After playing mainly third and second grade, he returned to Highfields in 2014 and put on a show with the ball.
He took 11 wickets in eight matches in his first season back before claiming an impressive 29 wickets at an average of 15.24 in the 2016-17 season in a destructive campaign which included two five-fas.
Lachlan Prince
After rising through the ranks in the TCI as a junior in the 2010s, Prince represented Queensland in the U15 National Cricket Championships in 2014.
It was during this competition that he showed he has what it takes to compete with the best when he scored a hard-fought 57 runs off 102 balls against a South Australia side which included young leg-spinner Lloyd Pope.
His efforts were rewarded as he was later called up to represent Australia in an under-16 international series against Pakistan.
After making his youth international debut, he continued to rise through the ranks in Toowoomba before turning to the Queensland Premier Cricket competition.
Jared Sippel
The former Darling Downs Bush Bash League all-rounder has featured in Queensland and Australian youth squads and has also played premier cricket in Brisbane.
Derek Nitschke
Nitschke was a staple for Northern Brothers Diggers throughout the 2000s and 2010s and with close to 5000 career runs and 290 wickets next to his name, his record speaks for itself.
Michael Sippel
Sippel has been one of the top Queensland cricketers for close to 30 years and briefly played List A cricket for Queensland in the 2001-02 season.
With more than 10,000 career runs to his name and 500 wickets, he was always a player to watch for Laidley District Club in the Harding-Madsen Shield.
Jem Ryan
Whatever team Ryan played for, whether it be Toowoomba Grammar School, Ipswich or Queensland, he has always been an exciting young gun to watch.
He is currently playing first grade with Ipswich and the young bolter has been electric with the ball this season.
In the Queensland Premier Cricket two-day competition, he is currently the leading wicket-taker with 25 scalps at an average of 13.56.
Ben Turner
Turner was a classy top-order batter who dominated for Toowoomba Grammar School between 2006 and 2008.
In his time at TGS, he was considered one of the most technically correct batters by former coach Graham Smythe, which was evident when he took to the crease as he averaged 88.83 with the bat for the school.
Thisaja Samarawickrama
Teenage talent Samarawickrama has been identified as a future talent for several years now and he is continuing to live up to his sky-high potential.
He represented Queensland at the under-17 National Cricket Carnival in Hobart in 2023 and after a strong performance with the ball, was named in the Australian U17 Team of the Carnival.
Bradley Neill
Neill was a classy batter who could anchor an innings and take control of a contest.
Batting predominantly at first drop, Neill led the Trojans to several titles throughout the 2000s and 2010s and had a solid career batting average upwards of 30.
Emily Clark
Clark is an exciting prospect who is currently playing in Hobart.
The young gun has made several youth rep sides and broke into the Queensland Premier Cricket scene at a young age with UQ before joining Lindisfarne this year.
Eliza Flynn
The Clifton all-rounder is a Queensland and Queensland Country representative and has also played premier cricket.
Her class has been plain to see for several years as she was named Queensland Country’s female player of the year in 2016-17.
Cavan Ditchmen
Ditchmen is skilful bowler who has represented Queensland Country.
Throughout the mid 2000s, he was one of the leading bowlers in Toowoomba and took 27 wickets in the 2008-09 season at an average of 15.52.
Anthony Wilson
Wilson lit up the DDBBL with the bat and is an experienced campaigner for Ipswich in First Grade and previously Western Districts in the TCI.
Throughout his 300-plus game career, he has scored more than 10 centuries and 40 half-centuries.
Lucy Neumann
After coming through the Toowoomba Girls Cricket Hub, Neumann has now made her mark in premier cricket, captaining the Gold Coast First Grade side.
She has represented Queensland at youth level and is a handy middle-order batter.
Ross Christ
Christ was a dynamic batting all-rounder with Met-Easts who was capable of a match-winning on any given day.
With a career batting average of more than 30 and a bowling average less than 20, he was one of several players to thrive while playing for the Trojans this century.
Sam Healy
The Southern Districts keeper boasts an impressive resume and is currently playing for Souths in A-grade and Valley in Fourth Grade.
He has previously been selected for Queensland Country and is handy with the bat as well as with the gloves as he predominantly bats at first drop and scored a century in the opening game of the season against Sandgate-Redcliffe.
Jasmine Lewis
Lewis is a Queensland indoor cricket representative and has also represented Queensland Country in the outdoor game.
Rex Tooley
The Souths big hitter has recently returned from Queensland duty where he donned the maroon colours at the under-19 Male National Championships.
He has also proven his worth with the ball, taking 120 scalps in his career at 15.08 but it is his powerful stroke making that has caught the eye of selectors.
Despite his young age, he already has seven career tons, with five of them coming in the last two and a half years.
Olivia Winter
After starring in the Girls Hub, Winter has gone on to excel in premier cricket, playing more than 100 games with Ipswich before joining the Gold Coast Dolphins.
She has hit the ground running with the Gold Coast, taking 24 wickets in 25 games this season, with best figures of 4-38.
Simon Dennis
Dennis was an electric bowler and a solid batter as well who was capable of producing a match-winning knock.
He was at the heart of Met-Easts’ dynasty when they won six premierships in seven seasons and has also been a member of the TCI Team of the Year.
Paul Toohey
The current Met-Easts president was central to Met-Easts’ success in the early and mid 2000s and featured in the 2005-06 TCI Team of the Year.
Toohey has hundreds of games of experience across more than three decades.
Lachlan Pfeffer
Pfeffer is one of several players to come out of the Laidley cricket hotbed and for several years was right on the fringe of selection for both the Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat.
Following the legendary Chris Hartley’s retirement, Pfeffer earned an opportunity to join the Bulls set up as a wicketkeeper and went on to play seven games for the Bulls.
He made his BBL debut in 2022 and scored 109 runs at a solid 27.25 from his four games and was one of the few bright lights in an otherwise forgettable 2021-22 campaign for the Heat.
Harry Wood
Wood was one of the most exciting players to grace the DDBBL and was the number one pick in the draft in 2020 as he signed with his local Valley Raptors side.
He has played for Queensland at youth level and was also a part of a 15-man Australian U19 squad back in 2017.
20. Troy Gurski
Gurski has ensured he will go down as a Toowoomba cricket legend after a stellar career with bat and ball.
In 2018, he became the all-time leading run-scorer in Toowoomba cricket with an astonishing 8781 runs.
He has claimed more than 250 career wickets on top of his incredible batting exploits, making him an incredible assett for whatever team he played.
He was a pivotal member of the 2009 Indoor World Cup win and has also played for Queensland Country sides.
19. Cameron Brimblecombe
The former Western Districts off-spinner briefly broke into the Queensland Bulls squad in the 2014-15 season.
After a promising start for Queensland in the Second XI competition, the exciting spinner was called up to make his First Class debut in an era where the Bulls were still searching for their next full-time spinner after Nathan Hauritz retired in 2013.
However, he only played the one Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales in 2014, taking one wicket in his side’s loss to their rivals before returning to the Second XI.
Brimblecombe returned to Toowoomba in 2017 and played with Warriors for four years.
In 39 matches for the club, he took 44 wickets at 21.2 and took two five wicket hauls in his final Harding-Madsen Shield campaign.
After a fine 2018-19 season, the former Queensland Bull took home the Toowoomba Representative Cricketer of the Year award.
18. Lyle Teske
Toowoomba indoor cricket icon Lyle Teske has won several indoor cricket world cups for Australia.
The Australian captain has been a pivotal member of the national side for close to 20 years and has claimed several world cup titles along the way.
He took home the player of the tournament award in the 2009 competition and has also played in the outdoor TCI competition.
In the 2010-11 season the Met-Easts wicketkeeper took home the award for most dismissals in A-grade with 29.
17. Ellie Johnston
The Highfields and Districts Railway Bulldogs junior all-rounder has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
At just 20 years of age, Johnston has already made a name for herself as a future star for the Queensland Fire in the Women’s National Cricket League and the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League.
She made her debut for the Fire in early 2021, before breaking into the Heat side later that year.
In her debut WBBL campaign, she played four games before breaking through to become a regular member of the franchise last season.
Johnston played seven games for Brisbane last year with a top score of 54 runs, which came against the Melbourne Stars.
16. Ruth Johnston
Ruth Johnston is the cousin of Ellie and has also made her name in the WNCL and WBBL after playing in the Darling Downs at junior level.
Like Ellie, she broke into the Queensland Fire in 2021 and made her WBBL debut at the end of that year.
Johnston has been a core member of the Hobart Hurricanes and made 26 appearances in her first two seasons.
15. Georgia Voll
Voll is another young gun from Toowoomba making her mark in the WBBL and WNCL.
Like Ruth and Ellie Johnston, Voll played for Highfields in the TCI before moving onto bigger and better things.
The 20-year-old top order batter who is also quite handy with the ball made her debut for the Queensland Fire in 2020 and then debuted for the Heat later that same year.
Last year, the Queensland and Australia A star hit a scintillating 209 runs off just 155 balls in her record-breaking knock for Sandgate Redcliffe.
She was in fine form last month, recording back-to-back knocks of 101 and 69 not out against ACT in the WNCL.
14. Brian May
May will go down as one of Toowoomba’s greatest ever cricketers.
In terms of achievements in the TCI, few come close to the May, who has continued to age like fine wine and is almost expected to post a matchwinning score every week.
Throughout his remarkable career, he has scored close to 15,000 runs and notched up a mammoth 42 centuries.
The Bush Bradman has been a regular member of the Queensland Country side and was inducted into the Australian Country Cricket Hall of Fame in 2018.
On top of all this, May captained the Australian National Over-40s side against New Zealand and New Zealand A last year.
An elegant batter at number three, the Western Districts veteran has inflicted pain on countless Toowoomba bowlers in the last 25 years and can consider himself extremely unlucky to have never earned the chance to stake his claim at First Class level.
13. Courtney Sippel
A member of the famous Sippel cricket family, Courtney is a pace bowler from Kingaroy who has been a key part of the Brisbane Heat and Queensland Fire setups.
Her express pace makes her a dynamic option for any bowling cartel and at just 22 years of age, there is plenty of time for her to continue to develop.
Sippel was in fine form last season and was rewarded on cricket’s night of nights as she took home the Betty Wilson Young Cricketer award at the Australia Cricket Awards in January last year.
12. Cameron Boyce
The leg-spinner from Charleville was one of the brightest spin-bowling prospects in the country in the early 2010s when he made his debut for Queensland at First Class level.
After a solid start to his List A and First Class career, he broke into the limelight at T20 level and has played more than 85 BBL games, taking close to 100 scalps along the way.
Boyce made history in January 2022, when he took the Big Bash’s first ever double hat-trick.
11. Brendan Doggett
Before breaking into first class cricket, Doggett was tearing through Toowoomba cricketers for six years with Southern Districts Magpies.
Between 2008 and 2014, the rapid pace bowler played 63 games for the Magpies and took 81 wickets at an average of 19.1, including a lethal spell against Western Districts, where he took 8-47 off 23 overs.
He was rewarded for his efforts in 2014, named in the TCI team of the year.
Doggett made his List A debut in 2016 and made his Sheffield Shield debut for the Bulls a year later.
Since then, he has played 31 first class games and claimed 97 scalps at an average of 31.8 and took the title-winning wicket for Queensland in the 2021 Sheffield Shield final.
10. Nathan Reardon
Hailing from Chinchilla, Reardon was a classy left-handed middle-order bat who was a prominent figure in the old state vs. state Big Bash and the revamped Big Bash League as we know it today.
There was no doubting his ability in white-ball cricket as he averaged 31 in List A and just under 21 in T20 but he struggled to hold down a spot in the Bulls’ Sheffield Shield side.
Reardon played 30 First Class games between 2008 and 2015, scoring one century and six 50s.
At the peak of his powers, the middle-order batter earned a call-up for Australia and played two T20 Internationals against South Africa in 2014.
9. Jack Wildermuth
Wildermuth, who was born in Toowoomba, broke into the Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat sides in the 2015-16 seasons and is one of the best all-rounders to don the baggy maroon.
In his 64 first class games, he has scored more than 2500 runs at an average of 27.1 and claimed 150 victims with the ball at 29.39.
The versatile all-rounder was a vital member of the Bulls side which claimed the 2021 Sheffield Shield and has also represented Australia on two occasions in T20 internationals.
Wildermuth’s versatility has made him a core member of the Bulls as he is strong enough with the ball to open the bowling and can also hold down the fort with the bat in the middle or lower order.
8. Holly Ferling
Ferling began her career in Kingaroy and took a hat-trick with her first three balls in men’s grade cricket at the age of 14 before bursting onto the national scene at the age of 17.
Between 2013 and 2016, Ferling represented Australia 34 times and claimed 32 scalps with best figures of 3-4.
Despite playing professionally for more than a decade, she still has plenty of years ahead of her as she is just 28 years old.
In recent years, the pace bowler has remained a threat in both the WNCL and WBBL and is currently plying her trade for the ACT Meteors.
7. Wade Seccombe
Seccombe was another Darling Downs product to feature in Queensland’s drought-breaking Shield victory in 1995.
In his 115-game first-class career from 1992 to 2005, Seccombe asserted himself as one of the great Queensland wicketkeepers.
His efforts behind the stumps were simply remarkable, as he would often take spectacular catches and rarely made a mistake in the field.
Across List A and red-ball cricket, he took more than 600 catches and made 47 stumpings.
Since his retirement, Seccombe has remained a key figure in Queensland cricket and has coached the Bulls for the last six years, winning two Sheffield Shields in that time and has more recently taken the reigns of the Brisbane Heat as well.
6. Mark Steketee
Before Mark Steketee became the Queensland household name that he is today, the Bulls pace bowler was tearing batters to shreds for Metropolitan-Easts.
Back in 2009, he was more than just an exciting bowler as he also scored a stunning century at Under-17 level against Northern Brothers Diggers in a game where he bowled just one over for impressive figures of 1-1.
Throughout his three seasons at Met-Easts, a young Steketee took four five-wicket hauls and claimed 52 wickets at a stellar average of just 10.44.
He has since made a name for himself with the Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat after he made his professional debut in 2013.
One of the most reliable bowlers in the Sheffield Shield, the 29-year-old has taken more than 250 first class wickets at an average of 25.9.
Steketee also currently holds the franchise record for most wickets for the Heat with 88 scalps at an average of 24.53.
In recent years, the Warwick bolter has forged a tantalising opener bowling partnership with Michael Neser for Queensland, with the duo wreaking havoc at the peak of their powers and claiming close to 80 wickets between them in the Shield last season.
The former Met-Easts pace bowler is one of the more unlucky players to have never been given the opportunity to don the Baggy Green, with his meteoric rise coinciding with the dominance of one of Australia’s best fast bowling trios of all time in Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
5. Martin Love
The former Toowoomba Grammar School student is another Queensland Bulls legend who was at the peak of his powers in the early 2000s
He was a classy stroke maker who looked at ease every time he went out to bat.
After making his first-class debut in the 1993 Sheffield Shield final, Love became a top-order batter synonymous with the golden age of the Bulls.
Love helped lead the Bulls to their first ever Sheffield Shield title with a stellar 146 in the 1995 final.
In the 2002 Boxing Day Ashes Test, he made his long-awaited debut for Australia and went on to earn five Test caps over the following 12 months.
After retiring in 2009, Love ended his career with several records for Queensland including most runs (10,297), most centuries (28) and the highest individual score when he scored an unbeaten 300 against Victoria in 2003.
4. Delissa Kimmince
Warwick’s Delissa Kimmince boasts a remarkable sporting resume having played both AFL and cricket professionally.
Kimmince made her debut for the Queensland Fire at just 17 years of age and became a mainstay in the Queensland and Australian sides from 2012 through to her retirement from the sport professionally in 2021 at the age of 31.
Kimmince represented Australia on 60 occasions in both ODIs and T20 internationals but it was the latter where she made her mark.
She claimed 45 scalps at an average of 21.08 in her international T20 career and was a part of the Australian side which famously won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in front of more than 85,000 people in the final at the MCG in 2020.
3. Andy Bichel
Bichel was a pivotal member of the golden era of the Queensland Bulls as he played at domestic level from 1992 through to 2007.
Throughout his decorated career, the tireless pace bowler played 19 Tests and 67 ODIs for Australia and claimed more than 130 victims at international level.
At first-class level, he claimed a massive 769 scalps at an impressive average of 25.98 with career-best figures of 9-98.
Bichel was a part of the 2003 World Cup side and tore Australia’s greatest rivals to shreds as he took 7-20 in one of the best ODI spells of all-time.
2. Jodie Fields
Toowoomba’s Jodie Fields boasts one of the most decorated resumes in women’s cricket with a professional career which spanned more than 15 years.
Fields captained Australia from 2009, through to her international retirement in 2014 and was the first ever Queensland woman to captain Australia.
The highlights of her captaincy came in 2012 and 2013, where she led Australia to World Twenty20 and One-Day World Cup titles in the span of six months.
The wicketkeeper played four Tests, with a highest score of 139 which came in her debut game.
1. Matthew Hayden
Australia’s greatest ever opening batter, Kingaroy’s Matthew Hayden was a class above for Queensland and Australia.
For two decades, Hayden put the world’s best bowlers to the sword as he achieved just about everything there was to achieve in the sport, playing 103 Tests for Australia and scoring 8625 runs at an average of 50.73.
Standing at 6ft 2, the powerful opener was a booming presence every time he made his way out to the middle.
Hayden scored 40 tons for Australia and holds the record for highest individual Test score by an Australian with a mammoth 380 runs, which came against Zimbabwe in 2003.
Hayden was a part of one of the greatest Australian sides in history as he played alongside fellow Australian legends like Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
Reaching the twilight of his international career, the 2007 ICC One Day World Cup was one of Hayden’s greatest series in white-ball cricket and one of the best World Cup performances of all time as he scored a whopping 659 runs at an average of 73.22 to help the Aussies bring home the trophy.
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