Which lower grade Toowoomba cricket stars are pushing for promotion after Round 1

The first round of the Toowoomba Cricket season is in the books and we are running the rule each week over the lower grade stars who are knocking on the door of promotion. See which lower grade players caught the eye in Round 1.

Kahlem Reardon bats for Metropolitan-Easts. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The Toowoomba Cricket season kicked off on the weekend and we are shining a light on the lower grade stars whose individual performances will have them pushing for selection in higher grades.

From reserve grade to C-grade, we reveal the players who starred in round 1 and could be in for a promotion soon.

See which lower grade players from your club could be pushing for promotion up a grade in the coming weeks.

Reserve grade

These players will be looking to push for a spot in A-grade in coming weeks after some impressive performances in the reserves this weekend.

Kahlem Reardon (Met-Easts)

What a start to the season Reardon had.

In a match where runs were already hard to come by, they were even more difficult to score when Reardon had the ball in hand.

The Trojans all-rounder stunned the Souths batting line-up as he took an amazing 6-19 from just eight overs – including a run of three wickets in five balls.

With the bat, he was one of Met-Easts’ leading run-scorers as he battled his way to 19 runs from 23 balls at the top of the order.

Reardon has been a stalwart in reserve grade in recent years but has been called up to the top level when needed and his performance to start the season will definitely put him in good stead if there is ever a spot in the Met-Easts A-grade side.

Daniel Giumelli (Northern Brothers Diggers)

The Northern Brothers Diggers young gun still has a fair way to go before breaking into A-grade but if he can replicate his impressive bowling performance then he will definitely be one to watch later in the season.

After failing to make an impact with the bat, he made up for it with the ball in the second innings as he took a team-high four wickets and conceded just 25 runs from his eight overs.

The A-grade Dragons boast an impressive bowling outfit but the young gun has the talent to one day break into the top level of Toowoomba cricket.

Darcy Shelton (University)

Shelton briefly broke into the University A-grade side in the latter stages of last season and if his performance with bat and ball on the weekend is anything to go by, then he will surely be in with a look again this season.

Opening the batting, Shelton set the tone for the contest, scoring an impressive 84 runs from 108 balls.

He then backed it up with a solid bowling performance where he took 2-15 off four overs, including the scalp of Justin Edwards, who was the danger man for Highfields.

B-grade

Check out the players from B-grade who will be knocking on the door of reserve grade selection if they continue their solid form.

Kaiden Philp (Northern Brothers Diggers)

The Diggers young gun has been a key member in the B-grade ranks for a few years now and produced his second career half century on the weekend with a stellar 63 runs from just 55 balls.

He picked up a wicket despite bowling just two deliveries and has laid down the perfect foundation to begin his push towards reserve grade.

While his performance on the weekend alone would not be enough to earn selection in a higher grade, he did kickstart his season in the perfect manner and will be one to watch in the coming weeks if he can back it up.

Marko van Vuuren (Met-Easts)

The Met-Easts youngster has been in fine form with the ball in his last two outings as he took 3-13 from 10 overs for Ipswich West in the Under-16 Club Challenge and then backed it up with 4-23 from six overs against the Souths Ravens in the opening round of the TCI season.

Younger brother of Christo – who has featured at A-grade level for the Trojans and represented Toowoomba in the Mitchell Shield last year, Marko van Vuuren will look to follow in his brother’s footsteps and make his mark for Met-Easts in one of the higher grades.

However, with Met-Easts boasting strong sides across all grades and fielding three teams in B-grade, there will be plenty of competition for him to try and crack a spot in the reserve grade line-up.

David Kenway (Northern Brothers Diggers)

While he may only play a handful of games per season when he is not behind the wheel racing sprint cars, Kenway’s class was on full show for Northern Brothers Diggers Blue as he blasted his way to an explosive 118 runs from just 67 balls – including eight fours and a mammoth 11 sixes.

The fact he only plays a few games per season makes it hard for him to move up the grades but if he continues to see the ball like he did on Saturday, then he would have what it takes to play in reserve grade when available.

Hugo Cavanagh (Met-Easts)

The TGS and Met-Easts rising star produced one of the best batting performances you will see this entire season as he scored a stunning 171 runs off just 116 balls at a strike-rate of 147.41.

His explosive innings included 26 boundaries as he led his side to 3-317 off just 40 overs.

As if his batting display wasn’t enough, he topped it off with a handy 2-22 off 5.1 overs to complete a match which will long live in the memory.

Lachlan Muggleton (Met-Easts)

Muggleton is another TGS gun who made his mark at B-grade level this week as he scored an impressive run-a-ball 100 which included 13 fours.

After a year last summer for Toowoomba Grammar where he only managed 38 runs from eight matches, this will provide a much-needed boost for him as he looks to take his game to the next level this season.

Tomas Crump bowls for Northern Brothers Diggers. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Tomas Crump (Northern Brothers Diggers)

After plying his trade at C-grade level last year, Crump made the step up to B-grade on the weekend and wasted no time in making his mark as he took 4-17 from seven overs.

While he still has a fair way to go before being considered for reserve grade, he could not have asked for much better B-grade debut and has laid down the foundations for an impressive season.

C-grade

See who we believe could get a look in for B-grade in future weeks.

Nathan Johnson (Highfields)

Johnson raised several eyebrows with one of the best all-round performances of the weekend.

With the bat, he led from the front with 52 runs from 77 balls at the top of the order.

He then backed it up with four wickets in the second inning from just six overs.

Johnson spent most of last year at C-grade level but did briefly fill in for reserve grade later in the two-day season.

His incredible display on the weekend will definitely have him in contention for a B-grade spot moving forward.