Who would have ever guessed that the scorebook of the Tewantin-Noosa Thunder First Grade team would have an entry: – B.MAHER Caught J.OFFICER Bowled C.MUNSTER- 5
On Wednesday night November 18th, Queensland No 6, Five-eight and Man of the State of Origin series, Cameron Munster was controlling the game for the Queensland Maroons in their win over New South Wales. A week later on November 26th, he donned a different Maroon outfit and played for the Tewantin-Noosa Thunder cricket team and took a wicket on the fourth ball he bowled in the T20 match. The match, played under lights at Read Park for the local First Grade team, was against the Sunshine Coast Scorchers who play in the Queensland Premier competition in South East Queensland.
The Thunder were also strengthened by the inclusion of ex-Bulls and international batsman, Nathan Reardon who is doing some coaching with the TNT club this season. Cameron Munster turned up early and made himself available to everyone, especially the junior cricketers in having photos taken and signing autographs. He admitted he had not played much cricket in the past few years but had been a left-hand quickie in his teenage years. His only cricket recently was with the Melbourne Storm players using a tennis ball prior to their training during the footy season. He did all the warm-up drills with the local team and even showed a couple of extra moves to them.
At 6pm the Scorchers batted first and the good-sized crowd were thrilled when TNT’s strike bowler Scott Aufderheide rattled the stumps of their opening batsman and captain, Alecz Day for a duck in the first over. It was then that the Scorchers knew they had a game on their hands. They began to consolidate and at 3 for 45 the crowd cheered as Number 24, Cameron Munster ran onto the field. He took over from the bowler at northern end and everyone, including the two batsmen waited, not sure what was to come from the hands over the talented footballer. He bowled left-hand quickies and the batsmen managed a couple of runs off his first three balls. Then he bowled a slower ball out of the back of his hand, it swung late and batsman Brett Maher sensing there were easy runs to be scored, lifted the ball high into the sky for the catch to be taken by the safest hands in the competition, Jarrod Officer, just inside the boundary. The cheers from the spectators were as loud as if Verat Kohli had been dismissed. Cameron only bowled two overs and finished with figures of 1 for 16. After the match he spent time mingling with the crowd and even suggested he would come back next year if a similar game could be organised. Great night for cricket and the TNT Cricket Club.
For the record the Scorchers scored 5 for 150 and the Thunder fell just short on 143.
