Around the Grounds
It has been an action-packed start to the season with First Grade playing T20s, other grades starting two dayers with a bang, the juniors killing it, Women’s first game on Saturday and the Sunshine Coast team with strong Tewantin representation winning a place to the Gabba. Special mention to Adam Graves who peeled off an incredible hundred.
Sunshine Coast Bulls Master Challenge
After two years falling short in the semi-finals the Sunshine Coast team with strong Tewantin-Noosa representation, finally made it to the Gabba. From the outset, this year felt different, with the team having batting depth not seen in previous years.
Cooper Lea and Andy Batten were new additions and proved to be the difference makers immediately bolstering the batting line up and allowing everyone to play with freedom. Andy was the designated finisher, displaying incredible hitting while also keeping unbelievably well on some very tricky wickets and Cooper was arguably the standout in the field, taking multiple difficult catches.
Michael Eckard had a blinder of a tournament narrowly missing out on winning the player of the tournament by one point, with a single catch or run being the difference.
Captain Jarrod Officer and Maroochydore’s Blaine Schloss spent many hours planning and learning from previous trips to outsmart all the other teams. Cricket in Cairns is a completely different challenge but one we were prepared for this year. Thanks also to David Baker who came along as scorer and chief snack provider. Next step the Gabba!
First Grade T20s vs Caboolture and Maroochydore
It was a challenging weekend in the T20s for First Grade, suffering losses to both Caboolture and Maroochydore. The match against Caboolture was closely contested, but key opportunities went unconverted. Against Maroochydore, the side was outplayed across all departments.
Despite the results, there were strong individual performances — most notably from Jacob Dennien, who took seven wickets across the day while managing a leg injury. Positive signs emerged from several younger squad members, with the focus now on building a more complete team performance in the coming weeks.
2nd Grade vs Maroochydore (Day 1)
2nd Grade posted 184 all out on Day 1, led by Ben Claypole (58), Rich Lee (30), and Ben Wilson (22). An early collapse at 4/57 was recovered through strong middle-order batting. Maroochydore closed at 0/30, with Levi Towart bowling well on debut. A competitive day with the match in the balance.
3rd Grade vs Coolum (Day 1)
Batting first on synthetic, 3rd Grade compiled 220, built around a superb 123 from Adam Graves. An incredible knock in his first game of the season. Supporting contributions came from Ron Lewis (20) and Jayke Carlile (14). A late-order collapse prevented further acceleration. Play ended early due to bad light; Coolum to resume next weekend.
U14B vs Maroochydore (Scratch Match)
With Maroochydore unable to field a full side, a scratch match was played. Batting highlights included *Tian (62), *Hugo (23), and Christian (24). Stella impressed with 3/16 in a well-spirited contest.
U12A Thunder vs Yandina (Day 1)
Thunder bowled Yandina out for 90, led by Chris (3 wickets), CJ, and Olly. A sharp catch from Chris and a run-out by Luca shifted momentum. In reply, Thunder reached 82/5, with Eddie (33) and Chris (10) steadying the innings. Leo was also outstanding behind the stumps, conceding just one bye.
U12B Blended vs Palmwoods
Despite a narrow loss, the U12B side showed promising signs. Raf took 3 wickets and nearly claimed a hat-trick, while Ryan bowled economically. A well-rounded team batting effort fell just short by 20 runs.
