Day 1

Under 14s had their first game against Gold Coast and couldnt get away to a better start with taking a wicket off the first ball. From there we weren’t able to consistently execute our bowling plans, one Gold Coast player cashed in hitting 159. Emile 1 for 23 off 8 and Yumeth 1 for 30 off 10 both were fantastic with the ball. Once we came out to bat we were in early trouble at 2 for 8. Jackson and Toby then worked to settle the innings however regular loss of wickets when trying to push the run rate meant we weren’t in the game. Cody and Yumeth put on a strong unbeaten partnership with Cody finishing on 58 not out to go along with his 3 wickets.

Plenty to work on for the remaining games but also plenty of positives with the team able to bat the full 50 overs which was a first for this team and only losing 6 wickets.

Day 2

Today we faced Darling Downs. We batted first and whilst the top order batted time runs didn’t come easy. We had some good partnerships during the innings however we weren’t able to capitalise and were bowled out for 109. With the slower outfield we were optimistic about our chances and we had Darling Downs 4 for 32 and on top. Unfortunately missed opportunities, some drop catches and not bowling to our plans cost us the game.

We unfortunately can’t make the finals but looking forward to the opportunity to finish the carnival on a positive note.

Day 3

We had a tough game against MSW today. We fielded first and asked our bowlers to be more consistent then the first day. I am pleased to report that the bowling and fielding today was much better. Unfortunately the batting from MSW was also exceptional as we werent able to take regular wickets and they were able to keep the run rate ticking over. Our death bowling was also good however they were still able to post a total over 200. Unfortunately we had our worse day for batting. Few batters spent time in the middle but weren’t able to tick the scoreboard over as we would have liked. Once MSW spinners came on it slowed the run rate further and loss of wickets meant we were never in the contest. Batting and bowling plans will be a main focus for these last 2 x days to continue developing the players.

Main highlight today was that we were able to affect 3 x run outs through our fielding.

Day 4

We took on Wide Bay today. The boys batted first with the top order getting us off to a good start reaching 1 for 63 including a 50 run partnership between Aiden and Jackson. Aiden top scored with 45 and Cody made another contribution of 26 meaning we reached 151 today.

On a slow wicket it left us with a great opportunity to gwy our first win. Unfortunately we were slightly off with our bowling and fielding with dropped catches and miss run out opportunities. Malcolm started well with the new ball.

Tomorrow we play SEQ looking to finish strong.

Day 5 Final Round

Today we played SEQ in our final match. We won the toss and batted first. The boys enjoyed a great batting performance throughout the innings with a true team batting performance. Special shoutout to Euan hitting his first 50. In the 40 overs we were able to post 150.

We asked the boys for one final push from the fielders and bowlers which they delivered. All bowlers bowled to the game plan and fielders were active throughout the innings. SEQ need a run a ball for the last 4 overs with the player of the tournament still in. As we did all day our death bowlers, Emile and Euan (spud) bowled to our plans and we were able to bowl SEQ out in the final over 12 short of our total. The last wicket a caught and bowl from Emile sealing the win.

This is the first win in 3 x years for the team. Through the hard times this week they listened to the feedback and were able to execute today. All the coaching staff and parents were so proud of the kids. As it was a true team performance.