Cricket Finals Christen New Arena

Last weekend saw the men’s grade cricket finals bring the 2022/23 season to a close, headlined by Magpies going two from two at the freshly opened Great Barrier Reef Arena.

The first grade Magpies celebrated their Poole Cup premiership, toppling favourites Walkerston after winning the Twenty20 Shootout final earlier in the year.

After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Magpies registered 8-196 off their 40 overs with impressive contributions from Andrew Borg (50), Mathew Borg (27), Jaxn Sign (24), Ben Zurvas (23) and Isaac Borg (18 not out).

Adam Knezevic and Liam Newbery took two scalps each for Walkerston with Neil Gustavson and Chris McEldowney taking one each.

In reply, Walkerston were bundled out for 126 in the 36th over with Isaac Borg the chief destroyer finishing with four wickets, supported by Liam Zurvas, Andrew Borg and Adam Zurvas taking one wicket each.

There were solid batting performances from Tom Vandenberg (22), Sam Vassallo (20), Luke Jackson (20), Chris McEldowney (17) and Riley Jackson (16 not out) but to no avail as the perennial champions succumbed under lights.

Off spinner Isaac Borg was crowned player of the match after bagging the superb figures of 4/14 off eight overs and hitting 18 not out in an unbroken stand of 19 with Liam Zurvas (8 not out).

Meanwhile, the second grade DBCT Cup final between Brothers and Norths proved to be a quick-finishing affair.

Brothers won the toss and elected to bat, with opener Ian Kelly starring (58) alongside second drop Lucas Tomerini (40).

No other batsman scored above five runs, seeing Brothers bowled out for 115 off 28 overs.

Norths’ Josh Jones shone with the ball, taking five wickets alongside Aaron Durelli with three and Lachlan Brett with two.

Norths made quick work of the run chase, achieving the total in 15.2 overs with the loss of three wickets.

Russel Counsell led the way with 68 with help from Jack Lyons (11) and Shawn Day (10 not out).

Jack Muller and Harrison Kelly took a wicket each for Brothers in the unsuccessful defence of their total.

On Sunday, Souths Sharks and Pinnacle took to Great Barrier Reef Arena vying for the third grade One Day Shield.

Souths batted first after winning the toss, getting bowled out in the 33rd over for 108 runs thanks to Ashish Rana (20), Varinderpal Singh (17) and Chirag Mitra (15).

Wickets were shared across Matthew Boyd and Damien Russell with three each, Adam Hughes with two and Justin Teys and Albert Jeffs with one each.

Damien Russell led the chase for Pinnacle with 32 alongside John Gauci (19) and Brodie Lyon (12), chasing down the total with three balls and one wicket to spare in a nail-biting finish.

Muhammad Wahab led Souths’ defence with three wickets with assistance from Arun Chandrasekar, Sarajpal Singh, Iqbal Singh and Chirag Mitra with one each.

Saturday’s Fourth grade final between Pinnacle and Eastern Swans at Pinnacle resulted in a resounding win by the visitors.

Winning the toss, Swans elected to bat and finished their allocated 35 overs on 9/154 thanks to contributions from Kerrod Morris (43), Terry Bailey (29) and Brodie McCormac-Black (25 not out).

Kulwinder Singh led with the ball for Pinnacle, taking four wickets with Gupreet Sarao taking two and Akhil Devarpalli and Ashley Fry taking one each.

Pinnacle were unable to build any momentum in the run chase, losing their ten wickets in 25.3 overs for 62 runs, with Kulwinder Singh’s 14 the only double digits contribution.

Four wickets each to David Manning and Brodie McCormac-Black ensured the Swans victory, with Rocklyn Miller and Terry Bailey also taking on each.

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