Bundaberg will have eight representatives in the Wide Bay team as it attempts to defend the South Queensland Country Open Schaeffer Shield title in Maryborough this weekend, weather permitting, but like last year, they will need big wins in their two matches, and rely on other results to go their way, after similarly to last year, they lost to Darling Downs at the Bulls Masters T20 Country Challenge in Bundaberg last month.
Captain Chris Duff, Michael Loader and Callum Stitt (Waves); Brendan Handley, Josh Winen, Chris Napper and Nathan Van Eekeren (all Norths), and Arden Lankowski (East Bundy Magpies) will fly the Rum City flag in the team, joined by Trent Riddell, Andy Batten, Ashley Sippel and Bryson Mitchell, under coach Simon Gills, also of Bundaberg.
They are scheduled to play Gold Coast and South East Queensland tomorrow and Sunday respectively.
Tonight’s scheduled Aussie Bundy Big Bash clash between Headlands Pies and reigning champions Searle’s RV Centre Vikings was cancelled due to the heavy rain over the past week.
A decision if BCA fixtures can be played will be made tomorrow, but if there is further rain, they could be in severe jeopardy.
All Bundaberg junior cricket for the weekend was called off today.
In the first round of the Rum City Foods Division 1 Premiership two-day fixtures, Waves have already secured first-innings points against Norths, bowling them out for a paltry 31 then being dismissed themselves for 125, before Norths reached 1-93 in their second innings last Saturday.
Norths will be without their four Schaeffer Shield representatives, with Waves missing only Chris and Michael, and if games go ahead, pitches will be tough to bat on, and Norths could struggle to stave off outright defeat.
The Magpies will resume at 0-13 after five overs, chasing Brothers’ 9-290 with 80 overs remaining, and they may need something special to get the points.
Last Sunday, Wide Bay unfortunately bowed out of Lord Taverners One-Day Competition finals contention with a four-wicket penultimate round loss to Sunshine Coast at Salter Oval.
Wide Bay could manage only 115, before the Coast achieved victory with more than 13 overs to spare despite Bundaberg’s Lachlan Heycox removing both their openers cheaply, before returning to add a third scalp and finish with 3-19 from 8.3 overs.
Wide Bay will be playing for pride but face a monumental task when they clash with Western Suburbs, who are second in the South-West Pool, in the last round in Gympie this Sunday.
Organisers will be hoping that the rain clears with Bundaberg to host the School Sport Queensland 12 years and Under Boys Championships at Salter Oval from this Sunday through to Thursday, with all 12 School Sport Regions competing.
Wide Bay are scheduled to play Sunshine Coast in their first match at Salter Oval on Sunday, starting at 9am.
The outstanding performances continued in Bundaberg minor grade and junior fixtures last weekend, including with former seven-times BCA Tallon Medal winner for Division 1 Best and Fairest David Boge turning back the clock with 131 to lay the platform for Brothers for their first win of the season – in any senior grade – against East Magpies in Division 2.
David guided them to 9-245 from their 40 overs, before the Magpies were bowled out for 161, with 16-year-old spinner Karan Singh the main destroyer with 5-28.
It was also a blast from the past as another former Tallon Medallist Brendan Prossliner, who is also only an occasional player these days, also turned it on in an unbeaten 94 in Division 3 as Waves burst Norths’ unbeaten bubble.
Also in Division 3, Will Barritt continued his outstanding all-round form, bagging 5-13 to set Magpies on track to an eight-wicket drubbing of Isis.
The run of centuries also continued in juniors with Corin Driver, whose father Cale was a former Queensland representative soccer football goalkeeper and is now a nationally acclaimed goalkeeping coach, notching an unbeaten 10 as Norths SEI Strikers overpowered YMCA in Junior Cricket 2.
RUGBY
The win-less East Bundaberg Pythons face another tall order in search of their first win of the season when they take on West Barbarians in the Rugby Bundaberg Elders Insurance Spring Cup at Jubilee Park at 6.30pm tomorrow.
The Pythons have not played since 23rd October when they were ambushed 17-10 by Waves Falcons, before forfeiting to two-times defending champions Fraser Coast Mariners, then having the bye last week.
They were beaten by Barbarians 17-0 when they last met on 9th October, and the West men have gone from strength to strength since, including beating Falcons 29-15 last Saturday, and they will take a power of beating again.
Earlier, at 4.30pm, Mariners will be keen to bounce back from their first loss of the season, 29-20 at the hands of Turtles Brothers last week, and they are expected to have too many guns again after accounting for Falcons 26-3 last time they crossed paths.
ATHLETICS
A great night was had by all at the Bundaberg Athletic Club and West Bundaberg Little Athletics at their Coles Community Round last Friday night.
Club president Selina Wynn said their numbers continue to be big with around 150 athletes from Tiny Tots upwards registered and competing every week, with Coles Kensington donating bananas for club members to eat every Friday.
The club was scheduled to conduct their first Club Championship round tonight, but with the program cancelled due to the heavy rain which continues to fall, they will now be held next Friday.
SOFTBALL
After back-to-back wins over Terrors, Bargara Bullets will face a much tougher test when they do battle with Waves Tsunamis in the Coral Coast/Hervey Bay Associations A Grade Ladies League at Brothers Sports Complex tomorrow at 2.20pm.
Tsunamis will be still smarting after surrendering second place on the ladder to them when they were whitewashed by two-times defending premiers Brothers United Firesticks 14-0.
Top of the table Firesticks travel to Hervey Bay to suit up against Terrors.
In the A Grade Men’s Division, Waves Schooners and Maryborough West meet again in a top of the table blockbuster at Brothers at 4.10pm after Schooners beat them 7-4 last Saturday, then doubled up to also turn down Brothers United Heat 10-3 to move into Poll position.
Meanwhile, United Heat will be desperate to post their first win this campaign in their double-header at the Bay against Terrors and Misfits respectively.
HORSE RACING
As of this afternoon, Mt Perry had avoided the heavy rain which has fallen throughout much of the rest of the District, and it was all systems go for their bumper annual Race Meeting tomorrow.
The town held its first race meeting in 1872 and the club and track have withstood the test of time for 149 years, despite seven-year recesses for World War I (1915-21) and World War II (1940-47).
A total of $55,000 prizemoney is up for grabs across five races, all of which have capacity fields of 10 runners, with four of the events having up to five emergencies each, including the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier/Evolution Mining Mt Perry Cup, the last race at 4.25pm.
Top Dalby trainer David Reynolds, who won the Mt Perry Cup in 2018 and 2019, has a good chance again in it with Music Scene, but in a quality field, topweight Destiny’s Own is a last start Kumbia winner, and Mackay raider Ammoudi Bay is also in good form.
But the most interesting runner is Radipole, from the Taroom stables of Rodney Hay, which was bred in Ireland, won races at Chantilly, Bordeaux Le Bouscat, Deauville, and Toulouse in France, before being imported to Australia in 2017, won at Caulfield at his third Australian start, and placed third in the 2018 Ajax Stakes at Rosehill and fourth in the Doncaster Prelude, and ran third behind recent Randwick $2 Million Invitation winner Icebath at Randwick as recently as October last year.
The first event is set down for 1.35pm, while there will also be great interest in the Fashions of the Field with great prizes on offer across a number of categories, the Jocks Plate, Fillies Dash and Kids Scamper, with live entertainment running until late into the night and overnight camping available on course.
GREYHOUNDS
Takura trainer David Plummer claimed a double at this week’s Bundaberg meeting, taking out the Mixed 4th/5th Grade with Little Ripper, which snapped an eight-race losing streak, and he clinched the quinella in the Best 8 with two of the dog’s litter brothers, the ultra-consistent Fogelberg and Easy Eddie.
Three District trainers were also among the winners on the program, Allen Kelly, who took out the Maiden with Slick Velvet on debut, Stephen Bland with 76-race veteran Louisiana Flyer in the Masters 5th Grade, and John White with Bro’s Girl in a 5th Grade Heat.
More sport news: Two days of bowling fun in local competition
