by Jodi Deuble

Playing in hot and humid conditions on the turf wicket at the Port Douglas Sports complex, the Under 12 Muddies were unfortunate to walk away with a loss to the Atherton Scorpions after putting in a valiant effort at the crease and in the field.

Captain Phoenix Darlington lost the toss and the Muddies were sent out to bat.  Opening batsmen Luke Twomey (1) and Josh Edward (0) faced some very tight bowling by the inform Atherton bowlers, both losing their wickets to catches.  

Nathan Deuble managed a very credible 24 off 17 balls before retiring for the day, leaving brothers Curtis (8) and Connor White (1) to try and put together a partnership, with Curtis hitting a solid 6 over fine leg.
 
Tex McDowall (17) showed some great form at the crease, hitting two boundaries before being caught.  Ashton Davenport (9 n.o.) also showed improvement, hitting his first ever 6 in front of an excited home crowd.  

The ever-reliable Vincent Killeen did a great job protecting his wicket and adding to the total, retiring on 20 off 15 balls, while Ryan Stanaway (2) gave it his best shot, facing a barrage of wides and no balls from the opposing bowlers, before being run out.

Ryan Doble (7) looked comfortable at the crease, getting himself a boundary, before a ball by Muddies' Nick Raynor (1/8), subbing in the Atherton team, snuck past him to take the bales.  

Reuben Allison (1) was also unlucky to be bowled out leaving the younger Muddies' Scott Cooper (0 n.o.), Xander Darlington (0 n.o.) and Phoenix Darlington (1 n.o.) to bat out the remaining overs, leaving the Scorpions with a total of 130 to catch.

Davenport (0/11) and Doble (1/12) opened the Muddies' bowling with Doble effecting a caught and bowled to get Atherton’s first wicket.  Curtis White (1/11) followed up with a wicket in his first over, and then Stanaway (1/14) picked up a valuable Atherton wicket thanks to a catch by Deuble in gully.  

Wicketkeeper Cooper also contributed to the great fielding with a catch off Twomey’s bowling, leaving Twomey with impressive figures of 1/2.

Xander Darlington (0/11) continues to show marked improvement with his bowling, as does Cooper (0/10).  McDowall (1/7) topped off his great day with a caught and bowled wicket, while Allison showed why he is one of the Muddies' most consistent bowlers, finishing with a wicket (1/7).  

Josh Edwards (0/12) also found some great form with the ball on the turf wicket. Killeen (2/6) ended Nick Raynor’s (17) great innings for Atherton, with Doble taking the catch at square leg.  Nick’s innings also saw him find the boundary three times.  

Deuble (1/1) is showing some in form bowling, taking another caught and bowled wicket giving him a wicket maiden over.  Connor White (0/29) and Phoenix Darlington (0/3) rounded out the bowling for the day, Atherton proving too strong at the end, passing the Muddies total to win by 14 runs.

It has been a busy few weekends for some of our Junior Muddies who have been asked to represent the Douglas region in a combined Barron/Mulgrave/Douglas team at Cricket Far North’s Lord Taverner’s Cup.  

Held in Tolga over three consecutive Sundays (9 – 23 February), this competition is a 50 over format, and includes teams from across the Far North region, including Tablelands, Cairns and Innisfail.  

For some of our Junior Muddies, this is the first time they have experienced playing 50 over games, and from all reports, they are doing themselves proud.

Representatives  
U11s – Ryan Stanaway,  Josh Edwards, Vincent Killeen, Nick Raynor, Ashton Davenport, Luke     Twomey.
U12s – Ryan Doble, Nathan Deuble, Reuben Allison, Tex Mc Dowall, Daniel Davidson
U13s- Levi Trewick, Keel Sorensen