New era dawns in state cricket

COUNTRY cricket supremo Kev Maher says a young Queensland team could usher in a new era of dominance for the state with a win in the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield final.

A come-from-behind win against NSW on Saturday sealed hosting rights for the Bulls for the decider, which starts on Friday against Tasmania at Allan Border Field.

Maher said while reaching the final in itself was a massive achievement let alone finishing well on top, he was excited to see such a youthful side getting it done and every member of the team chipping in.

The team that beat NSW had an average age of 24, while adding 33-year-old country cricket cult hero Luke Feldman would raise it to 25.

In each of their past two matches – Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne and Charlie Hemphrey – have 100-plus scores, while the wickets have been shared around between the young guns and warhorse Feldman all season.

Queensland Country Cricket president Maher said it all pointed towards the potential for a Sheffield Shield win, which could reassert the dominance Queensland enjoyed particularly from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s.

“They’d have seen them in the great years Queensland had, but this might be the start of another really good era,” he said.

“If they can win it, it’s going to give them a lot of confidence and it could set Queensland up to win quite a few in a row.

“These fellas are largely a BUOYANT: Kev Maher is excited for the Sheffield Shield final. bunch of unknowns. Players like Labuschagne, people say: ‘Well who the hell is that” and Wildermuth, what a good cricketer he is.

“So this could usher in a new era for Queensland Cricket. They’re well-placed now to win because they’re at home and Allan Border Field is pretty much a batting paradise, so if they can get in, get set and get some big first innings runs, they should be right.”

Maher was hopeful the Far North flavour would be retained with former Mulgrave and Innisfail bowler Feldman likely to return for the final after missing the last homeand-away game.

“I think they just rested him in that game. He’ll be back. It will be tremendous if he can get stuck in there, because he’s had a pretty good year,” he said.

Joe Burns, who has family links to the Far North, is the only surviving member of the Bulls’ last Shield win, while Feldman was 12th man, also against Tasmania in 2011-12.