Hopes for players to give back to cricket

There is no shortage of professional cricketers from Toowoomba.

Brisbane Heat’s Mark Steketee and Brendan Doggett (pictured) are flying the flag for the region in the Big Bash League this year.

Many aspiring players have also moved to Brisbane to play in the premier grade like Jack Carty who scored a Twenty20 ton last weekend for the University of Queensland.

Toowoomba cricket president Angus Rathie said it was a huge coup for the region claiming players like this and he hoped it would also be a boost for grass-roots cricket.

He would like to see players like Carty return to the region in the future to share their experiences of top-grade cricket.

“He might get a job back out in the bush and bring that knowledge back,” he said.

“Brian May is a perfect example of going away then coming back and mentoring the young people.

“Not just his teammates either. It’s also the people who play against him. Everyone learns from that sort of stuff.”

He said players like Brad and Dean Spanner and Russell Dennis were also prime examples of giving back to country cricket.

The Spanners are heavily involved in junior coaching while Dennis brings a wealth of experience as a former Queensland Country selector.

“They put a lot back into the grass-roots part of the game which every sport needs to be strong and flourish and to keep developing players,” Rathie said.

“You don’t have strong state and international sides without strong grass-roots sport.”