University finding momentum
CRICKET: University and Metropolitan-Easts are set for a second day showdown with a TCI A-grade finals spot firmly on the line.
With University sitting in fourth and needing a win to keep their season alive, they came out with clear intent at USQ on the first day of their round seven clash.
Their bowlers tore through the top order of the Trojans, leaving them in a tough predicament at 6/69.
A total wipe-out was saved with the efforts of Pieter van der Kooij (53 runs) and Rukshan Mahendraraj (27), helping them to a defendable total of 162.
University had to bat out the remainder of the day, with Mets claiming two key scalps to leave them under the pump at 2/15.
Highfields-Railways will have a clear target when they resume play on Saturday.
In a similar position to Uni, the Bulldogs need a result against Northern Brothers Diggers to keep their slim hopes of a finals berth alive.
Nathan Case (42) and Ben Woolacott (54) were the catalysts for the Bulldogs, who were dismissed for 196.
Kane Bradford (4/46) and Kris Glass (2/31) were the pick of the bowlers.
Diggers had to manage just two overs to close out the day, to finish the session at 0/4.
The final game of the weekend at Middle Ridge Park saw Western Districts assert their dominance over a young Southern Districts side.
The Warriors opted to bat, and has so often been the case throughout the season, Sam Neale was again the driving force behind another strong total.
The 17-year-old scored his third century of the summer, belting 15 boundaries on his way to 126 runs from 110 deliveries.
Brian May added 61 to the cause, with Western Districts declaring their innings at 4/235.
In response, Souths had a tough time of it, with a pair of wickets to Shaun McCarthy restricting the Magpies to 2/34 at the end of the day.
Sam Healy remained unbeaten on 17. GRAMMAR GOES DOWN FIGHTING IN IPS
WICH
In the GPS cricket competition, Toowoomba Grammar suffered its first defeat of the season, going down to Ipswich Grammar School by four wickets.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, Grammar had the worst possible start with the cheap dismissal of Harry Meiklejohn for a duck.
That brought Mitch Doolan to the crease, who continued his scintillating form with the bat as he went on to top score with 102.
A few others around him got starts, but nobody was able to go on with it, with Grammar finishing their 50 overs at 9/221.
As Ipswich sauntered through their run chase, Doolan again kept things tight, taking 1/26 from his 10 overs.
Toowoomba Grammar looked to be on top after Dan Brown (2/49) trapped Jacob Anderson lbw to leave them at 6/182 with five overs remaining.
Ipswich was able to close it out with six balls to spare to hand Toowoomba its first loss of 2020.