Unlikely Cats get cream

Broadbeach Robina claims title against the odds

AFTER a week from hell, Broadbeach Robina has claimed the Taper Premier League one-day grand final with a sensational 23-run win over Mudgeeraba Nerang.

Broadbeach took a major hit on Wednesday when club captain Trent Keep became indefinitely ruled out after suffering a concussion injury at training, when a ball accidentally hit the back of his head.

Days later the Cats took another blow, when a disappointing performance led to a round 14 loss against Palm Beach, who lost just three wickets on the way to a winning total of 202.

But just 24 hours later the ladder-leaders pushed aside the week’s disruptions and smashed their way to a stunning victory, led by former Kent cricketer Adam Ball who finished on 79 (94) and 3/32.

“We didn’t have the greatest of preparation, the week before we were 6/88 against Palm Beach and then Trent got injured, and then we ended up losing against Palm Beach on Saturday,” Ball said.

“It wasn’t necessarily the best of preparations but I think it’s been a testament to the club and where we’re at.

“This year we’ve got a squad of 15 players that can all come in and fill a role within the team, and with Trent going out for Sunday’s game we had Keegan Armstrong come in, who was a natural replacement.

“Not having Trent, some might have thought we would fall over and crumble but it was certainly a different story.”

The fill-in captain and former England U19 skipper said the team had grown enormously since he first took the field in October, in what looked to be an “old” side.

“My first couple of weeks, my first initial thoughts were that we were potentially a bit old. We had quite a few older guys and our fielding wasn’t necessarily the best, so I said I wasn’t too fussed on how good we were but if we were going to be any good in the competition we needed to be good on the field.

“Off the back of that, what we changed it to was that we would plug the youth and give the younger guys an opportunity to experience first grade.”

With the experience of Ball and Keep, mixed with fellow Pom Ryan Thorpe, Reece McDonald and Kyle Brockley, Ball said the team’s young guns were able to shine without the pressure to perform.

Dushyant Thaman, who scored 10 from 11 balls and 1/43, and Michael Iffland, who scored 4* from 4, have been lauded as the future of Broadbeach, and are both still under 16 years.

Four rounds remain in the Taper Premier League until semi-finals begin in the lead up to the two-day grand final on March 25.