Hard work making Redbacks deadly
THE extra one percenters and gruelling pre-season sessions under new coach Tony Holznagel have Suburban Parks primed to strike back in the race for the Townsville Cricket title.
And they proved it with a bonus-point thumping of Wanderers on the opening weekend of the season.
Holznagel, a club stalwart who was memorably hospitalised earlier this year after a matchwinning performance in the top grade, has taken the coaching reins at the Redbacks this summer.
And he has made an im
mediate impact off the field, with Chris Gartrell adamant he has worked harder than ever before leading into the season.
Gartrell’s work in the nets was evident when he smashed a run-a-ball 46 as the Redbacks chased down Wanderers’ 8-122 inside 31 overs to claim a seven-wicket win.
“(Holznagel) has been really good. Our trainings have stepped up a lot compared to what they used to be so to start the season with seven points is a credit to him,” Gartrell said.
“After today (I have the confidence), we have been putting in a lot of hard work
in training, all the extras Holzy has been getting us to do.”
While his brother Daniel got a start with 26 off 29 at the top of the innings, a lot of the work was left to Gartrell and Jamie Heit (40 not out) who blasted the Redbacks to victory with an unbeaten 88-run stand.
“Every time we are out there together, we are pretty comfortable with each other knowing both of us can hit the ball and take the pressure off the other,” Gartrell said of the partnership.
“We don’t like taking the quick singles, there was a few threes out there which we had
to run which wasn’t great. There should be (laws against that) for the bigger fellas.
“It felt pretty comfortable going in. With the top order, we have spoken about once we get to the 20s or 30s we need to go on with it. A few fellas threw it away at the top but hopefully that will change. There is always something we can work on.
“It is the way we wanted to start. Finish the first game with seven points on the board kicks our season off on a good start.”
Trent Walsh (3 for 21 off 6) did the damage with the ball for the Redbacks causing a major top-order collapse for
Wanderers. After Phil Angel (26) and Kahlem Grabowski (12) had weathered the early storm and forged a 42-run first-wicket stand, Wanderers lost 5-11 to leave their innings in tatters.
A late fighting knock from Grant Dilger (26 off 46) as well as cameos from their tail got the home side to a respectable total, but it always appeared at risk. “I thought the way we kept them to 126 runs was a big win for us on what was a pretty slow deck,” Gartrell said. “With our batting line-up, even if we are chasing 300, we are still pretty confident we’re a big chance of getting the runs.”