Old foes to face off in Coast club battle

COOMERA Hope Island stand-in captain Jimmy Martin will reignite his running battle with Palm Beach Currumbin pace bowler Michael Granger today.

The two heavyweights of their respective Cricket Gold Coast first grade teams are no strangers.

Batsman Martin vividly remembers when Granger sent him to the turf on twice while both were playing in Brisbane.

“He is the quickest bloke I have faced,” Martin admitted. “He sat me on my a... twice in the space of three overs in second grade in Brisbane.

“He is a very quick, very angry red-haired man.”

The two won’t have to wait long to meet when the they play at Oxenford Oval today.

Granger will likely take the new ball while Martin will open the batting in place of Andrew Robinson who is away on holidays.

Both are in form with Martin scoring 62 and 50 from two innings while Granger took 4/15 against Alberton.

“(Granger) has hit the ground running,” Martin said.

“He will have the new ball and I’ll have the job of trying to sort him out. Hopefully he doesn’t embarrass me like he did a few years ago.”

Coomera Hope Island have recorded a win and loss from their opening two games.

They bounced back from a disastrous Round 1 thrashing at the hands of Mudgeeraba Nerang to beat Southport Labrador the following week before having a bye.

Martin conceded a poor attitude cost the side early but said that it may have been a blessing in disguise for the team that has rallied around each other.

“It was more attitude than anything,” Martin said.

“We thought we had so much depth in our batting and everyone just left it up to the next bloke. We spoke about taking ownership after the game. We pulled our heads in.”

This weekend will feature two rounds of competition with Coomera Hope Island to play Broadbeach Robina at Oxenford Oval on Sunday.

Other Round 4 matches today include Broadbeach Robina against Southport Labrador, Helensvale Pacfic Pines taking on Surfers Paradise, Queens battling Runaway Bay and Mudgeeraba Nerang facing Burleigh.

HE SAT ME ON MY A... TWICE IN THE SPACE OF THREE OVERS IN SECOND GRADE IN BRISBANE. HE IS A VERY QUICK, VERY ANGRY RED-HAIRED MAN ... JIMMY MARTIN