Lyons roar but Pfeffer turns tutor
ROOKIE Gold Coast paceman Nathan Lyons starred on a day when Valleys ace Lachlan Pfeffer gave the Dolphins batsmen a lesson.
Pfeffer was hardly deterred by Lyons ripping the heart out of the Valleys top order around him, belting a matchwinning 150 including 22 fours and a maximum to almost singlehandedly account for Gold Coast’s total of 264.
Under threatening skies at Bill Pippen Oval, the visitors passed the target with three wickets in hand.
Cricket fans may be seeing more of Pfeffer in the near future, with the 26-year-old from Beaudesert scoring his maiden Queensland Bulls contract this season and long-time incumbent Chris Hartley retiring.
His mammoth innings was in direct contrast to the Dolphins’ effort the previous weekend.
Though the team recovered well from a shaky start, none of the five Gold Coast batsmen who passed 30 were able to go on with the job with Oscar Richardson’s 60 the top score.
The home side took full advantage of the bowler-friendly conditions on Saturday to reduce Valleys to 4-66 and then 5-91 before Pfeffer and Adam Lockhart-Krause (64 not out) combined for a decisive 142run stand.
In only his second bowl at first grade level, Lyons took the opening four wickets – all caught by keeper Lewin Maladay – to stamp his mark on the Queensland Premier Cricket competition.
The young gun finished the day with 4-86 off 25 overs.
“I was pretty stoked because I only got a crack due to representative selections and a couple of injuries,” Lyons said.
“To get my crack and then do something to hopefully keep that in the selectors’ minds … hopefully I can cement my spot for a bit longer.”
Lyons was well supported by medium-pacer Trent Arnold (2-37 off 12.1 overs) and leggie Dan Doran (1-31 off 18), the latter removing Pfeffer.
Gold Coast’s women’s side suffered an 85-run loss to University of Queensland at Bill Pippen Oval yesterday.
Melissa Lewis (4-39) and Laura Lovett (3-28) helped restrict UQ to 195 but that proved too much for the young Dolphins side.