Photo Credit: Queensland Cricket
A pair of emerging stars has swept the major individual awards at last night’s Queensland Cricket Premier Cricket awards dinnerNorthern Suburbs allrounder Nathan McSweeney and Ipswich/Logan batting allrounder Ruth Johnston were awarded the Peter Burge Medal and the Kath Smith Medal respectively at the awards dinner at the Gabba, which also recognised team and individual achievements in the 2020-21 Sci-Fleet Motors Queensland Premier Cricket competition.
McSweeney, who made his first-class debut for Queensland in 2018-19, broke a 20-year drought for his club after proving a dominant force for the Vikings in the Bulls Masters First Grade competition.
He amassed 1175 runs at 65.83 in all formats including Finals this season, where a highlight was his 115 for Norths in a high scoring loss to Redlands in the Final of the Kookaburra One Day competition at Allan Border Field.
It was one of four centuries and four half centuries produced for Norths. He also claimed 40 wickets with his off-spin.
The 22-year-old becomes the first Norths player to win the Peter Burge Medal since 1998-99, when former Bulls and South Australian allrounder Mick Miller took out the award.
Norths were runners-up in the First Grade competition in the one-day and two-day formats, with University of Queensland celebrated for their title win in the decider in March to register a hat-trick of titles.
Norths had better luck in Second Grade, defeating the Sunshine Coast Scorchers for the Alan Pettigrew Shield while in the Norm McMahon Shield, the Gold Coast claimed an exciting win over Norths.
In Fourth Grade, Redlands mustered a comfortable win over University of Queensland to claim the Bob Spence Shield, while in the Roy Tanner Shield, Norths overcame neighbours Toombul to claim the Fifth Grade title.
In Sixth Grade, the WEP Harris Shield was claimed by Redlands which defeated the experienced Valley (2) line-up outright in an exciting clash.
The Kath Smith Medal win caps off a memorable summer for teenager Johnston, who joined her cousin Ellie in the Queensland Fire squad for the latter stages of the team’s successful Women’s National Cricket League campaign.
A product of Dalby and Toowoomba junior cricket, she was the leading runs-scorer for the Ipswich/Logan Hornets this season and finished with 865 runs at 43.25 in all formats in the Katherine Raymont Shield competition.
A hard-hitting top order bat who also bowls off-spin, Johnston was a Queensland Under-18 representative last year.
She was the 2017-18 recipient of the Jodie Fields Young Cricketer Development Scholarship, awarded annually by the former Queensland and Australian captain to young female cricketers to develop their playing careers and further their education.
It is the second time a Hornets player has taken out the Kath Smith Medal, with former Queensland Fire allrounder Jude Coleman successful in 2012-13.
First-time Katherine Raymont Shield premiers Sunshine Coast were celebrated for their feat in winning the competition in their first attempt after being elevated from the Jodie Fields Second Grade Premiership before the start of the summer.
There was also a first-time win for University of Queensland which clinched their maiden Second Grade title, defeating Ipswich/Logan Hornets.
Bulls Masters First Grade – Team of the Year
1. Aryan Jain South Brisbane DCC
2. Max Bryant Gold Coast DCC
3. Nathan McSweeney © Northern Suburbs DCC
4. Sam Heazlett Redlands Tigers CC
5. Sam Truloff Western Suburbs DCC
6. Nathan Rabnott Wynnum-Manly DCC
7. Lachlan Pfeffer (WK) Valley DCC
8. Simon Milenko Redlands Tigers CC
9. Chris Knight Toombul DCC
10. Scott Walter University of Queensland CC
11. Don Whyte Valley DCC
12. Sean Lutter Ipswich Hornets CC
Coach Ken Healy Northern Suburbs DCC
Katherine Raymont Shield – Team of the Year
1. Grace Harris Western Suburbs DCC
2. Georgia Redmayne (WK) Gold Coast DCC
3. Georgia Voll Sandgate-Redcliffe DCC
4. Ellie Johnston © Ipswich Hornets CC
5. Ruth Johnston Ipswich Hornets CC
6. Chelsea Gan Wynnum-Manly/Redlands
7. Tara Wheeler Gold Coast DCC
8. Grace Parsons Gold Coast DCC
9. Holly Ferling Western Suburbs DCC
10. Charlotte Briggs Sunshine Coast CC
11. Ashleigh Sims Western Suburbs DCC
12. Roxanne Thomson Gold Coast DCC
Coach Ashley Renouf Sunshine Coast CC
Other major awards presented on the night were:
STA Most Improved Groundsman Award – Darren Martin (Western Suburbs)
STA First Grade Wicket & Ground – Bill Albury Oval (Wynnum-Manly)
STA Groundsman Award – Chris Hepburn (Redlands)
Bob Spence Trophy (Most improved 21 & under player, Male) – Josh Kann (Gold Coast)
Loretta Moore Trophy (Most improved 21 & under player, Female) – Ashleigh Sims (Western Suburbs)
Umpires
Bob Spence Medal – Ross Howard
Bruce Oxenford Medal – Donovan Koch
The Peter Burge Medal is awarded each season to the best and fairest First Grade cricketer in the Bulls Masters Premier Grade Competition, as listed above, as judged by the first-grade umpires.
The award is named in honour of Peter Burge, widely regarded as Queensland’s finest home-grown batsman. Burge enjoyed a 15-year Sheffield Shield career, scoring 7,627 runs at an average of 56.08, including 24 centuries, in 91 matches. He captained Queensland 29 times. He also played 42 Test matches for Australia, scoring 2,290 runs at 38.16, including four centuries.
The Kath Smith Medal is awarded each season to the best and fairest women’s cricketer playing in Queensland Premier Grade Competition – Women’s First-Grade, known as the Katherine Raymont Shield, as judged by the umpires.
The award is named in honour of Kath Smith, who played six Tests for Australia in the 1930s and was vice-captain of the Australian team that played the very first women’s Test against England at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground in December 1934 and for the two subsequent Test matches played during January 1935 in Sydney and Melbourne.
She was also the vice-captain of the Australian team for the tour to England in 1937, again playing in the three Test matches played.
