QUEANBEYAN will enter the opening round of this year’s 50-over John Gallop Cup competition with plenty of momentum after securing a berth in the final of the Regional Konica T20 Cup last Sunday.
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Queanbeyan had a flawless start to their season last weekend, taking three wins from their three T20 matches, but everything will start from scratch on Saturday when the 50-over tournament gets underway.
The Bluebags will start with an away match against Tuggeranong at Chisholm.
All-rounder Mark Higgs felt that confidence around the group soared after the team enjoyed three convincing wins at home last weekend against North Canberra-Gungahlin, Albury and Ginninderra.
“I think it was just good to win a few games and play well as a team,” he said.
“I think we’ve shown our skills, that we can play that format of the game, and there were some really good performances so it was nice.”
Although the form of cricket Queanbeyan will play changes this weekend, Higgs said there were enough similarities between last week and this week for the team to be able to carry good momentum from their successes.
“It’s not too different. A one-day setup is a one-day setup. Twenty20 is a bit more smash and grab but with one-day cricket… A lot of the plans will be the same,” he said.
“Our batting depth is probably our strength. We’ve got guys who are batting seven or eight who could easily bat three or four.”
Higgs’ presence opening the batting last weekend was certainly felt by Ginninderra, blasting his way to a match-winning 69 from 26 balls.
But Higgs said it was equally important for the young people in the side to be making contributions as well.
“Everyone’s got different roles, everyone plays their own game,” he said.
“The way the young people are brought up these days they’re able to adapt to a different format, whether it be Twenty20, one-dayers or two-day competition.”
Higgs said these young players were a great incentive for him to maintain involvement with the Queanbeyan Cricket Club.
“I think the reason why I came back and played is because there is a good group of young players there, a good nucleus of young people playing good cricket,” he said.
“Last year they played together as a really good tight knit young unit and played some really good cricket. So it’s about continually improving on that.
“We’ve got good kids coming through second grade as well so there’s a good pipeline of young cricketers coming through the club.
“I think we’ll get strong contributions from blokes like Vele [Dukoski], Dean Solway and Henry Hunt. Our big thing will be our contributions from the guys who’ve played a fair bit of first grade now, seeing them come through and really take control of the team.”
