Wynnum Manly v Gold Coast Blue
Brisbane Over 40s
15 June 2025 at Homestead Park
A beautiful winter’s day at Homestead Park. So refreshing to see the sun shining.
It was all going swimmingly for Wynnum Manly until a horror spell of 20 balls saw the top order bundled out and the score 4/30 from 7 overs. Rhys Mudford stood out from the carnage, compiling 25 from 33 before falling in the 11th over. It was 6/49 when Harry Stavarakis and Mark Musk came together in the 12th over. The pair combined for 33 from 47 balls before Musk scooped one to mid on in the 20th. At 7/82, things were dire for Wynnum Manly, but they became “direr” when Michael Durbridge (4/31) picked up 2 in an over in the 24th to make it 9/103. A vital 10th wicket partnership between Stavarakis (35) and Prakash Balsara added 23 from 47 balls to set a target of 127.
A wicket to Musk in the first over and tight bowling by Musk and Roy Heath restricted Gold Coast to just 21 runs from the first 7 overs. A wicket to Heath in the 8th followed by a sharp C&B by Manoj Fernando in the 10th reduced Gold Coast to 3/25 and it was 4/31 a few overs later when Ryan Poole accepted an edge off Harry Stavarakis. Opener Adrian Moraes and skipper Jeff Urquhart added 31 in the next 9 overs, but the introduction of Prakash Balsara was the undoing of Urquhart who spooned a full toss to Stavarakis at cover in the 22nd over. Incoming batsman Durbridge smacked his first two balls into and over the boundary to make it 5/72; 55 to get from 13 overs.
A tight over by Stavarakis conceded just a single, then bizarro! Four wickets in eight balls! Three of these came in one over by Prakash including Adrian Moraes for a well-made 45 from 62 balls; Gold Coast reduced to 9/81 with catches to Stavarakis, Mudford and Prakash off his own bowling, then a stumping by Ryan Poole off Craig McKay in over 25. McKay wrapped up the innings in his next over when Stavarakis nabbed his 3rd catch; Wynnum home by 26 runs.