Sport
29 November, 2021
Cricketers chasing State honours
TWO Somerset-based young cricketers had a successful time at the recent Queensland School Sport 13-15 Years Girls State Championships at Amberley.
Samantha Bremner was in a grand final winning team for Metropolitan West, while Shari Anderson captained the Sunshine Coast team which had four wins and two losses.
The teams were divided into two pools, with a round-robin competition taking place before the top teams from each pool opposed each other, with the winners progressing to the grand final.
Samantha, who lives in Fernvale and is in grade 8 at the Ipswich-based West Moreton Anglican College (WestMAC), began the championships in style as she took two wickets for one run from two overs in her first outing.
In the third game, Samantha showed her all-round skills as she scored 21 with the bat and claimed 1/9 from two overs.
Having been a Metropolitan West and South-East Queensland representative for five years, and a Southern Blaze representative for two years, Samantha said she hoped to represent Queensland in the future.
In the regular season, Samantha plays for the Ipswich Hornets second division team in the Queensland Premier Cricket women’s competition.
On October 31, she took 5/13 against the University of Queensland team.
Earlier in October, Samantha represented WestMAC in a Street Smart competition run by Queensland Cricket.
The Fernvale resident took a hat-trick on her way to claiming 5/11 in the grand final win over Mackay, and was named player of the grand final.
Shari, who lives in Sandy Creek and is in grade 10 at Kilcoy State High School, not only had the role of captain for the first time but was also a swing bowler and opening batter.
Shari’s mum Lisa said: “She enjoyed motivating the younger players in the team and setting an example of positivity and fun for girls’ cricket, whilst still making decisions on field that led the team to their wins.”
In the regular season, Shari plays for the Sunshine Coast Scorchers women’s team in the Brisbane competition. Half of the Sunday games are played in Brisbane while the other half are played in Maroochydore.
The Sandy Creek resident recently earned first grade selection for Sunshine Coast, and is focused on maintaining a first grade spot although she said she also enjoys playing second grade.
Shari said she looks forward to moving up to the 16-19 years age group for school sport next year.
Samantha and Shari were thankful to Somerset Regional Council for the $100 bursaries awarded under Council’s Community Assistance Grant Policy.
Samantha’s bursary was used to help pay the fees and uniforms for the championships, while Shari’s bursary helped cover the cost of travel every day from Kilcoy to Ipswich.
