GLEN Innes might have lost Sunday’s MA Connolly Cup to Tamworth Colts but it was far from a disappointment.
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The 72-run defeat might have been a little tough to digest after Tamworth Colts only made 182 and Glen Innes replied with 110 but there was plenty to be happy with, losing skipper Ben Lonergan said.
While he’s headed overseas to the United Kingdom soon, Lonergan had nothing but praise for his fellow highlanders.
“It’s been a good season,” Lonergan said after Sunday’s Cup Final.
“Last season we only won one rep game.
“This year we’ve done pretty well.
“We made the quarter- finals of the Country Plate and got beaten at home by Lower Clarence.
“But we did well to get to the final of the Connolly Cup.”
Glen Innes had to play without regular skipper Andrew Sippel on Sunday too.
Shawn Mepham, Nathan Purviss and Perry Stapleton (12no) were the batting mainstays after the side had bowled an incredible 48 wides in Tamworth Colts’ total of 182.
Mepham (3-53), Stapleton (2-32) and Jake Baker (2-21) were best of the bowlers as Tamworth Colts skipper Matt Everett (29), Mitch Holt (28), Adam Pearson (25) and man of the match Ben Semmler (24no) held the Colts’ batting together.
Stapleton’s performance with bat and ball was even more impressive given the fact he is just 14 years of age.
“He’s going to be a very good cricketer,” Lonergan said of the talented young allrounder who was also a part of the Central North Zone Under 16 Bradman Cup squad this season.
“Perry is going to a very good and quick bowler in a few years.”
Stapleton is in Year 10 at Glen Innes High School but lives at Deepwater with his parents.
He’s also a more than handy rugby league player and has a football scholarship from the St George
Dragons.
He has some Group 19 rugby league trials this
weekend.
Back at cricket he’s also been named as one of a few country boys from the region to attend a Country Training Camp at the SCG in Sydney later in the season.
He loves both footy and cricket.
And he hopes to “get quicker”, with the ball that is.
A left-arm medium pace bowler who bowls with good pace at the moment, he also handles the bat well and played a couple of booming drives on Sunday.
He’s also quick on his feet.
“I’m a fullback,” Perry said.
“It was good fun today despite losing. You meet some good blokes.”
