By CHRIS KARAS 

LIGHTNING could strike twice for the all conquering combined Mercy/St Patrick’s College Mackay senior girls cricket team this summer.  

Fresh from their success in the 2021 Queensland Cricket StreetSmarts Secondary Schools Twenty20 State Challenge, the Mercy/St Patrick’s girls are pulling out all stops to bring home back-to-back championship titles. 

As reigning trophy holders, the girls will open their 2022 campaign in a third round fixture with no less than nine members of their State Championship-winning squad back on deck. 

Player of the Final and star top order bat Isabella Sammut plus all rounder Meg Connolly are the only two members of the triumphant 2021 team not returning to the fold. 

Mercy/St Patrick’s were crowned State Twenty20 champions after toppling Toowoomba’s Fairholme College in comprehensive style in Brisbane. 

Talented skipper Meghan McCarthey (St Patrick’s) snared three wickets and Haylee Holdsworth  bagged some spectacular catches to restrict Fairholme to 5-103 in the final. 

Mercy/St Patrick’s (1-107) coasted to victory with Sammut’s classy knock of 65 not out a feature of the innings. 

Having assembled another strong Senior Girls X1 this season comprising ace all rounders McCarthey and Kiana Dunn, Mikaela Penny, Gabby Ipson, Elisha Holdsworth and Haylee Holdsworth, Eeden Thompson and St Patrick’s duo Harriet Bampton and Mackenzie Allen there is plenty of belief amongst the group of retaining the trophy. 

Under the tutelage of Mercy College staff members and Mackay cricket legends Adam Knezevic, Chris Dunn, Angela Beardmore and Patrick Hoare plus the expertise of St Patrick’s duo Eddie Keogh and Doug Beddington the cricket program at both colleges continues to flourish.  

MEANWHILE Mercy College’s Intermediate Girls cricket team opened its 2022 State Twenty20 Challenge campaign with a six wicket victory over Whitsunday Anglican School at the Vigoro Fields in Mackay. 

Promising all rounder Kiana Dunn (45 not out off 39 balls) and Madeleine Searle (15 not out) posted a second wicket stand of 81 to help Mercy (1-87) eclipse Whitsunday Anglican School’s tally of 7-86. 

Matilda Wiggins (2-8 off three overs), Alex Woods (1-10), Dunn (1-20) and Searle (1-22) were the pick of the Mercy bowlers with Jade Gersch (24) top scoring for WAS. 

The Mercy College Intermediate team was: Kiana Dunn, Matilda Wiggins, Madeleine Searle, Tahlia Anderson, Holly Wardrop, Alex Woods, Elisha Holdsworth and Poppy Goodman. 

There was no joy for the Mercy Intermediate Boys X1 who were knocked out of the tournament by Proserpine State High in sensational circumstances. 

Chasing 87 for victory, the Mercy boys squandered their advantage with the bat - collapsing from 3-71 in dramatic fashion by losing an incredible seven wickets for five runs to be rolled for 76. 

Hurricane Haiden smashes sizzling Twenty20 ton 

A SUPERB century by dashing batsman Haiden Mellifont (pictured) has propelled Mercy/St Patrick’s College Senior Boys cricket team into the second round of the 2022 Queensland StreetSmarts Secondary Schools Twenty20 State Challenge. 

The 17 year old master blaster cracked an entertaining 100 off only 34 balls before retiring to help Mercy/St Patrick’s amass an incredible 4-288 against Bowen State High School at Harrup Park. 

Mellifont smashed seven sixes and eleven boundaries during his power-laden knock and shared a quickfire opening stand of 178 – off only 80 deliveries – with team mate Etienne Pretorius. 

The stroke-playing Pretorius thumped 78 runs off 46 balls which included three sixes and nine boundaries before also retiring. 

Another batsman to shine was Liam Zurvas who contributed 26 runs off 12 balls in a mammoth Twenty20 total. 

In reply, Bowen State High were bundled out for a paltry 50 with quicks Jack Muller (3-8 off three), Liam Newbery (3-13 off four), leg spinner Nick Beardmore (1-4 off two), Joel McFarlane (1-0 off one) and Joe Vella (1-1 off one) the chief destroyers. 

Pic captions: Mercy/St Patrick’s College all conquering Senior Girls team that captured the 2021 Queensland StreetSmarts Secondary Schools Twenty 20 Cricket State Challenge title. Standing with team officials Adam Knezevic, Chris Dunn and Angela Beardmore l to r Meghan McCarthey, Mikaela Penny, Gabby Ipson, Elisha Holdsworth, Harriet Bampton, Kiana Dunn; front Haylee Holdsworth, Mackenzie Allen, Eeden Thoimpson, Isabella Sammut and Meg Connolly. 

Talented St Patrick’s opening batsman Haiden Mellifont smashed a superb 100 off only 34 balls in his team’s resounding victory over Bowen State High in the State Secondary Schools Twenty20 Cricket Challenge at Harrup Park.