By Casey O'Connor
You know summer is just around the corner when the whites are out of moth balls, pitches prepared and bowlers and batsmen hit the nets.
On Saturday the 2019/2020 Warwick fixtures got underway. The season opened with a replay of the 2019 grand final between Maryvale Condamine and Colts.
Colts got their season off to a flyer. Batting first Colts set the reigning premiers a big target of 280 runs.
The total set up by good batting performances from John Cleary and Jacob Gross. The pair each scored half centuries while Morgan Bourke came close with 49.
Despite Colts impressive score the highlight of the day no doubt belonged to young Keiran Bourke who opened the season with a hat trick. It was the first of his career and came without much of the fanfare normally associated with hat tricks. Bourke dismissed Jacob Gross with the final ball of one over and when he returned to the bowl his next over dismissed the important wicket of John Cleary with his first ball. Wayne Fearby was out LBW with the next delivery and it took a moment before those on field including the bowler himself realised had claimed his first hat trick.
His efforts to make it four wickets from four consecutive deliveries did not go quite to plan. His next delivery was a low full toss that was well wide of the stumps.
Although he despatched two of three of Colts best to the pavilion it was enough to curtail the score.
In reply Maryvale were dismissed cheaply. Rohan Morris top scored with 30 as they fell for only 125 runs. A body blow to Maryvale and early bragging rights to Colts. Augers for another good season.
