The local cricket scene is gearing up for an electrifying showdown as Australia A Men and New Zealand A Men prepare to battle it out in a thrilling series. The highly anticipated competition will feature two four-day fixtures and three one-day matches, with two of the games set to take place at the newly redeveloped Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay this September.

The impressive $25.1 million project at Harrup Park has solidified Mackay's status as a premier cricket destination. With a new covered grandstand, top-notch facilities for players, match officials, and broadcast TV crews, as well as a capacity to accommodate up to 10,000 spectators, the revamped venue has confirmed Mackay’s place as a national destination for cricket.

Fans at the Great Barrier Reef Arena will witness a captivating day-night pink-ball match during the second four-day fixture, taking place from September 4th to 7th, 2023. Following that, on September 10th, fans will be treated to an intense one-day game at the same venue.

The upcoming series holds immense significance for players, as it offers them an opportunity to showcase their talents and compete for national selection in the highly anticipated 2023-24 summer of cricket.

Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager of High Performance & National Teams, Ben Oliver, highlighted the strategic importance of Australia A and National Under-19 opportunities. He stated, "Developing and extending our next tier of players is one of our highest priorities."

Terry Doolan, Chairman of the Harrup Park Country Club and Mackay Cricket Association, expressed his gratitude towards Cricket Australia for their unwavering support.

Doolan emphasised the local impact of hosting top-level matches at the Great Barrier Reef Arena, stating, "It will inspire participation, celebrate community, and promote the world-renowned natural wonders Mackay has to offer."

AUSTRALIA A V NEW ZEALAND A FIXTURES  

Monday 28 - Thursday 31 August, 2023, Allan Border Field

Monday 4 - Thursday 7 September, 2023 (D/N), Great Barrier Reef Arena

Sunday, 10 September 2023, Great Barrier Reef Arena

Wednesday, 13 September 2023 (D/N), Allan Border Field

Friday, 15 September 2023, Allan Border Field

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Whitsunday Sea Eagles hosted the first of two Indigenous Rounds on Saturday where Ngaro elders spent time with Junior teams.

All Sea Eagles teams took on Eastern Swans decked out in Indigenous guernseys created in conjunction with Ngaro people.

Thanks to Leo and Mark for their Welcome to Country and for taking time to celebrate our unique Australian culture with the Sea Eagles.

In a fiery clash against the ladder leaders the Sea Eagles Senior Men matched the physicality of the Swans throughout their match with scores even at first break.

Sea Eagles came out hard in the second with missed opportunities keeping Swans in the match. Swans hit the ground running in the third lifting their pressure around the ground leaving Sea Eagles trailing by 5 points headed into the last term.

Sea Eagles wanted it more and started taking control of play around the ground with the home crowd bringing them in winners 60 – 54 in a close entertaining match.

Sea Eagles Senior Women showed great commitment to each other against a full side of Swans who were able to keep up to Sea Eagles for the first half.

Sea Eagles rallied in the second half to put on a solid lead coming into the final term and after a gutsy effort without a break Sea Eagles won the day 42 – 30.

Under 17s took on the Swarks putting them through their paces and coming away with a 50-point win 69 – 19 remaining undefeated so far this season.

Sea Eagles fielded a full team of Under 14s enabling them to link well together for their best game this season winning 66 – 6 (adj).

Under 12s Sea Eagles were valiant against the undefeated competition frontrunning Swans going down 27 – 36 in a close game.

This Saturday May 27 Indigenous Round 2 sees further celebrations at Whitsunday Sea Eagles home ground Whitsunday Sportspark at 1.30pm prior to the Senior Womens and Mens matches against the Hawks.

Come down and be part of the fun with Sea Eagles Juniors from 10:40am and Seniors from 1:50pm.

Contributed by Whitsunday Sea Eagles

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The Whitsunday Premier Women’s side put on another dominating performance with a 9-1 win over City Brothers in front of a home crowd.

The midfield once again directed the play with Lena and Laura instrumental in the centre, and Eva and Akema creating numerous chances through their runs down the sides.

In the forwards, Willow and Steph were a constant worry for the City defence with their attacking runs and shots.

Goal scorers were Willow with a hat-trick, two to Lena and one each to Eva, Bre, Steph and Akema.

The Premier Reserves came out strong against Brothers, however a defensive error saw the visitors score the first goal.

Shortly afterwards, a corner kick from Dani was finished with a beautiful header from Steph to equalise the score.

A penalty taken by Robyn in the second half gave us a 2-1 lead but relentless pressure from Brothers saw them score another goal in the 80th minute the final score being a draw 2-2.

The ladies would like to thank all of the supporters who came down last night to cheer them on.

Happy female football week!

The Div1 Men also put on a spectacular win in front of a boisterous home crowd.

The home side started well, controlling the majority of the game, and hit the front at the 30-minute mark with a brilliant first-time finish by Riley O'Grady.

A defensive error early in the second half allowed Magpies back in the game but it was one way traffic as their lack of substitutes told.

Two goals followed from Ian Wilson and Aaron Morgan before a quick-fire hat trick from Tate Butler sealed a comfortable 6-1 win.

The youth sides struggled against Lions.

The U13 Prems put up a good fight against their unbeaten opponents, however, after a close first half, Lions ran away with the game 8-0.

U15 Div1 were unlucky after another brave and solid performance.

The U15 Prems also went down to Lions after a tough game.

The home team continued to battle but eventually went down 3 goals to 1 in a much-improved performance in front of their home fans.

Jack Robertson once again was solid in goals, whilst Luka Miller and Finlay Farrell worked tirelessly.

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The 2023 Whitsunday Women’s Squad with a big win. Photo supplied

Rising stars and Whitsunday residents Max O’Keefe, Reef Peel, Freddie Hazleton, and Corey Stroud recently represented Australia on behalf of the Australian Futsal Association on a two-week tour of the UK, returning just last week.

The boys were selected to represent their country in an action-packed tour of the UK on the back of their performance for Northern Queensland at the Australian Futsal Association (AFA) National Schools Futsal Championships in Brisbane last year.

Representing Australia U14 Boys the Whitsunday’s youngsters had the experience of a lifetime as they played competitive Futsal games in Scotland, England, and Wales.

The tour highlights included – competing in the Scossie Cup in Edinburgh, where Australian black team (featured) made it to the semi-finals, playing games against very strong sports academy teams in Peterborough and winning the Roy Miller Cup in Wrexham (Wales).

As well as all the tournaments and games the boys also experienced a range of training sessions with different overseas coaches, they watched live professional Football games (Scottish Premier League and English Championship League), they toured the home grounds of Manchester United and Liverpool FC and visited the sights of London.

The boys will once again take to the court with their school team from St Catherine’s Catholic College when they represent Northern Queensland in the AFA National Schools Championships 2023 at the Nissan Arena in Brisbane.

Contributed with thanks to Joscelyn O’Keefe

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Corey Stroud with the Australian Yellow

Max O’Keefe, Reef Peel and Freddie Hazleton with Australia Black. Photos supplied

As the mornings and evenings get colder and the days are still warm, we are just so lucky to live in this beautiful place in the world and our little bowling club just seems to get better and achieve more goals every week.

On Tuesday Ladies Day attracted 17 bowlers and Joan McGrat, Tina Schubert, Lynne Skeen, Dawn Dowell, Tony Whitehorn, Lane Telford, Pam Collins, and Di Dobbins with Di Jackson whose improvement is notable by all her peers, everyone bowled well.

Wednesdays Jackpot Bowls saw Tony Kelly’s team win everything with Graham Cowling and John Brown at lead and to cap off a huge day John also won the prestigious Health Hub award.

Tuesday also saw Betty Nicole and Carol Crosbie beat Karen Jensen and Vicki Spann in a nail-biting game to progress to the finals.

The second last weekend of the men’s Pennant Teams saw our Division One team win all three games on Saturday at home against Serena but lost to the very strong South Suburban team 2 games to one on Sunday and they will finish near the top of the ladder.

Division 4 won on both days against Mackay and Serena on Sunday and could easily win their division as can Division 5 with a win on Saturday and winning the points on Sunday as well with Rick Brunnell showing he still has all the skills.

Division 6 went down to Mackay on Saturday and also won on Sunday at home to RSL Mackay and unearthing a new talent in 14-year-old James Hou whom has only been learning for a month but bowled brilliantly on both days, as did David Meiklejohn with his hours of practice paying off.

The Ladies Pennants will begin next week, and the school’s competition is getting stronger each week with St Catherine’s school and the Christian College, all challenging whom will represent their school in the finals in Brisbane later on this year.

We have an abundance of talented students competing.

Lastly our Bar Manager Fiona Greener works tirelessly and makes the most delicious sandwiches for all to enjoy.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson

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John Askew who broke Rick Brunnell’s record of officiating at the club’s championships of singles, doubles triples and fours.

Mixed Pairs: Jeff Tierney, Steve Roome, Mark Rogers, and Tiarna Rogers.

Club Pairs: Gavin Charles, Brett Lampard, Peter Bruce, and Daryl Tuttle.

Sunday Social Bowls: Lloyd White, Jeff Tierney, and David Moodie were the winning team.

Wednesday Social: MaryEllen Pratten, Gavin Charles, Steve Roome, Ron Gould, Robyn Stitt, and Jeff Tierney.

Joan Edwards, Mark Rogers, Ian Best, Bev Smith, Peter, and Tiarna Rogers.

Peter Wilson, Jane Gilbert, Eddy Neylon, Lorraine McCarthur, Tracy Roach, and Peter Bruce. Peter, Sue, Daryl, Daryl, Helen, and Ross.

Winning team was Jan Randell, Dennis Roberts, and Carol.

Next weekend the club is hosting the mens Red Pennants.

Good bowling to them all.

Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards

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The Sunday Social Bowls winning team

We are on the final straights for this year's Pennants Competitions with only next weekend's matches still to be played.

In Division 1 teams played two really fabulous matches this last weekend.  

On Saturday they took on the powerhouse that is Souths Suburban on their home green.  

Proserpine won two rinks but went down on the overall score 56 - 58.  

On Sunday Proserpine played North Mackay at Proserpine.

Proserpine got a really good start, but North Mackay came back firing for what ended up a real tussle of wills.

Once again Proserpine won two rinks but went down on the overall score by just one shot being defeated 65-66.

Division 5 has a win on Saturday playing St Helens at Proserpine.  

Winning one of the two rinks and the total score 45 - 33.  

Sunday the team travelled to Wests Tigers and were given an exhibition of the Wests Tigers experience on their green losing 21 - 60.

This coming weekend Division 1 has a double header away playing at Sarina on Saturday and Northern Beaches on Sunday.  

Division 5 have a double header at home playing against North Mackay on Saturday and Souths Suburban on Sunday.  

Teams will be announced when available.

Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown

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Arthur Griffith showing plenty of style and determination in his game on Sunday afternoon.

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Tuesday’s results: Winners for the afternoon were Greg Pembroke and Penny Warren, defeating Marie Nesbitt Geoff Danvers.

Others Gwenda Lydom, Irene Laird, and Linda Smith defeated Bron Tolcher, and Hans Peter Nesbitt.

Deb Retchless, Sue Shearing, and Allan Rolfe defeated Tracey Stanford, Merle Elphinstone, and Greg Colquhoun.

Mandy Anderson, Robyn Stitt, and Steve Roome defeated Ivan Smith, Lorraine Knight, and Lyn Danvers.

The jackpot didn’t go off.

Ladies Competition: Crooked Kitty Teresa Willshire defeated Deb Retchless.

Winners for Sunday: Toni Bowen, Isobel Wheeler, and Jason Wright defeated Bron Tolcher, Maureen Hyde, and Mark Drummond.

Laurie Land, and Fely Duncan defeated Linda Scells, and Ron Hyde.

Merle Elphinstone, Penny Warren, and Kevin Jewell defeated Deb Retchless, Lorraine Knight, and Graeme Read.

Marie Nesbitt, Sue Shearing, and Geoff Danvers defeated John Hayson, Greg Pembroke, and Allan Rolfe.

Robyn Stitt, Lyn Danvers, and Greg Colquhoun defeated Kennedy Whitton, Peter Nesbitt, and Gwenda Lydom.

The jackpot didn’t go off.

Men’s Red Pennant will be held in Bowen at both Wangaratta and BBC starting Friday.

Best of luck to our men playing. Therefore, there will be no social play next weekend.

Contributed with thanks to Penny Warren

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Winners on Tuesday: Greg Pembroke Penny Warren with Vice President Irene Laird

Round 9 of Premier League darts began this week with a tasty encounter between last year’s champion Dom Friend, and Joe Wilson who is currently sitting in 2nd place going into today, but with a chance to go joint top with a win here.

Dom started the match in brutal fashion, averaging just shy of 90 to take a 1 nil lead over his opponent.

Joe could have wilted after such a savage start to the match, but to his credit, he came right back into it, taking the next 3 legs to love.

Surprisingly, it was Dom who was looking a little shaky of the two players after such an impressive opening leg, and Joe took full advantage by stretching his lead out to 5/1.

It looked all but over, but Dom, as all good champions do, showed a lot of fight, winning the next 3 legs to make it 5/4, but unfortunately for him, that was as good as it was going to get, as he left himself with just a little too much to do in the end.

Joe deservedly winning the match 7/4, to go joint top of the league.

There were 4 other matches on Sunday at the Airlie Bowls Club.

Andy Peel got his second win of the year over bottom placed Hawkeye Rick by 7/0, Jamie Maher and Arthur McMinn joined Dom Friend in 3rd place on the ladder with 11 points after they recorded 7/1 and 7/3 wins over Seumas Rose and Kameron Reason respectively.

And Dom Friend defeated Seumas Rose by 7 legs to 2 in a round 5 catch up match to round out all the day’s action.

Thank you to our sponsors Mika Airlie, Whitsunday Tattooing Airlie Beach, and Master Butchers Whitsundays.

Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher

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Joe Wilson in action at the Bowls Club on Sunday morning

Wednesday’s competition was a single stableford event for the men and an eclectic for the ladies sponsored by Bowen Golf Club.

Ladies’ winner on a countback was Kim Bennion 31 nett, Runner up Janice Bates 31 nett.  

Mens winner Lee Tiller 40pts, runner up Neil Steicke 39pts.

Saturday was a 4 ball aggregate medley stableford sponsored by LiveLife Pharmacy.  

Thank you for your continued support of our club.

Winners with a great score of 75pts were Elona Lynch and Morag Parker, 2nd place on a countback Ben Bon and Brett Richards 70pts, 3rd place Kaleb Brunker and Joshua Fraser 70pts.

LiveLife Pharmacy also had prizes for individual winners with Elona Lynch winning the individual ladies event with a great score of 45pts and Lee Tiller winning the Mens's with 39pts.  

Pin shots to Greg Carlyon, Geoff Fellows, Dwayne Bartlett, John Brown, Pauline Martin, Jacquie Miller, Debbie Breeze.  K

evin Cross and Craig Newell both had an OBP and Gordon Haslberger had an Eagle.

This weekend's competition is a single stableford sponsored by Bowen Sportspower.  

Don't forget to check the club's Facebook page for this week’s dinner specials.

Joker is worth $3000.  

Contributed with thanks to Grace Nott

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LiveLife Pharmacy winners - Elona Lynch & Morag Parker

24 players in the Tuesday Stableford, with Laurie Dakin in form to wins the Men’s competition, with Gary Scotford a close 2nd and Trish McNeill winning the Ladies.

Tiina Randmae secured 2nd place. Elspeth Scotford cleaned up on the NTP’s.

Jenny Hounsell was the winner of Marlene Gray’s Wednesday Stableford with 43 pts, Trish McNeill in 2nd place on 37 pts, Anna Winterbourn claimed 3rd place with 34 pts.

Noelene Spurway, Robyn Whitham and Di Chard were the NTP winners.

Thursday Men’s Competition Division 1 winner with an excellent 66 nett was Ross Tong, followed by Troy Smith on 68 nett and Ritchie Atkins in 3rd place on 69 nett.

Division 2 winner was Chris Pham on 66 nett also, followed by Ken Lovett and Barry Shuwalow both on 71 nett.

The Ladies Competition was won by Janelle Ernst of Tropics Golf Club followed by Lyn Muller.

NTP winners: Phil Luckett, Chris Brett, Brian Smith, Allen Roberts, and Trish McNeill.

The Met 9 Hole Run on Friday was won by Brent Franke with 21 pts, Karlene Lloyd played well for 19 pts beating Ross Tong on a countback for 2nd place.

Cameron Mutch and Ryan Kenny were the NTP winners.

Ross Tong continued his good form to win the Division 1 men’s competition with 67 nett, beating Brent Franke on a countback.

Andrew Colborne won 3rd place with 69 nett. Division 2 was won by Vic Feldman on 65 nett, with Ned Davies on 71 nett and Barry Mortimer on 72 nett.

Tina Badenhorst played well to win the Ladies with 69 nett, closely followed by Trish McNeill on 70 nett and 3rd place went to Pauline Redpath on 74 nett.

NTP winners were: Tiina Randmae, Di Chard, Rob Stanley, Scott Milne, Andrew Colborne, and Vic Feldman.

Sunday’s competition was won by Lenny Booroff with a very nice 40 pts, followed by Renae Maxwell on 38 pts and in 3rd place was Peta Thomas on 36 pts.

No one managed to hit the greens to win a pin shot.

Contributed with thanks to the Pro Shop Team at the Proserpine Golf Club

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37 players took to the course last Tuesday.  

Good to see a great turnout on a such a beautiful day.

There were some terrific scores, Trevor Paroz taking out the men's with 39, followed by Laurie Dakin on 38 and Gary Scotford on 36.  

Mandy Patterson was the ladies winner with 36, Tiina Randmae on 32 and Leanne Alexander on 31.  

Pin shots went to Barry Mortimer and 3 B graders who had it in the hole - Barry Shuwalow, Wilf Herweg and Harry Milne on the 2nd.

Vic Feldman (also in the hole) and Laurie Dakin on the 13th, and Geoff Harrison and Barry Shuwalow on the 16th.

The ladies, Lyn Muller and Tiina Randmae on the 2nd, Elspeth Scotford and Paula McQuat, both in the hole for a birdie, on the 13th.  

Mandy Patterson and Tiina Randmae on the 16th.

There will be no Vets competition next Tuesday.

Contributed with thanks to Paula McQuat

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Trevor Paroz and Mandy Patterson

This week’s 9-hole stableford competition was won by Terry Kimpton on 23 pts, second was Glenn Rees with 22 pts and third place going to Dee Norman with 20 pts.

A terrific job by all.

On Friday our 9-hole stableford prawn run was our newest member Donovan Pettiford taking the win with 23 pts, second Tim Walton on 20 pts and third Glenn Rees with 19 pts.

Our Sunday skins 18 holes competition Jake Day taking the win on 39 pts, second was Deeray Fo’ou on a 36 c/b and third Donovan Pettiford with 36 pts.

Nearest the pin was Adam Singleton and Perri Simpson.

This Sunday 28th May will be our 18 hole (Stroke) Monthly Medal tee off at 10:00am, hope to see you all there.

Contributed with thanks to the Whitsunday Green Club

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Jake Day wining the Sunday Skins competition. Photo supplied

Sunday 21st of May saw the Whitsunday Golf Club playing their Club 4some Trophy Event.

It was a chilly 10 degrees but quickly warmed up to a beautiful 25, unfortunately it was a very depleted field due to many members away.

Congratulations to Ron Jamison and Mark McDougal for their win in the Mens Competition and Karen Rix and Pauline Redpath for the Ladies competition.

Runner up for the Mens were Scott Vlismas and Darren Renoylds and Linda Wardroper and Anna Winterbourn for the Ladies.

Contributed with thanks to Pauline Redpath

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This week, in stunning conditions, 74 people ran, jogged, and walked the 5km waterfront course. 22 were first timers and 8 recorded new Personal Bests.

Several milestones were achieved; Claire completed her 25th parkrun, Josiah completed his 50th, Josh his 100th, Andrew his 200th and Tim his 250th.

Tim is the first 'local' parkrunner to complete 250 parkruns.

The event was made possible thanks to RD Maree and her team of fabulous volunteers: Nick, Kara, Maverick, Bossie, Craig, Susanne, Shane, Debbie, Wendy, Laura, Louise, Jarrod, Lynne, Joanne, Chris, Alicia, Chris, and Rachael.

Airlie Beach parkrun started on 5th December 2015.

Since then, 4,885 participants have completed 25,017 parkruns covering a total distance of 125,085 km, including 2,901 new Personal Bests.

A total of 404 individuals have volunteered 3,691 times.

This Saturday Airlie Beach parkrun will use course 'B', which will meet at 6:50am for a briefing near the Garden Bar and Bohemian Raw, Coral Sea Marina. Parking is free in the lowest carpark till 9:30am if a parkrun barcode is placed on the dashboard. Post parkrun coffee and chat is held at My Rainbow Bakery & Cafe.

The best-kept secret about parkrun is that it’s not about running - it’s about bringing people together in public parks and open spaces across the world to have some fun in a friendly, social, and supportive environment. You can walk or run the 5k course (pushing a pram or with one dog on a short lead if you want to!), lend a helping hand as a volunteer in a wide range of super-easy roles, or simply spectate and socialise on the sidelines.

There are no winners at parkrun and nobody comes last – the Tail walkers do. Regular participation is rewarded rather than performance, with ‘parkrun milestone shirts’ available to people to recognise their achievements in coming along.

Everyone is welcome.

Contributed with thanks to Parkrun Airlie Beach

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Andrew finishing his 200th park run, and Tim with his 250th