Born: 13 January 1976
Known As: 95, Bigfella, Tonk, Bayside Basher, The Rock
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Fast Bowler

Warehouse Debut: KRG v Betta Panasonic at Marchant Park
Latest Warehouse Match: KRG v Gold Crest Cobras at 7th Brigade Park

Career Statistics

Profile

Brad Tonkes is one of those once-in-a-lifetime players who has mastered all the arts of cricket. His hands are the safest in Brisbane, especially off his own bowling. The only minor problem with his catching is that he sometimes runs out of steam chasing the high ball, resulting in an embarrassing miss for all involved. Hand-in-hand with his catching, his throwing arm is the strongest in South-East Queensland, whether using it to hurl one in from the boundary or to extract that extra little bit of spin while bowling. 

And his bowling is something that must be seen to be believed. A greyhound approach to the wicket builds up an unstoppable momentum that often results in sickening injuries, usually to Brad's back and neck, but occasionally to the batsman as well. If the lucky batsman somehow survives the barrage of pace, he must then contend with Brad's sly legspin. Batsmen who have had to contend with sustained periods of torment from the Bayside Basher mostly have difficulty in picking the length, which can vary up to 10m from delivery to delivery.

Last but not least is Brad `Tonk' Tonkes' batting. He has been compared to such lights as Mark Waugh and David Gower: when they get going they exhibit such timing and grace that few who see them in full flight forget it, despite sometimes throwing their wicket away for not many runs. It is this second trait that brings the luminaries to mind when considering Tonkes. Having secured #11 in the Rain Gods lineup, he has been freed to play all the shots in his book, and has flourished far beyond expectations. When you combine all the above skills you have a cricketer of no mean abilities, and it is not surprising that approaches have come from Sydney to secure his talents. While the allure of money is hard to resist, Tonkes appears content with his current lifestyle and team, and it is hard to imagine `The Rock' budging from Birkdale.

(Robert Colvin, updated June 2003)

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