Renouf bowled over at Imparja Cup | Fraser Coast Cricket | Cricket in Fraser Coast

Maryborough police officer Ashley Renouf injured his shoulder while playing cricket for Queensland in the annual Imparja Cup in Alice Springs.

Jocelyn Watts

ASHLEY Renouf is hurting.

Not just from the pain of seeing his hopes of winning a national cricket title disappear either – though that was a bitter pill to swallow.

The 26-year-old Maryborough police officer injured a shoulder while playing for Queensland in the annual Imparja Cup in Alice Springs at the weekend.

The Imparja Cup is the national indigenous cricket championships and it was the second consecutive year that Renouf, an opening bowler, had been on duty for his state.

However, Queensland’s bid to defend the title it won 12 months earlier didn’t go to plan and neither did Renouf’s bid to impress with the ball once again.

Renouf, who plays for Past Grammars in the Fraser Coast Cricket A grade competition, injured his shoulder while fielding in the second game of the week-long tournament.

He did it while throwing the ball to run out a batsman.

The joy of getting someone out didn’t last long as Renouf, A cousin of former Australian, Queensland and Brisbane Broncos star, Steve, soon found himself in a heap of pain.

But he wasn’t about to give up.

He battled on and did his best although he couldn’t bowl in the remainder of the game or for the rest of the week.

But Renouf wasn’t the only Queenslander to get injured either.

The casualty list was a long one and even the Queensland coach had to play.

Not surprisingly, Queensland didn’t reach the final (Western Australia won it for the first time) and Renouf said it hadn’t been the best of experiences.

“You go away wanting to do so well as an individual and as a team but you could say that this was simply one of those tournaments where nothing went right,” Renouf, who took nine wickets in the tournament last year, said.

“I knew I was gone after I threw the ball and so was my tournament.

“It was a long way to go to bowl just nine overs but hey, injuries happen.

“It was just one of those things but it was so disappointing,” the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander XI representative said.