From 2-1 to 2-630: Is this the greatest partnership in Australian cricket history?
Three balls into the Queensland Premier Cricket first grade final on the weekend, Gold Coast No.4 batsman Hugo Burdon was nervously making his way to the crease.
Having lost the toss and been sent in to bat, Burdon had just watched teammates Ashton Gumm and Kyle Brazell fall for golden ducks in consecutive deliveries as Gold Coast slumped to 2-1 in the opening over against Northern Suburbs in the biggest game of the year.
“When we were 2-1, they had a little peanut gallery that were offering us some advice,” Burdon said. “We seemed to quieten them down to the point they started going at their own blokes.”
What unfolded during the next 163.4 overs amounted to one of the most extraordinary feats in Australian club cricket history.
After knuckling down on a tricky day one pitch at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, Burdon and opener Stephan Muller walked off late the following afternoon having produced a staggering, record-breaking 629-run partnership.
If you thought the decision by England captain Nasser Hussain to send Australia in at the Gabba in 2002-03 was a dud (the home side was 2-364 at stumps on day one), spare a thought for Norths skipper Scott Palombo as he watched Gold Coast motor to 2-630.
Burdon was eventually dismissed for 340 from 492 balls while attempting to hit his 13th six and surpass Matt Renshaw’s competition record of 345. Gold Coast then immediately declared their innings to try to snare a few late wickets against a demoralised Northern Suburbs outfit.
“Renshaw’s record was definitely in my head,” Burdon said. “He texted me after and said, ‘commiserations’.”
Muller’s unbeaten 272 will also enter folklore as Gold Coast struck late to leave Norths reeling at 3-36 from 24 overs, with two full days remaining next weekend in the four-day fixture.
“We were definitely flying high,” Burdon said. “We tried to roll that momentum into our bowling innings. To be able to pick up three wickets was a massive bonus.
“I’m a little bit sore, but I’m all right. It was pretty incredible. When I walked out, I was like, oh, here we go. I thought I was hiding at four.
“You just try and go about your process. Stephan has a great temperament and he’s had an incredible year. He needs to be highlighted.”
The 629-run stand is the highest partnership in Australian premier cricket, eclipsing the Gold Coast club record set by Andrew Symonds and Matthew Mott, who combined for 446 in an under-18 one-day match in 1992.
“When they put up Symonds and Mott’s partnership on the board, that was a tickle down the spine,” Burdon said.
Unofficially, there have only been a handful of bigger partnerships at any level of the game. In February 1988, future Indian great Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli piled on 664 together in a school match, with Tendulkar going on to average more than 1000 for the tournament, according to ESPNcricinfo.
In 2006, Manoj Kumar and Mohammed Shaibaz from St Peter’s High School walked off with the score at 0-721 in a 40-over innings, while earlier that year Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene combined for 624 for Sri Lanka against South Africa in a Test match.
According to stats guru Adam Morehouse, the highest score in Australian premier cricket is Charles Eady’s 566 for Break O’Day against Wellington in 1901-02 at the TCA Oval in Hobart.
The two most obvious questions are: how was the pitch, and were there any dropped chances?
“It was definitely not easy to bat in that first session,” Burdon said. “It was very slow and had a tennis ball bounce.
“No drops. There was half a caught and bowled chance on the morning of day two. Stephan was class. He didn’t offer a chance and was ruthless.
“Later in the day there was some yahooing [from our fans] when we got a couple out of the screws. That’s just the sound of club cricket.”
Burdon opens the batting for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield and has a career tally of 208 runs at 17.33, while Muller, who moved to Australia from South Africa in 2015, once had Marnus Labuschagne as his batting coach. His double century was his fourth score above 100 this season.
However, the pair know the job is not done. The prospect of Northern Suburbs chasing down 630 is remote, but Burdon said he had given it some thought.
“We just want to win this game, but anything can happen in cricket,” he said. “It’ll probably sink a bit later depending on the result after next weekend.
“If we lose, I think you’ll be talking to a different batter next week and everyone will forget about me. It’d have to be an incredible innings.”
Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.