Sport
15 December, 2022
The story of Brymaroo paceman Peters
Lindsay Evans tells the story of Robbie Peters, a Goombungee fast bowler who made the Queensland squad at 17.

When Robbie Peters’ name was mentioned in cricketing circles in the 1970s and 1980s many batsmen would take a deep breath and recall their experiences when playing with or against him.
As a bowler he was fast and formidable.
As a captain he led from the front and took the responsibility very seriously.
Central Downs Cricket Association was fortunate to have this Goombungee raised lad in its representative sides in those days.
Robbie’s passion for cricket was ignited by the great West Indies player, Wes Hall.
Robbie was a 12 year old schoolboy at the time of his historic encounter with Wes Hall at Goombungee State School in 1962 when Wes was playing in the Queensland Sheffield side.
On the day of the visit, Robbie was inspired to master this complex team game which combined mind and physical skill and ultimately developed his own way to play, and to effectively practice on his own.
Due to the absence of a local secondary school, Robbie joined the workforce taking a job at the local butter factory.
“As a 14 year old I was playing in Toowoomba on Saturday mornings,” Robbie recalls.
"I could catch a lift with the newspaper truck to Toowoomba for 50 cents, and after the game I would walk from Queen’s Park to Clifford Park Racecourse to get a lift home with a couple of local punters after their day at the races.
"It made for a long day," he said.
"At home on the family dairy farm I marked out a pitch and worked on perfecting my strength, action, speed and accuracy by constantly bowling to a single stump.”
Robbie was noticed by cricketing scouts in Toowoomba and soon found a regular spot in the Past Grammars team.
His talent earned him selection in representative sides and played for Queensland Colts for four consecutive years.
The high point for this Goombungee teenager was to make 14th man in
the Queensland Sheffield Shield squad as a 17 year old to play against Victoria, but the sudden death of his father caused him to withdraw and return home to the farm.
Tony Dell and Geoff Dymock grabbed their chances, and the rest is history.
Robbie worked hard during tough seasons on the farm.
However his passion for playing cricket, on Saturdays in Toowoomba, and on Sundays in Oakey District and later with teams in the Central Downs Cricket Association, kept him going and all associations benefitted from his commitment.
Brymaroo and CDCA Mitchell Shield sides were often built around Robbie Peters with great success winning premierships and shield titles.
As time went on Robbie’s batting improved and he became a very valuable all rounder.
When he moved with his family to a farm at Southbrook in 1981, he continued playing with Brymaroo for a while longer, and also played with Southbrook Club for a couple of seasons.
Robbie’s Toowoomba cricket career concluded at the end of the 1986/87 season, when he retired from all forms cricket.
Jack McLaughlin, a Queensland selector of the past, described Robbie
Peters as “The best country player never to have played Shield cricket for Queensland”.
For more details of a cricket reunion on January 28th, 2023, past players of both ODCA and CDCA can contact Lindsay Evans on 4692 2226 (at night), or Denis O’Shea on 0458 094 767 (at night).