Bulls eyeing runs & tons after wild winter sessions

Nerf guns, cold plunges and 6am net sessions… Queensland's young batting group has reached for the unorthodox during pre-season as it looks to arrest a concerning trend.

The so-called 'pastures sessions' are the brainchild of Bulls assistant coach Wade Townsend, in charge ahead of James Hopes' imminent arrival as head coach.

Townsend has been turning the indoor nets at the National Cricket Centre in Albion into a playground of chaos throughout the Brisbane winter, all in a bid to get Queensland's young batters up to speed for the 2026-27 season.

"The boys have been getting together these past 4-6 weeks, and they've been working towards some pretty challenging things," he tells cricket.com.au. "We've been designing environments that are life-like where possible, then getting the group together (afterward) to share as much as possible with each other.

"So the boys will start at 6am, and the first thing they do might be something around distraction: balls are fed out of the machine, but they're going straight into a whole heap of paper, which is fluttering around; there's distracting music; there's someone shooting Nerf guns, throwing tennis balls, hitting their helmet with pool noodles … all effectively just trying to drag their attention away from what they're trying to do.

"The idea is to make them keep their processes, and see how they react – do they become angry? Or insular? And that brings in discussions after that."

The 6am start is another strategy designed to catch players on the hop, in the same way an early wicket or a sudden end to a long partnership might. It directly ties in with what Townsend noticed after he analysed the costly slip-ups made by a misfiring Bulls batting unit in the back half of last summer – a period in which they failed to reach 240 from nine completed innings (and were 6-44 when rain intervened in the other).

"Our game puts a lot of emphasis on training under fatigue and those types of things, but our guys are fitter than ever, stronger than ever," he says. "I think a lot of the mistakes we make, we're just not quite ready every ball, or we're not quite switched on.

"So how can I create that moment, that environment where they've got to come in and focus on being ready? That's a big part of what we're doing initially, and then we get a bit more tactical with things as well."

The tactical training has involved more nets practice both traditional and novel: replicating the tallest opposition bowlers by elevating the bowling machine; laying string along the pitch to mimic seam movement; and challenging batters to maintain concentration through longer sessions.  

All of it, Townsend insists, is about creating more conversations within a group that mixes vast experience with new faces, with the likes of Marnus Labuschagne (who attended all but one session) and Matthew Renshaw (who returned for the one Labuschagne missed) imparting much of what they've learned.

"You've got to create that environment for them to share," he says. "That was part of our timing it for this year. We've got three new batsmen on our list (Australia U19 reps Steve Hogan and Tom Campbell, and 27-year-old Valley 'keeper-batter Dylan McLachlan), so how can we accelerate their learning?

"If their first game happens to be at the WACA – or wherever it may be – at least we've had a conversation about it, and they might have picked up something that our Aussie players have shared, and hopefully that's helped them for that first time, or any time through their career."

The program, which has also seen the involvement of pro golfer Grant Field (who formerly coached Cameron Smith) as well as former Queensland players Brendan Nash and Chris Hartley, culminated in a series of 'fit-nique' sessions which also tested the players' endurance, performance under pressure and fatigue, and teamwork.

Townsend and Hopes – who joins the group this week – will be hoping it transfers to more runs throughout the summer for a Bulls side that has been shorn of the veteran batter Usman Khawaja, who will continue with the Heat.

In the one-day competition, Queensland are currently enduring their longest drought (13 years) without a title, while in the Shield, only once in the past four seasons have they boasted a batter in the top 10 run scorers.

That lone Bull was left-hander Jack Clayton (687 runs in 2024-25), who looks set to line up at three or four in the Shield this summer depending on the availability of Labuschagne and Renshaw.

Clayton has built a solid first-class record – an average of 36 after 40 matches, with six hundreds – without truly establishing himself as a match-winner with Queensland. The middle-order batter has been front and centre of the 'pastures' practice throughout the winter, lending his experience to younger players and even being among the cold plunge victims as a punishment during one of the 'fit-nique' sessions.

"It's been fantastic," he says of the fresh approach. "Wade's always keeping things interesting for us, and these sessions partly came off the back of some good discussions we had at the back-end of last year when we weren't going so well as a batting unit.

"And I think he thought: We've got lots of good heads in the group, why don't we try and get some sessions together and we can share all that information? So they're not only about actually applying the skill, but also about sharing ideas and thoughts about different situations and scenarios.

"We've obviously got some really experienced batters in the group, with Marnus and 'Ren' … and there's plenty of other guys who've got lots of first-class experience or experience in different conditions.

"For the young guys as well, myself included, it's great to share ideas and learn off each other. I know the boys have got lots out of it. I don't think we've loved the 6am starts, but that's all part of the fun of it."

Now 27, Clayton can no longer be considered an up-and-coming talent, and with Queensland potentially unveiling the likes of Hogan and Campbell, as well as playing 21-year-old Hugh Weibgen (who debuted in all three formats last year), he knows the onus is on him to step up in the likely absences of Labuschagne and potentially Renshaw.

The Brisbane-born product made an even 100 in the 2024-25 Shield final in challenging circumstances but only just snuck into the top 25 run-scorers last summer, with 418 at 38.00 from seven matches during a historically low-scoring season across the board.

"It was frustrating last season, I injured my knee at the back-end," he says. "I felt like I'd been developing some good momentum in my first-class career.

"We've been having some good chats about (the difficult Shield conditions for batters). Just talking about controlling the controllables; you can't control the pitch that's served up to you, but understanding your strengths and how you can apply them to try and score runs (is within your control).

"That might look different for different people. For some, it might be being more aggressive. For others, like myself, it's around trusting my defence and my decision-making ability, trying to occupy the crease and accumulate my runs, and not getting too caught up in what the wicket may or may not do."

In that regard, Clayton has taken some inspiration from Victoria veteran Peter Handscomb, whose judicious stroke-play and decision making saw him top the Shield run-scorers list last summer, as well as Hartley, the legendary Bulls 'keeper-batter who forged a reputation for scoring important runs when the chips were down.

"The things 'Harts' talked about (during the Bulls' recent sessions) that worked for him were just having a really solid game plan, understanding the basics that work for him, and being able to do that for long periods of time," he says. "That resonated with me because that's the mindset that I like to go into (games with)."

Hopes' return to the fold with Queensland – where he won everything as a player and two Shield titles as an assistant coach – will mark a reunion of sorts with Clayton.

"He was actually my first batting coach here," he says. "He's been all around the world, I know tactically he's very adept, so he's going to be very valuable for our group. We've already had a few chats, and I'm excited for what's ahead."