Very interesting to hear that Lee Carseldine is back bowling at elite level after disc replacement surgery. Lumbar fusion is an op that you couldn't come back from in terms of elite cricket, so perhaps the disc replacements will be the next big thing in back surgery:

NEW FACES IN QAS SQUAD

11 July 2007

The son of former Australian allrounder Trevor Laughlin has been selected for the first time in the Queensland Academy of Sport cricket squad for the 2007-08 season.

Wynnum-Manly?s Ben Laughlin, a right-arm seam and swing bowler, is one of nine scholars named in the QAS squad which will be coached by former Queensland opener Trevor Barsby.

Laughlin, 25, came to prominence two seasons ago when he emulated the feat of his father Trevor, a Ryder Medallist in Victoria, by winning the Peter Burge Medal as the best and fairest first grade player in the XXXX GOLD premiership.

Laughlin has been the leading wicket-taker in the premiership for the past two seasons, claiming 43 dismissals at 12.23 in 2005-06 and 53 wickets at 15.75 last season.

Another familiar name in the QAS squad is former Bulls allrounder Lee Carseldine, who has successfully fought back from a serious back injury to be on the fringe of Queensland selection once more.

Carseldine, who has played 24 first class and 29 one day games for the Bulls, underwent radical surgery in 2004 to replace a degenerative disc in his back with a titanium replacement.

He returned to cricket late in the 2005-06 season in the XXXX GOLD First Grade competition with Valley, playing lower grades as a batsman.

However he played 11 matches as an allrounder for Valley last season, scoring 548 runs and taking 22 wickets.

Teenager Sunshine Coast fast bowler Bayden Matheson is another new face, joining former Queensland rookie contracted players Murray Bragg and Ryan Le Loux and current Bulls rookies Wade Townsend, Ben Cutting, Worrin Williams and Nathan Reardon.

There are also eight female scholarship holders, the largest intake in nearly a decade.

Norths swing bowler Michelle Wielemaker has been rewarded for consistent performances in women?s grade cricket with her first QAS scholarship at the age of 32 after representing Queensland in the Cricket Australia Cup 2nd XI competition last summer.

At the other end of the age spectrum, allrounder Jo Verrall was a member of the Konica Minolta Queensland Under-17 team last summer while fellow teenagers Fran Whittaker, Casey Reibelt and Nicole Quinn were all members of the Konica Minolta Queensland Under-19 team last summer.

2007-08 QAS Men (Metro): Ryan Le Loux (Redlands), Murray Bragg (Valley), Ben Cutting (South Brisbane), Nathan Reardon (University of Queensland), Worrin Williams (Beenleigh/Logan), Ben Laughlin (Wynnum-Manly), Lee Carseldine (T.B.A), Wade Townsend (Norths), Bayden Matheson (Sunshine Coast).

2007-08 QAS Women (Metro): Laura Bates (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Angela Christie (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Danielle Hollis (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Nicole Quinn (Wynnum-Manly), Casey Reibelt (Sandgate-Redcliffe), Jo-Ann Verrall (Wests), Michelle Wielemaker (Norths), Fran Whittaker