Inclement weather wreaked havoc on the first weekend of Cricket Shepparton finals, with a number of fixtures moved from Saturday to Sunday to ensure all matches were completed heading into the semi-finals.
In the Haisman Shield A-grade competition, the qualifying final between Central Park-St Brendan’s and Kyabram was the only clash to get the go-ahead on Saturday, where the Redbacks stunned the Tigers to come away 56-run winners.
Coming back to blue skies on Sunday, sixth-placed Numurkah sent shockwaves through the finals series, knocking off undefeated minor premier Waaia by five wickets.
A boil-over in every sense of the word, the underdog Blues made the most of bowler-friendly conditions at Waaia Recreation Reserve, as the combination of Matthew Cline (2-15), Bailey Roberts (2-11) and Mitchell Grandell (2-24) ripped through the Bombers’ batting line-up.
In a world of trouble at 6-51, Luke Quinn provided some much-needed resistance for Waaia, smashing a vital 27 off 44 from number eight to see his team to a defendable 107.
Sporting the competition’s most accomplished bowling attack, the Bombers came into the second innings confident they could restrict the inconsistent Numurkah batting line-up.
But what they didn’t bargain for was an innings for the ages by Blues captain Dylan Grandell.
Opening the batting, Grandell did what the Waaia batters couldn’t and saw off the new ball, counter punching to perfection as the Bombers’ bowlers searched for early wickets.
Putting on a vital 41 with star all-rounder Michael Eckard (11) to see the visitors to the halfway mark, the skipper then turned on the afterburners, quickly taking the game away from the minor premiers.
A handy 20 not out from Liam Gledhill would release some pressure on Grandell, who all-but got his team to the finish line, being dismissed for 67 with his team needing one for victory.
Mooroopna advanced to the semi-finals with a thrilling four-run win over Nagambie at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.
After putting together a strong first innings total of 188 courtesy of a Brodie McDonald 71, the Cats appeared to be coasting to victory when they had the Lakers at 3-16.
But with two Nolan boys at the crease, Nagambie is never out of the contest, as captain Mark (73) and the ever-consistent Luke (86 not out) dug in for the home team.
Combining for a 128-run stand, the pair had Nagambie back in the box seat to steal the miraculous victory.
But Luke Zanchetta (1-18) and Will Dundon (2-21) came up clutch for the Cats as they held on for the four-run win.
All three of the Jim McGregor Shield C-grade encounters were moved to Sunday, with a host of exciting results headlining a gripping start to the finals series.
A Lachlan Gilligan century powered Invergordon to a dominant 160-run win over Kyabram.
Opening the batting, Central Park Recreation Reserve became Gilligan’s kingdom for the day as he plundered the Redbacks’ attack to all parts in what was a powerful knock.
The aggressive opener did receive excellent top order support, putting on 117 for the first wicket with partner Dean Mangles (31), before number three Sean Arnold joined the party smacking a quick-fire 67 off 48 balls.
With an abundance of runs on the board, the Invergordon bowlers picked up where the batters left off, with a pair of scintillating spells by Harley Green (3-22) and Arnold (3-18) ripping through a Kyabram batting line-up that could only muster 90 from 26.2 overs.
Four wickets by Jai Bailey and an unbeaten half-century by Travis Guppy lifted Karramomus to a comprehensive six-wicket win over Undera.
While minor premier Mooroopna survived a major scare from sixth-placed Murchison, prevailing 22-runs in a tight encounter at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.