Sport
Haisman Shield | Central Park-St Brendan’s welcomes Katandra in tantalising top-of-table clash
After extreme heat wiped out last week’s slate of Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield match-ups, all and sundry will be champing at the bit to get back out on the park in near-perfect conditions on Saturday afternoon.
Headlined by a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash between Central Park-St Brendan’s and Katandra, this weekend will give a number of teams a chance to solidify themselves as a contender, while there will also be cricket under lights as Mooroopna welcomes Karramomus.
Central Park-St Brendan’s v Katandra
The eyes of the Cricket Shepparton fraternity will be firmly fixed on Deakin Reserve this Saturday as ladder-leader Central Park-St Brendan’s welcomes second-placed Katandra in a tantalising round nine match-up.
The Tigers will be hoping for a better outcome than their last clash against a top contender, as reigning premier Mooroopna came to their Deakin Reserve fortress and toppled them in convincing fashion.
While for Katandra this presents as a wonderful opportunity to stamp itself as a genuine premiership threat and claim a crucial scalp leading into the finals series.
And fresh in the memory of both sides will be the contest they played out 12 months ago, where the Tigers got the better of the Eagles by three runs in a final-over thriller at Deakin.
Katandra captain Ben Clurey said this clash would give his team a chance to learn a lot about itself.
“We are very excited for the challenge, it’s looking like we will have one of our strongest sides of the year on the park, so we couldn’t be in a better spot to give them a good shake,” Clurey said.
“Prior to Christmas we built up a good run of form and put ourselves in a great position to be in contention come the pointy end of the season, so the challenge for us now is to beat those top sides.
“We’re very keen to keep our positive momentum rolling and test ourselves against a side who has been one of the best over the past few years.”
With the sun set to be beaming down on the traditionally flat Deakin Reserve wicket, expect the likes of Tyler Larkin, Jedd Wright, Brendan Scott and Hadleigh Sirett to be licking their lips at the prospect of a big score.
Clurey said putting together a consistent effort with the bat would be pivotal in getting his side over the line.
“It’s been our focus for most of the year, but I think batting will be the key again on Saturday,” he said.
“Putting a decent score on the board is always important, especially against those top sides you need to put them under pressure with a big total.
“On the bowling side of things I am confident that our attack has the quality to get the job done, so I think whoever bats best will go a long way to getting the win.”
In team news, the Eagles will be at nearly full-strength with the availability of opening batter Sam Wright the only question mark leading into the clash.
The winner of this game will assume top spot on the Haisman Shield ladder, with both sides having lost only one game this season.
Meanwhile, Mooroopna will welcome Karramomus in an exciting twilight fixture.
Northerners travel to Numurkah to face the red-hot Blues, Waaia will be seeking a much-needed win as it travels to Central Park to take on Shepparton United
An in-form Tatura plays host to Kyabram, while Euroa will be seeking a third-straight win as it welcomes Old Students.
Lastly, Mooroopna will celebrate and honour a former club legend on Sunday.
The club will host its biannual event, the Kym Sugars Cup, this weekend following a four-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kym Sugars was a club great at Mooroopna and the biannual cup is played to help raise awareness and funds for the Mooroopna Lions Club and men’s mental health programs.
The Twenty20 contest is between Mooroopna’s Captain’s XI and the President’s XI and it will commence at 10am.
A-grade skipper Sam O’Brien has assembled his squad, while president Aaron DiFede has put together his own outfit.
There will be an auction following the match and all proceeds will be donated.
“It’s all about keeping Kym’s legacy going and raising some awareness and funds to important mental health programs,” DiFede said.
If you or anyone you know needs support, phone Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
What the other clubs had to say
Luke Zanchetta, Mooroopna playing coach (Mooroopna v Karramomus)
“It (playing a night game) is going to be really exciting, it’s one of those things you don’t get to do too often, so it is great to get the chance to play under lights.
“The match will be a little different in the fact that we are starting later, so that will be an interesting thing for us to deal with.
“Karramomus are a young side, so in that aspect they are very dangerous, the last couple of years we’ve played them their young guys have challenged us.
“So we are wary of one of their youngsters having a standout game and we won’t be taking it lightly.”
Daniel Coombs, Tatura playing coach (Kyabram v Tatura)
“Kyabram are always a strong side, so we are expecting it to be a very tough game.
“But it was nice to get that first win in our last game and over the past month or so we have played some very strong cricket, so we are looking forward to testing that against another strong opponent.
“We will just be out there to focus on our own cricket and see how we go from there, with a bit of rain around there might be a bit of moisture around for our seamers to do a bit of damage.
“If our batters can then continue their strong form I think we’ll be right in the game.”
Jackson McLay, Kyabram playing coach (Tatura v Kyabram)
“We’re keen to get stuck in and we go in pretty much at full strength. Kaine Herbert comes back in and Angus McKenzie makes way. Tatura have been in some good form of late and we know we’ll need to be on our game.
“I really enjoy playing there (Howley Oval), it’s a really nice oval and the pitch has a bit there for the bowlers and you can get a big score when you’re settled.”
Andrew Squires, Euroa playing coach (Euroa v Old Students)
“All the boys are rapt we didn’t end up playing last week because it ended up getting to 42 over in Kyabram ... but everyone is keen to get out there on Saturday against Old Students.
“We’ve had a little bit of a good trot recently and we get a chance to win our third straight game which it’s been quite a few years since that happened. We aren’t getting ahead of ourselves and we know we need to keep trusting the process.
“We’re expecting them (Old Students) to come out firing and the fact that they have had a bit of a lean run will no doubt give them that extra motivation, so we know we need to be at our best on Saturday.”
Dylan Grandell, Numurkah captain (Numurkah v Northerners)
“Northerners have always been a good one-day side and capable of some really strong performances, so we will have to be on our game from the start.
“As a team we’re feeling really good and confident our best cricket can get the job done, so we just need to make sure we bring that more often than we don’t.
“Spreading the load this year has been really good with a number of different guys standing up each game, having multiple match-winners is a real weapon for us and hopefully the boys can stand up on Saturday.”
Steve Allen, Northerners coach (Numurkah v Northerners)
“Our performance last time out against Katandra was lacklustre where we struggled with the ball and then in last week’s T20 we got rolled with the bat, so heading to Numurkah this weekend it will be a challenge.
“I think we’re due for a change of performance, however, so let’s hope we can bring our best and really challenge what is a very good Numurkah side.
“They have always been a good batting team, so the main focus for us is to be really tight with our bowling, if we are at our best in that department it will go a long way to winning.”
Mitch Cleeland, Waaia captain (Shepparton United v Waaia)
“It’s a bit foreign for us heading out to Central Park, so we don’t really know what to expect, Shepparton United are going along okay at the moment, so this will be a good test for us.
“The way we’ve been going every game is a danger game, so this is an opportunity for us to turn it around and hopefully we can get some consistent cricket happening and get on the winners’ list.
“Recently we’ve just been inconsistent with everything we’ve been doing and that’s not from a lack of training effort, it’s more the mental application to what we’ve been doing.
“Our bowling has been too all over the shop and dropped important catches, so hopefully we can tidy those things up.”