Waaia kept its perfect Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield record in tact on Saturday when it downed Northerners by 47 runs.
The round four clash at Tallygaroopna was far from an easy one for the visiting side, with a strong bowling performance needed to get the Bombers over the line.
Posting a solid score of 8-191, the visitors were led by a 53 not out from Mitch Cleeland, however, the Waaia captain was concerned his side had fallen short of the runs required.
“It probably wasn’t as comfortable as the scorecard suggested,” Cleeland said.
“We thought we batted quite well, but they bowled pretty well at the same time.”
Starting strong thanks to Ben Pedretti (21) and Preston Hall (18), Northerners were chipping away at their opponent’s total early on, however, some sharp work with the ball would change the tune of the game.
In the ninth over Waaia’s Jesse Trower dismissed Hall, before two Mitch Cleeland wickets in the following four overs had the home side fall from 0-38 to 3-46.
“We knew we had to bowl well in order to get the win,” Cleeland said.
“We felt they had a chance the whole time, it was a nice wicket and the outfield was fast.
“We bowled quite well in the end, apart from probably one ball every now and again we just let ourselves down with which was a little bit disappointing.”
Ending the game with 2-11, Mitch Cleeland was joined by Jordan Cleeland (2-13) and the returning Brayden Summerville (2-20) on the multiple wicket-taker list.
While admitting it was not the side’s best day on the park, Cleeland was happy to secure another victory.
“We just tried to bowl as full as we possibly could and tried to make them make a mistake or force something that wasn’t quite there to happen,” he said.
“We didn’t do anything outstanding, it was more just the patience game I guess.”
Waaia sits in second spot on the ladder, equal on points with Northerners who are in third.
THE GAME
Waaia 8-191 (Mitch Cleeland 53 not out, Jordan Cleeland 35, Trent Sidebottom 3-36) d Northerners 144 (Stuart Turner 41, Ben Pedretti 21, Mitch Cleeland 2-11, Jordan Cleeland 2-13)
STAR PLAYER
Mitch Cleeland (Waaia): The Bombers’ captain put on a classy showing on Saturday, playing well with bat and ball. Hitting an important 53 runs off 52 balls, Cleeland was instrumental to his side’s victory.