A four-wicket haul to Mooroopna’s Henry Barrow headlined an impressive Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield win on Saturday.
Heading to Central Park Reserve for the round 10 clash, the Cats were simply too strong for Shepparton United, with some strong bowling leading to an important six-wicket victory.
Speaking after the game, Mooroopna coach Luke Zanchetta said United started the match well.
"They got a really good partnership going early on and were 3-96 and batting really well,“ Zanchetta said.
“Then (Nick) Breslin, Jake (Wright) were bowling with Henry (Barrow) who came back on for his second spell and ripped the hearts out of them.
“Their middle order was gone quickly, then Simon (D’Elia) finished them off, we were quite lucky to bowl them out for 131.”
Describing the pitch as “fair for both teams” Zanchetta said while Jack Gaskill was a late omission from the squad, the return of Jac Smith-Williams provided plenty of positives.
Hitting his way to 47, Smith-Williams top scored for the match, while Barrow (4-19) and D’Elia (3-43) stood out with the ball.
“The way he (Smith-Williams) did it was so classy, it’s a really good thing to see him coming into the form he’s coming into with four games to go," he said.
“It’s good our two big guns are starting to fire.
“Henry Barrow’s second spell was outstanding, he showed his true class and was able to do it on a pitch which didn’t have much in it for the bowlers.”
Set to take on Kyabram and the ever dangerous Nagambie in coming weeks, Zanchetta said there was a big few weeks ahead.
“It’s very important that we keep winning,” he said.
“We’ve got a really tough run into finals which is always good from a coach’s point of view.”
THE GAME
Shepparton United 131 (Chaminda Vidanapathirana 28, Tyler Green 20, Fahad Mirza 20, Henry Barrow 4-19, Simon D’Elia 3-43) lt Mooroopna 4-132 (Jac Smith-Williams 47, Nick Breslin 22, Chaminda Vidanapathirana 1-14)
STAR PLAYER
Henry Barrow (Mooroopna): A fantastic spell with the ball in hand from Barrow, the talent took four wickets for 19 runs off nine overs.