It may have only been the first crack at the Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield season, but Waaia captain Mitch Cleeland is already liking what he sees.
Waaia chalked up a 52-run triumph over Tatura at Howley Oval on Saturday thanks to a surprise strong showing with the bat and a business-as-usual bowling effort.
Superb half-centuries to Sam Trower and Cleeland’s younger brother Jordan was one of the most pleasing aspects of the opening round performance, according to the Waaia skipper.
Trower top-scored with a disciplined unbeaten 75 from 122 deliveries after batting right through the innings, while Jordan flexed his muscles with a flashy 73 off 97 balls.
“Sam and Jordy batted really well and it was nice to see them get reward for effort,” Cleeland said.
“We’ve long been renowned as the boys who don’t tend to score big over the past few years and it’s really pleasing to see our plans come to fruition.”
On a perfect deck for batting, Waaia got off to a relaxed start to its innings.
The slow nature of the outfield made for tough going, but Trower was smart with his shot selection and running between the wickets.
Jordan took the riskier avenue of scoring but was rewarded for his shots and raced away at the other end as Waaia reached 3-195 from 45 overs.
“We got off to a slow start. The outfield was slow but the wicket was really nice for batting,” Cleeland said.
“The boys stuck it out and towards the end they were able to get a wriggle on. Once we got to 200 we knew that, the way the outfield was playing, it would be more of a 250 to 260 score.”
In its run chase, the home side found itself in early trouble.
Waaia opening quick and Trower’s older brother Jesse tore through the top order and finished with handy figures of 3-23 from nine overs.
Aaron Shelton came on and showcased his talents with 3-37, while youngster Harvey Walker, in his club debut, picked up 1-27 from nine overs of brave spin bowling.
Tatura middle-order bat Raj Singh was gallant and produced a classy 45-run knock as the home side managed to bat out its 45 overs for a score of 9-146.
“Once we got those early wickets, put some pressure on them, we knew it would be tricky for them to reach 200,” Cleeland said.
“Jesse took control and Aaron bowled really well. Those two have trained hard and put the hours in. And Harvey was able to pick up a wicket in a pitch that didn’t offer a lot and he bowled well considering the batters tried to use his spin to hit over the top of the slow outfield.
“I thought Raj and Coombsy (Daniel Coombs) both batted well and full credit to Tatura for sticking it out and batting out their overs.”
THE GAME
Waaia 2-198 (Sam Trower 75 not out, Jordan Cleeland 73, Jed Woods 1-24) d Tatura 9-146 (Raj Singh 45, Daniel Coombs 24, Jesse Trower 3-23, Aaron Shelton 3-37)
STAR PLAYER
Jordan Cleeland (Waaia): A flip of the coin between Waaia’s two half-century getters but it was Cleeland’s efforts with the ball (2-27) out in the field that sees him take out best-on honours.