Kyabram thwarts Mooroopna’s chase to keep afloat in the Haisman Shield finals race

Sunday concluded an epic rematch of the 2022 Haisman Shield grand final, the Redbacks defending the total of 198 set the day prior.

Kyabram’s theme? Start hard, finish strong.

Out of the first five names on the Redbacks’ order, four reached 20 or more runs. But astoundingly, not a single soul raised the bat on a hot and humid Saturday.

Mooroopna struck early doors as Luke Zanchetta tamed Paul Parsons (525 season runs) for a duck, but that’s where the host’s joy started and finished for the next 16 overs.

Billy McLay and Cade Mueller hunkered down and stifled Mooroopna’s bitey bowling approach until the latter edged behind just shy of a 50-run partnership.

McLay was the next to go on 27, leaving the heavy lifting to Kyle Mueller.

Kyabram’s chief maestro looked the likeliest to kick on, his three boundaries and two maximums leaving him one lusty blow from a half-century.

However, as he so often does, Mooroopna's coach came in clutch.

Zanchetta trapped Mueller behind on 44 to leave the Redbacks in a spot of bother and, after a string of wickets fell, a total north of 200 looked out of reach.

A late wag of the tail from Angus McKenzie (36) and Thomas Holman (22) powered the visitors to 198, which Mooroopna made headway towards at the end of day one, finishing the afternoon on 0-7.

Day two’s start was a vastly different story from the first.

With Tasman Hall and Joel May serving as Mooroopna’s elected opening brigadiers, composure was the name of the game as the pair set about playing smart.

Block after block, dot after dot, Hall and May crept along at a strike rate of no more than 20 for the first hour, refusing to throw their wicket away.

It was almost a case of who tires first and with Kyabram’s bowlers sweating, Mooroopna’s cool heads looked certain to prevail. Until they weren’t.

Hall and May made hay while the sun shone as they looked a sure thing for the 100-run partnership then along came Charlie McLay.

McLay baited Hall (41) into a shot which was smartly taken by Kyle Mueller to close the chapter on Mooroopna’s fairytale start, and next up was Louis Sabbagh-Holt to spin the Redbacks into the game.

He crashed Jac Smith-Williams’ castle for a nine-ball globe and 11 balls later it was May’s cue to walk via a leg-before-wicket dismissal off Sabbagh-Holt’s left arm off-break.

The teenage tweaker nabbed his third as Jackson McLay pulled off a KFC classic catch worthy-grab to remove Brodie McDonald (eight), and after Holman sent Matt Price on his way for five, the game was back on.

Nick Breslin (29) and Henry Barrow (18) staged a champion middle-order stand with a catalogue of class shots, the best — a classy six over long on — off Breslin’s bat.

But as Holman whisked Breslin and his follower Jack Gaskill off in the same over, the pendulum swung and the Redbacks were back in favour with the foot at Mooroopna’s throat.

Holman and Sabbagh-Holt applied the torque to Kyabram’s motor as the blend of spin and speed perplexed, ticking off the Cats’ tail with 13 overs left in the day.

Sabbagh-Holt was the mastermind with 5-48, while Holman emerged with 4-32, thrusting their side into a bout with Katandra in the next round of finals.

Meanwhile, Mooroopna takes on Waaia after being saved by the second chance.