Sport
Mooroopna and Kyabram give thoughts ahead of 2023-24 Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield grand final
The big one is almost upon us.
Battles have been conquered and games have been won, but this weekend determines which side stands victorious in the war for the Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield.
It’s Mooroopna versus Kyabram – and the stakes could not be higher.
For the first time since 2019, the grand final returns to a 100-over format with Katandra Recreation Reserve elected as the setting for two days of gruelling, pulsating cricket.
The road to get there has been long, hard and often windy for the outfits duking it out in the big dance.
Kyabram’s 11th-hour heroics to beat Karramomus outright and hurtle into finals in round 13 was star-aligning and, since then, the Redbacks have been on a tear towards the top.
Conversely, Mooroopna finished the regular season in second and was gifted a second chance after losing its first final.
Which side handed it the loss?
Kyabram.
However, the Cats pulled a rabbit from the hat by eliminating flag fancy Waaia in the semi, led by a toothy bowling attack according to captain Jack Gaskill.
“It gives us massive confidence, obviously. Losing the first final and then playing Waaia at Waaia when we’re the only team to beat them this year,” he said.
“It was a good game, Lukey (Luke Zanchetta) and Henry Barrow; they really came up trumps for us – they are big game players.”
Zanchetta stood tall with 5-54 on that fateful day, while Barrow claimed two scalps, booking Mooroopna a spot at the grand final table.
For Kyabram, whiz-bang batting against Katandra has tuned the Redbacks up nicely ahead of the most significant day on the local cricket calendar.
Kyle Mueller (36 not out) and Kyle Fitzgerald (32 not out) launched a cannonade of boundaries to wrap up a five-wicket victory in the semi-final.
Fellow Kyabram batter Billy McLay jokingly said the latter was not short of confidence when the question arose about how the Redbacks earned passage to the decider.
“If you ask Kyle Fitz, it’s him because he didn’t play until about round five,” McLay said with a laugh.
“But no, I don’t really know. I think the longer format definitely suits us better. We’ve never gave up, kept persisting and things started to change.
“Pretty much the whole year since round five or six, we’ve been under pressure every week to win and someone keeps finding a way, which is good.”
Though Mooroopna lost just twice during the regular season, winning eight of the past nine games clearly cements Kyabram as the form side heading into the weekend.
Runs are where the Redbacks excel.
Kyabram has posted some monster totals this season and possesses three players to have notched centuries in 2023-24: Kyle Mueller, Paul Parsons and Cade Mueller.
Interestingly, none of Mooroopna’s batters have cracked a ton — but the well is far from dry, with the Cats’ usual top five smacking a combined 1286 runs across the campaign.
Gaskill didn’t dance around the fact his side hasn’t fired with the willow towards the end of the home and away season, but placed full faith in his 10 teammates when push comes to shove.
“Obviously our batting hasn’t been the strongest this time of year, but over the two finals we think we’ve done pretty well in that department,” he said.
So, who will step up to the mark for Mooroopna this weekend?
“Probably Henry (Barrow) I’d say. He’s a big game player and he’s just getting into it now,” Gaskill said.
“And also from the batting point of view, Jac Smith-Williams, Nick Breslin, Brodie McDonald, Taz Hall and Joel May; they’re really coming up good this time of year.”
When asked the same question, McLay had two answers — one perhaps surprising, the other not so much.
“Bowling-wise I’d say Tommy Holman, he’s had a superb year,” he said.
“And batting, you can’t go past Kyle Mueller.”
ˑ The Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield grand final will begin at 11am at Katandra Recreation Reserve on Saturday.