A rampaging Nagambie has secured an outright victory over Shepparton United in its two-day Haisman Shield match.
The Lakers dominated the match from the outset after they bowled out United for 100 in the first innings before skittling the home side for 62 in the second.
The star of the match was by far and away Nagambie captain-coach Mark Nolan, who took two five-wicket hauls for the game: 5-36 in the first innings and 5-25 in the second.
The Lakers skipper is now tied with Waaia’s Jesse Trower for most wickets in the Cricket Shepparton competition this season with 35.
Nolan has also had a strong season with the bat, striking 216 runs with an average of 36 as he mounts a serious case for the Lightfoot Medal.
But Nolan, like most good leaders, preferred to focus on how well the team performed during the two-day match.
“It’s always nice to take a few wickets here and there,” he said.
“It was a nice wicket to bowl on; there was plenty of bounce and carry, which suited our bowling attack.
“Across the whole game the bowling group went really well as a team for probably the first time in a while, which was probably the most pleasing aspect.
“We were able to bowl in partnerships and strangle them from both ends; I was just the one lucky enough to get on the end of a few wickets.”
To start the day’s play, Nagambie declared on its first innings total of 5-139 (39 runs ahead of United) as it hunted for an outright victory.
United proceeded to lose four wickets before eventually regaining the lead.
But not even star batter Rehan Bari (26 runs off 47 balls) could save United’s innings, as it was bowled out for 62 in 32 overs.
This left Nagambie requiring 24 runs for victory and, despite losing three early wickets, the Lakers’ win was never in doubt.
THE GAME
Shepparton United 100 (Steven Tate 28, Mitchell Jarrett 17, Mark Nolan 5-36) and 62 (Rehan Bari 26, Jake Callow 12, Mark Nolan 5-25) lt Nagambie 5-139 (Tyrone Muir 45, Luke Nolan 36*, Connor Green 2-30) and 3-24 (Mitchell Winter-Irving 9, Benjamin Tarran 8, Dan Jones 1-3)
STAR PLAYER
Mark Nolan (Nagambie): Nolan was clearly best-on-ground for the match across both days. Dominated with the ball in the first and second innings to finish with 10 wickets for the game. Also struck a quick-fire 16 not out off 10 balls in the first innings for some icing on the cake.
Nolan is grateful that the side appears to have rediscovered its mojo after a few up-and-down matches and the star all-rounder believes his side can put a serious dent in finals if it can continue on with this form.
“We had a couple of poor losses before and after Christmas, which I think gave us a bit of a wake-up call,” he said.
“This game was probably our most complete game with bat and ball and probably in the field as well, so it seems our players are starting to click and gel at the right time of the year.
“If we win next week, we finish third and get a home final, so that’s the goal. We are going up to Katandra, who are a good outfit, and I think they need a win to play finals, so it should be a pretty good game.”
Heading into the match, both sides were on the precipice of finals.
Now, thanks to the result, it seems United’s late finals charge is over, while for Nagambie the season is well and truly alive.