As Euroa came into the second half of its Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield encounter with Nagambie at 6-24, a 20-wicket defeat was a realistic option.
After falling to 9-44, it would have been wild not to expect.
Euroa would find love in a hopeless place with the game all but sealed, though, as their tenth and eleventh hitters dug themselves in and mitigated the chances of severe embarrassment for the Magpies.
Jye Bjorksten led the charge as he and Walter Jackson batted out more than 30 of Euroa’s 58.2 overs by themselves in a patient, measured and frankly stunning 63-run stand for a final wicket that was seen as all but a formality.
THE GAME
Nagambie 181 (Zac Winter-Irving 53, Tyrone Muir 40, James Lloyd 4-52) and 2-51 (Luke Nolan 21*, Fletcher Paul 1-7, Walter Jackson 1-11) defeated Euroa 107 (Jye Bjorksten 46, Mitch Winter-Irving 5-10, Nathan Fothergill 2-10)
STAR PLAYER
Mitch Winter-Irving (Nagambie): Winter-Irving’s contribution in the dying stages of day one put Euroa in an unwinnable position from the off, going on to complete a marvelous five-wicket outing and putting the exclamation point on a most comfortable success.
Though this valiant effort spared many Magpie blushes, the points were never a genuine shout at the end of the day.
Josh Sanderson collected the innings-ending pole, joining the party after Mitch Winter-Irving scooped five for the match ball, as Nagambie spent the remainder of Saturday on batting practice.
While ten points would have been the best foot forward, Nagambie’s Mark Nolan was focused mainly on the primary six after day one.
To that end, with that many points in the bag, Nagambie remains fifth, sitting nine clear of Numurkah and Shepparton United after both of those sides were victorious as well.
The Lakers get to the pointy end of their run home from here on out, though, as the business end of season 2023-24 creeps up particularly fast.
After next weekend’s general bye, Nagambie will travel to Deakin Reserve and tangle with a Central Park side that needs points just as badly to make up the ground it lost on top-ranked Waaia Saturday.
The affair could genuinely lean in either direction, such is the nature of one-day clashes, as the likes of Winter-Irving hit top form on their way into meeting a struggling Tigers batting lineup.
As for Euroa, its best hope is to not become fodder for Numurkah when it welcomes the Blues to Euroa Friendly Societies Recreation Reserve on February 3.
A one-day game means no chance of being doubled up, but it might be a case of ‘the sooner, the better’ when it comes to closing out the Magpies’ season.