Waaia’s XI may have felt like purchasing lottery tickets after batting “like millionaires” almost left the Bombers in the lurch in Saturday’s Haisman Shield contest.
With their backs firmly pressed against the wall Bombers brothers Jesse and Will Trower pushed forward and led their side to the narrowest of one-wicket wins over Karramomus at Vibert Reserve after a rickety top-order showing.
The Bloods revolted after posting a meagre total of 96, whittling Waaia’s order to the bone before the Trowers defied the odds to make it two wins from two for Mitch Cleeland’s charges.
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Leave that alone: Karramomus’ Luke Forge. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 2 of 7
Roll the fingers: Waaia’s Reinhardt Engler. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 3 of 7
Digging in: Karramomus’ Zac Groombridge. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 4 of 7
Give it a shine: Waaia’s Will Trower. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 5 of 7
Going the tonk: Karramomus’ Lachie Keady. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 6 of 7
Right behind it: Waaia’s Jordan Cleeland. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 7 of 7
In the field: Waaia’s Brenton Low. Photo by Rechelle Zammit“We probably got out of jail quite free in the end,” Cleeland said.
“We bowled okay, but we bowled far too many wides and let them get a few more than they should’ve in the first place.
“Our batting was just all over the place to be honest, we probably left too much to the tail-enders, but thankfully they got us over the line and we scraped away with the win.
“It’s hard to argue with a win, but at the same time it certainly wasn’t a great performance at all from us.”
Karramomus, missing the first round through the bye, looked shaky with the willow in the first hit-out.
Wickets fell like flies in the opening exchanges as each of the top four exited without breaching double digits, bar a resistant knock of 27 from Zac Groombridge.
His middle-order runs stopped the rot for a time, but the rest of the batters would follow the trend of their predecessors and Karramomus would stumble short of the 100 mark.
Import Quinton Venter flashed his teeth with three scalps as did Jordan Cleeland who matched his tally, restricting the host to what seemed an easy target for a side that had slashed 180 the week prior.
Or so they thought.
Waaia pushed to 31 before the first man fell, but panic seeped in when Bloods bowler Craig Dhosi found himself on a hat-trick.
Venter tackled the game enthusiastically, but was a flash in the pan, his 17 off 15 appearing to be in vain as the next three batters departed for a combined six runs.
Brenton Low played a measured innings, slotting 17 off 42 balls, but when he was dismissed late, the equation was simple.
Karramomus had one left to get and 15 runs to defend.
Jesse and Will Trower chipped away at the total across 10 overs and it was the former who guided a Logan Campbell delivery through for two to run away with victory in the unlikeliest circumstances.
Cleeland said some serious net work would be in order after the wobbly batting performance, with Waaia facing a threatening Nagambie after the bye.
“We just need to change our mindset a little bit and get back to the basics of hitting the ball along the ground a lot more,” he said.
“We’re all trying to bat like millionaires and play a T20 game when it’s probably not required whatsoever.
THE GAME
Waaia 9-97 (B Carey 19, Z Newbound (5-33), C Dhosi (3-16) d Karramomus 96 (Z Groombridge 27, J Cleeland 3-12, Q Venter 3-13)
STAR PLAYER
Quinton Venter (Waaia): Venter belted a quick-fire 17 and snagged three handy wickets to help Waaia within striking distance of six points. He claimed the prized scalp of Zane Newbound, which was the catalyst for stemming the run flow and breaking up any of Karramomus’ momentum.
“We need to walk before we run at the moment, it’s going to be stripped right back in the nets and making sure that we’re watching the ball and playing our game properly.”
Zane Newbound was the pick of the bowlers for either side, leaving with figures of 5-33, while Dhosi collected a stringent 3-16.