The Flames were chasing an outright win against one of Goulburn Murray Cricket’s strugglers, requiring 17 further wickets after reducing the visitor to 3-10 by stumps on day one.
With 287 on the board, Nondies had plenty of work to do to attempt to avoid the follow-on, but fortune wasn’t on their side at Northern Oval.
Will Ringin proved effective at the resumption of play, but partner Will O’Shea, who he started the day with, only added six before departing, trapped in front by Jackson Barnett.
Ringin linked up with an aggressive Broden Wishart for a valuable sixth-wicket partnership.
Wishart belted the Flames’ attack around the ground, hitting nine fours on his way to 45 from 44.
Ringin was playing the anchor role, saluting a half-century, but at 52 from 110 balls was unfortunately unable to continue, retiring from his innings.
The innings was over seven balls after Ringin’s departure, Wishart the last man out.
There was almost no resistance left from Nondies, the bottom four not contributing a single run to their side’s first innings, all out 111.
Barnett (5-16) cleaned out the tail to secure a five-wicket haul and it wasn’t long before he replicated the accomplishment.
Still 176-runs ahead, Fire Brigade understandably enforced the follow-on, the misery continuing for Nondies as they attempted to hold out and deny their opponents the extra competition points.
Compounding the issue was the fact that Ringin remained unavailable in the second innings, with Fire Brigade requiring nine wickets for the win.
Wishart jumped up the order, but added just nine from 19 deliveries, while opening partner Angus Donat held firm for 42 balls before falling for 15.
A couple of other resilient performances were dotted throughout the innings, Shaun Haffenden (25 from 44) and Zeb Ellwood (17 from 29) holding firm for a time, but Nondies was unable to hold up against the Fire Brigade attack, bowled out for 88.
Barnett (5-37) secured a second five-wicket haul, totalling nine for the day and 10 for the match.
Robert Salter had four wickets across both innings, while Tom Owen, Brenton Sheppard and Oscar Carver also struck.
The extra six competition points give the Flames the edge over three other 3–3 teams, putting them in fourth place on the ladder.
The Game
Kyabram Fire Brigade 4-287 dec (Bohden Learmonth 106 not out) d Nondies-Cohuna 111 (Will Ringin 52 retired not out, Broden Wishart 45, Jackson Barnett 5-16, Robert Salter 3-24) and 88 (Shaun Haffenden 25, Jackson Barnett 5-37)
They face a trip to Moama this weekend for the final round before the Christmas hiatus, while Nondies-Cohuna will visit Leitchville-Gunbower.
Elsewhere, Rochester fell three wickets short of completing a similar rout at the expense of Echuca South, taking first-innings points only, while Echuca took the initial six points and maintained top spot after skittling Leitchville-Gunbower.
Bamawm-Lockington United embarked on a higher-scoring day, but Cameron Laird’s flash 65 after coming in at eight was ultimately not enough for the Lions as Moama held firm to win by 32 runs.
