Gallery | Mooroopna on top after 16 wickets tumble on first day’s play against Karramomus

Both clubs were in desperate need of a victory to stay in touch with the top six on the two-day ladder.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Mooroopna made a strong start to its innings.

The visitor sat on 1-59 after 20.5 overs before import Ethan Baker departed for 19.

Player-coach Henry Barrow said there was plenty in the wicket for batting and bowling.

“When we saw the deck it was one of those ones where it wouldn’t have been a bad toss to lose,” Barrow said.

“The pitch looked like it had plenty in it, but it also was a hot day and it was going to get quite flat as the day went on.

“It was good to have them out there in the heat, to be honest.”

As the temperature continued to rise, wickets slowly began to tumble as Mooroopna crawled to 5-112.

Karramomus opening bowlers Lachie Keady (3-25 from 14.3 overs) and Zane Newbound (3-23 from 15) were on the money across the course of the innings, refusing to give the opposition batters an inch.

The wickets soon began to cascade for the visitor as Mooroopna lost 5-28 to be bowled out for 140 after 52.3 overs.

Opening batter Joel May was the star of the first day’s play as he appeared to be the only batter — across both sides — who looked comfortable with the conditions.

May struck a crucial, and possibly match-winning, knock of 67 runs from 130 balls (10 boundaries) to guide his side to a defendable total.

It was May’s third score above 50 for the season and it came at a critical time for Mooroopna as it looks to reach finals and avenge its two-day grand final loss from last year.

Barrow said May had stepped up across the 2024-25 season after some off-season departures at Mooroopna.

“Joel has done that a couple times for us this (season), he really has it in him,” he said.

“He has taken up quite a key role in the side with the outgoings that we have had.

“He is one of our most senior blokes, so it was great to see him step up when others didn’t.

“He played the perfect innings for what the pitch needed and got us into a game-winning position.

“We thought par was around 150-160, so he got us (near) to that target.”

Mooroopna’s Cooper Sleeth (13 runs off 30 balls) made his A-grade debut for the club on Saturday.

The 15-year-old played an important role in partnering with May during the middle of the innings to help Mooroopna post a competitive target.

After their efficiency with the ball, the Bloods were given plenty of time to bat on Saturday.

However, the Karramomus engine started to spit and stutter as Mooroopna collected a couple of early wickets.

As the engine faulted, the wheels soon began to fall off for the hosts as the wickets continued to tumble thanks to the talented trio of Barrow, Corey Meyer and Jack Gaskill who all claimed two scalps.

Barrow said his side came out to field with the right kind of energy after the change of innings.

“We saw that the wicket was doing plenty for the bowlers, that certainly got me up and about,” he said.

“It was a really good team performance in the field, everyone fielded really well and everyone was lively.

“The bowlers that bowled did a really good job and got us into a strong position for the win next week.”

The Karramomus machine returned to the sheds a smoking mess at the end of the day’s play on 6-51, trailing by 89 runs heading into Saturday.