An improved batting performance, inspired by a half-century from the ever-reliable Luke Nolan, served as the catalyst for the victory as the Lakers were finally able to give their bowling attack a competitive total to defend.
Nagambie captain Mark Nolan said it was fantastic to see his side produce its best cricket after a five-week layoff.
“It was a very good win, obviously having the bye before Christmas we hadn’t played for quite a while, so to come out and be back at our best first up after the break was very pleasing,” Nolan said.
“Having worked hard on our batting in the break, it was great to see that come to fruition straight away, having first innings runs on the board certainly made our life a lot easier with the ball and really showed us what we can achieve at our best.”
Winning the toss and batting first at Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve, it was pivotal the Lakers got off to a good start, with Luke Nolan once again the man to stand up.
Having to negotiate a tough wicket and excellent new-ball bowling by the Jets’ openers, Nolan dug in and compiled a patient 54 off 115 balls to take the pressure off his side’s faltering middle order.
Setting up a solid platform, Nagambie would then cash in through the final overs, with cameos by Tom Barnes (18 off 11) and Jonathan Moore (18 off 20) helping lift it to 180 from its 45 overs.
With its bowling attack finally having some first innings runs to play with, Nagambie continued its strong momentum into the second innings, taking crucial early wickets to have the Jets on the back foot.
Brock Boddington would be the pick of the bowlers taking 3-18 off his 8.1 overs, while the remainder of the attack added valuable contributions to dismiss the dangerous Notherners batting line-up for 155.
Nolan said this victory would give his side a lot of confidence as it looks to make a charge towards finals contention.
“If we want to play finals, we have to start beating those top teams, so it was really good to put in a performance like that against a strong side like Northerners,” he said.
“We are now starting to get our best team out on the park and starting to believe that we are one of the competition’s best sides, now it is just about stringing some more wins together and continuing to push our way up the ladder.”
THE GAME
Nagambie 9-180 (Luke Nolan 54, Tom Barnes 18, Nick Breslin 2-22) d Northerners 155 (Josh Sidebottom 38, Nick Breslin 25, Brock Boddington 3-18)
STAR PLAYER
Luke Nolan (Nagambie): A constant at the top of the order for Nagambie, Luke Nolan was the clear standout batter at Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve on Saturday compiling a crucial 54. An innings mixed with excellent patience and classy shot execution, Nolan set a perfect platform for the Lakers as they finally managed to produce a competitive first innings total.
