Tigers playing coach Tyler Larkin said his team was stoked to be in the Haisman Shield grand final following its six-wicket victory over Kyabram on Saturday.
The Tigers were stellar with the ball as they limited the Redbacks to 9-134 – their second lowest score of the Cricket Shepparton season.
An 83-run partnership between Tigers stalwarts Ramadan Yze and Jarrod Wakeling then steered the Tigers to victory as they reached 4-140 with nine overs to spare.
“It’s a pretty good feeling, that’s for sure. It has been a while since our club has played in an A-grade grand final,” Larkin said.
“I know the boys are very excited. There is obviously still a lot of hard work to do, but we are excited nonetheless.
“We took all our chances when they came to us. It was just really pleasing to have every bloke on the same page and all pulling in the same direction. I am really proud of the team.”
Wakeling was the star for the Tigers, taking three key wickets in the first innings before blasting a superb 50 not out with the bat that helped propel the Tigers to victory.
The highly-anticipated first versus second clash came a week earlier than expected following the Tigers’ surprise loss in the opening round of the finals.
The Tigers were rolled by Numurkah in the qualifying final, but were the round’s lucky loser, getting a second chance against minor premier Kyabram in the semis.
The Redbacks won the toss and chose to bat first, but it was the Tigers who had the early upper hand when Riley Lau dismissed opener Kyle Fitzgerald in the second over for a duck.
The wickets of Kaine Herbert (five) and Billy McLay (18) soon followed, with Kyabram at 3-44.
But Redbacks talisman Kyle Mueller – their key bat all season – helped steady the ship.
He made his way to 40 and Kyabram looked dangerous again at 3-75, before a killer spell from the Tigers changed the complexion of the game completely.
Fifteen-year-old Max Hooper claimed the critical wicket of Mueller, the first domino to fall in a Kyabram middle order collapse where it lost 4-14 in eight overs.
“The Kyle Mueller wicket pretty much swung it for us, he had just started to hit his straps. To take that wicket was massive for us,” Larkin said.
Ramadan Yze (1-28) then had Adam Nunn out caught for eight, with Wakeling (3-27) dismissing Paul Parsons (three) and Darin Ohlsen (one) to have Kyabram reeling at 7-89.
“Our big key was to get the top four out, especially Kyle, out early,” Larkin said.
“Kyle did get a few runs, but once we got him out we smelled a bit of blood in the water.
“We brought back a couple of our top bowlers to try and keep taking wickets and it paid off.”
The Redbacks’ tail added another 45 runs, as they reached 9-134 at the close of their innings.
“The Kyle Mueller wicket pretty much swung it for us. He had just started to hit his straps. To take that wicket was massive for us,’’ Larkin said.
“To clean the tail up relatively quickly was another major focus for us, because it could have blown out to 150-160, which might have been a different story.”
Larkin said he was pleased to have Kyabram limited to 134 on a pitch he said had 170-180 runs in it, but he said the Tigers knew a tough fight was still at hand.
The Tigers looked to be cruising in the second innings at 1-48, but the Redbacks showed they still had plenty of bite left in them.
Three wickets in three overs from Nunn (3-20) had them at 3-57, with the contest suddenly on a knife’s edge once more.
But up stepped Yze and Wakeling.
With the all the pressure on their shoulders, the two combined for a masterful partnership of 83 to see their side reach 4-140 and victory.
“We knew they weren’t going to make it easy for us, but to have Rama Yze and Jarrod Wakeling out there steer us home, it is a luxury to have those kind of blokes in your team,” he said.
Wakeling and Yze ended the contest not out, having made 50 and 42 respectively.
“The scoreboard does not tell the whole story. There was a period in there where they got three guys out in pretty quick succession and at that point in the game it could have gone either way,” Larkin said.
“Rama and Jarrod absorbed the pressure and then after the second drinks break they took the game away.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to have anyone else out there to steer us home than those two blokes, they are so experienced and very calm under pressure. They just did it perfectly for us.”
The Tigers will now face off against Katandra in Cricket Shepparton’s A-grade finale, with the Tigers hoping to hoist the Haisman Shield for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Katandra defeated Numurkah by 21 runs in Saturday’s other semi-final.
THE GAME
Kyabram 9-134 (Kyle Mueller 40, Billy McLay 18, Jarrod Wakeling 3-27, Brendan Scott 2-9) lt Central Park-St Brendan’s 4-140 (Jarrod Wakeling 50 not out, Ramadan Yze 42 not out, Adam Nunn 3-20)
STAR PLAYER
Jarrod Wakeling (Central Park-St Brendan’s): Wakeling played a key role with the bat and ball for the Tigers on Saturday. His three wickets – all coming during the Tigers’ game changing 4-14 spell – were vital, and his 50 not out was indispensable in the Tigers’ run chase as well.
