There hadn’t been much in it for the bowlers at Vibert Reserve, he suggested, as his side catapulted to a whopping 388 against Euroa in a Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield dead rubber.
That hypothesis didn’t exactly seem to materialise once it was the Magpies’ turn to have a hit on day two of the season finale for both clubs.
Lachie Keady’s dismissal of Vaughan Kirk for a single run, caught behind by Luke Forge, more than set the tone for a day out on his part.
More misery followed for Euroa shortly thereafter with the top three falling for single figures each, Keady working in stellar tandem with Zane Newbound to do the early damage.
The change of attack did little to aid the visitor’s cause, falling away to languish on the unenviable score of 6-44 at one stage.
Some resistance finally arrived at that stage as Sham Dadallage, who had claimed the majority of his side’s wickets on day one, sought to contribute with bat in hand alongside Marc Hornby in an eventual 35-run partnership, by far Euroa’s most productive of the day.
It was all a moot point before long, however, as all five Karramomus bowlers earned a slice of the pie and the Bloods would scoop first-innings points by a monumental 301-run margin in 36 overs.
Naturally, the question asks itself when it comes to an outright.
With more than half the day’s overs in hand, you think to yourself, ‘Let’s do the time warp again’, right?
Sure enough, 10 points were on the red and yellow outfit’s minds, seeking to make a statement — and it so nearly came off.
As it turns out, Keady had saved some of his best work for last, parlaying his three-wicket haul from the first innings into five in the second for a brilliant eight on the day as Euroa again struggled for air at the crease.
Though Kirk had some success the second time around with a top score of 24, there still wasn’t much joy to be found down the scorecard as Declan Newbound scored a trio of leg-before dismissals on the Magpies’ tail order.
It was agonisingly close to completing the job, Euroa holding off the embarrassment of an enormous innings-plus defeat by a single wicket.
THE GAME
Karramomus 7-388 (Mitch McGrath 132, Zavier Davidson 70, Sham Dadallge 4-171) d Euroa 87 (Sham Dadallge 24, Zac Groombridge 3-11, Lachie Keady 3-14) and 9-85 (Vaughan Kirk 24, Jye Bjorksten 24, Lachie Keady 5-28)
STAR PLAYER
Mitch McGrath (Karramomus): Hats off to the skipper, though Lachie Keady was an extraordinarily close second. McGrath and Davidson put up an opening partnership that would have been enough to win either innings, and the Bloods boss went on with the job superbly to render day two a formality.
The Bloods gathered steam in a tremendous way down the stretch after the festive break, well and truly asserting themselves as a side with more to aim for in the 2025-26 campaign by distancing themselves from the likes of Euroa and Pine Lodge with emphasis.
It’s back to the drawing board for the south-eastern 12th-placed side, though, which appears set to farewell long time club figure Andrew Squires.
