Shepparton Youth Club United hosted Karramomus on Saturday at Princess Park in near-40°C heat.
The two sides, while both sitting at the bottom end of the ladder, have remained competitive throughout the summer and were both eager to add another victory to their respective win columns at the weekend.
SYCU won the toss and elected to bat as the hosts looked to tire the Bloods out in the field under the searing heat.
The wicket was playing a bit up and down according to Karramomus coach Steve Allen, who said he was pleased with how his side performed on the “bowler-friendly pitch”.
“I thought the bowling performance was good, it was pretty warm, but they stuck at it well as a unit,” Allen said.
“The opening bowlers started well and then Declan Newbound bowled particularly well from one end and the spinners bowled well from the other.
“(The bowlers) took wickets regularly and were able to bowl them out for a cheap score.”
SYCU’s batters struggled to make a serious impact with bat in hand and only lasted 38 out of the possible 45 overs.
Steven Tate (35 runs off 66 balls) and English imports Jake Callow (15 off 32) and Ben Greenwood (15 off 24) were the best with the bat for the hosts as SYCU was bowled out for 117.
The bottom four sides in the Haisman Shield (SYCU, Karramomus, Pine Lodge and Euroa) all played one of the other four on Saturday.
With the four clubs all sitting on one or two victories for the season, the importance of winning Saturday’s contest was crucial in the race to avoid the wooden spoon.
In response to SYCU's effort, Karramomus was sitting pretty at 1-54 before Abe Lake castled Billy Jones.
The Bloods proceeded to lose two more wickets in quick succession as the potential of a Karramomus batting collapse began to creep into everyone’s minds.
However, as his side stumbled, Bloods captain Mitch McGrath’s concentration failed to waver.
The opening batter remained focused in the heat of both the weather and the battle, scoring an unbeaten 46 from 116 balls to deliver his side their second win of the season.
THE GAME
Shepparton Youth Club United 117 (Steven Tate 35, Declan Newbound 3-15, Zane Newbound 2-19) lt Karramomus 5-118 (Mitch McGrath 46*, Nathan Jones 39, Brijesh Kumar 1-11)
STAR PLAYER
Mitch McGrath (Karramomus): The player-of-the-match could have easily gone to Declan Newbound for his impact with the ball or Nathan Jones for his quick-fire runs, but McGrath’s effort with the bat was the most important performance out of the three. The Bloods’ captain stood up when he needed to and batted through the innings in very tough conditions to help his side to their second win.
Allen said he hopes McGrath’s performance can help inspire his troops to a strong finish to the summer.
“Mitch batting through the innings did a tremendous job,” he said.
“There was a little bit of a wobble there in the middle where we lost a couple of wickets close together, which we have done regularly before.
“I thought Nathan Jones (39 off 52) and Mitch’s partnership was crucial.
“Nathan summed the situation up pretty well and batted very well for the circumstances and we were able to get over the line.
“We have been thereabouts for large portions of games, but to actually get across the line will do (McGrath) and the team a lot of confidence to know they can tough it out when put under pressure and get over the line.”
Next weekend the Haisman Shield returns to two-day fixtures as Karramomus travels to take on Pine Lodge and SYCU hosts Waaia.
One win separates the bottom four sides heading into the final two rounds of the home-and-away season.
39°C