Nagambie outlasts Kyabram in rain-affected Haisman Shield thriller

To start proceedings the Lakers won the toss and elected to bat.

New Nagambie coach and opening batter Zac Winter-Irving made a strong start for his side, scoring 16 runs off 37 balls alongside fellow opener Luke Nolan (11 off 41).

However, it was the Lakers’ middle-order that did the damage with first drop batter Mitch Winter-Irving (48 off 71), debutant James Wilson (52 off 77) and skipper Mark Nolan (25 off 25) causing Kyabram plenty of headaches.

Nagambie posted a competitive first innings total of 5-181 after its 45 overs, despite Kyabram’s tidy bowling — the Redbacks only conceded four extras.

Kyabram opening bowlers Jackson McLay (1-35 from nine overs) and Charlie McLay (1-27 from nine) performed well.

Meanwhile, overseas import Shafiqullah Maroofkhel was the pick of the bowlers for Kyabram, finishing with 3-27 from eight.

After the break, the Lakers' start to the summer with ball in hand couldn’t have gone any better, with opening bowler Mitch Winter-Irving snaring Kyabram batter Billy McLay with the first ball of the innings.

Nagambie’s off-season recruit Xavier Arandt was dangerous as he finished with impressive figures of 3-21 from six overs.

The round one output from their pre-season recruits had Lakers coach Winter-Irving bullish about his side’s chances this summer.

“The (recruits) are definitely feeling part of the group and it was good to see them both get the results in what they do,” Winter-Irving said.

“Especially for James (Wilson), he was really critical for us through the middle of the innings.

“His batting definitely shone above and he played a pretty important role.

“Young Xav, 17 nearly 18 years old, and even his fielding, besides his bowling, was pretty exceptional by the end.”

Kyabram star Kyle Mueller — as he so often does — came to the rescue with the willow for the home side.

Mueller struck 50 runs off 60 balls to keep the Redbacks within reach of the Lakers, with Kyabram’s Lukas Hanslow (38 off 48) also performing with the bat.

Needing 17 runs to win off 16 balls, poor weather and light meant the match was called off, with Nagambie walking away with a 16-run win thanks to the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Winter-Irving said he was impressed with how his players stood up in a tight encounter against high-quality opposition.

“Both sides were in the match for 90 per cent of the game,” he said.

“It was a good outfield and a good deck and I felt that our pre-season shone and showed that everyone was ready to go and we didn’t have too many lapses.

“Credit to Kyabram and their bowling, it was pretty tidy and I thought the score we posted was on par or slightly above.

“The middle order definitely did their job and then a couple guys came in at the end and capitalised, which was good to see.”

Winter-Irving said the Lakers’ discipline and skill in the field gave his side the upper hand.

“Without daylight saving, it went pretty late, and with the lights on and misty rain it put us off and in the end, it became a little bit too dangerous with only 2.4 overs to go,” he said.

“We ended up getting the win on Duckworth-Lewis in the end.

“The young blokes who came into the team and they gave us plenty of energy in the field.

“Those half chances, sometimes that’s the difference in a game, holding those catches or not.”

This weekend the one-day fixtures continue, with Nagambie facing another tough ask as it takes on Central Park-St Brendan’s at home, while Kyabram will play Mooroopna in a replay of last year’s two-day grand final.