Old Students break through for first Haisman Shield win after overcoming Shepparton Youth Club United

The combine opted to set the pace and for all its recent woes at the top of the order, there was serious production early on as a statement went about being made.

The half-century opening partnership between Jake Callow and Steven Tate was most appreciated, but boy, did momentum happen to change on a dime.

Enter James Meek to firmly swing this game’s complexion back the other way, rolling over both openers and initiating a thorough collapse as the entire top half of the visitors’ resistance was left in his wake.

His five-wicket frenzy left Old Students poised to strike and claim a maiden victory quite emphatically, but the rebuild was under way in the middle before long.

Fahad Mirza served as the lynchpin, pivotal in restoring a competitive affair through his blast-ridden knock of 46 with five fours and two sixes as the urgency ramped up.

His eventual removal, followed within moments back to the sheds by captain Sam Nash and Joe Hammond, again created a precarious position, but a stellar final stand helped deliver a more than competitive 174.

If you want to talk about top-order successes, though, look no further than the home side in reply.

Students captain Callan McCabe paired with Sam O’Brien for an opening track that even surpassed their adversaries, the former finding the rope seven times as the mood picked up as quickly as their scoring.

Even after the potent pair departed in quick succession, there was no joy to be discovered for the combine’s bowling attack as Felix Odell and Oscar Lambourn each picked up explosively where their predecessors left off.

Though there were no bat-raises on the day, three of the Students’ top four cleared 40 on an excellent day for the hitters, but most importantly, a day of sweet relief as McCabe’s men shut the door with a four inside the final over.

McCabe understood the game’s magnitude, simply chuffed to finally join the winners’ list.

“It was a huge game for both teams with both of us struggling,” McCabe said.

“It was a tough game, but in the end we’re delighted to get over the line and get the points on the board.

“We’ve got a lot of talented bowlers here and any one of us could be the man to get the wickets, but today it was Jimmy.

“That consistent ball made him probably the man of the match, in my opinion, though they really dug in at the tail end and it was quite a respectable score.

“We were probably disappointed to let them get away with that many after the start we had.”

Now bound for a two-day meeting with Euroa, the comfortable batting display sets his side in good stead for the longevity required to take results out of an 80-over format.

“Our batting has been really good and our top five have posted real good scores,” McCabe said.

“It was really good, so hopefully that favours us well going into two-dayers.

“If we can be three or four down after 45 overs, that’ll really help us out.

“We don’t underestimate anyone. Anyone on their day can have a really good game, so hopefully we can do that next week.”