Pine Lodge secures consecutive Haisman Shield victories with a narrow win over Euroa

Taking on Euroa, a win was ripe for the taking.

Did six points come easy? Far from it.

But on a hot day at Euroa Memorial Oval, a brave Pine Lodge unit defended its 134-run total to scalp a 22-run victory on the road.

Pine Lodge captain Travis Waters was stoked with the manner in which his troops carried out their triumphant performance under a scorching summer sun.

“The pitch was a little bit tricky early and the outfield was a little bit slow, but we got ourselves to a competitive total and thought we could defend that,” he said.

“It definitely wasn’t easy in the heat but we plugged away and got the win which was great.

“We thought that 134 was just below par, but the outfield was pretty slow and it was hard to hit a boundary.

“We thought if we bowled well and held our catches, we’d be a chance.

“We got a couple of wickets early in the innings and got us away. It was tough going there at one stage, but once we got into the tail we were able to clean them up, which was good.”

The scenes were rosy for Pine Lodge post-match, but one ball in, Euroa was chirping.

Fletcher Paul removed Hayden Cann with his first delivery of the innings and not long after the Lodgers languished at 3-26 after 12 overs.

Import Emile Haratbar dug his feet and paddled the visiting side through murky waters, guiding his boys close to the 100-run barrier before he eventually took leave on 42.

A sprinkling of handy middle-order knocks saw Waters’ outfit to 134, with Paul (4-24) and Archie Wilson (3-29) helping restrain the Lodgers for a gettable total.

A special moment arrived when 15-year-old Xavier Waters stepped out for his A-grade debut, and although his stint at the crease was fleeting, Pine Lodge was determined to go back-to-back.

Tight bowling was required, and that’s precisely what transpired.

Travis Waters and Tiron Fernando combined excellently to tear the wheels off Euroa and, as the host stood at 4-30 after 12 overs, the game hung in the balance.

But while Pine Lodge had Haratbar’s heroics, the Magpies were left lacking as no batters were able to conjure a match-winning score and guide Euroa over the line.

Ryan Kearney found himself on a hat-trick late on in the day and although he couldn’t find the third breakthrough, the true sweetener was Cooper Adkins’ final wicket to stop Euroa short on 112.

On the bowling front, Fernando stood out with three wickets and earned praise from his skipper alongside Haratbar’s classy batting.

“Emile has made 40 three times this year, so hopefully he can crack the 50 soon,” Waters said with a laugh.

“He was the main standout with the bat and everyone else just chipped in.

“Tino (Fernando) took three-for and a couple of the spinners took a couple of wickets.”

With Pine Lodge assuming the bye in the final regular season round, Waters is hoping to end the season on a high with a hit out at home against Karramomus.

“The boys are all pretty happy to go in with some confidence. Two Saturdays left, hopefully we finish with three wins in a row and that will give us great confidence going forward for next year,” he said.

“And obviously giving a kid a go and having four or five blokes under 22, so it’s looking good for the future of the club.”