Sport
Waaia and Nagambie have last weigh-ins before Cricket Shepparton’s Haisman Shield grand final
Two days, 100 overs, one winner — regardless of which shade of black and red rules, history will be made in Cricket Shepparton’s Haisman Shield this weekend.
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Nagambie and Waaia will fly their colours on the grand final stage, Katandra Recreation Reserve chosen as the battleground where either the Lakers or Bombers will plant their flag on neutral soil having earned a maiden Haisman Shield victory.
It’s the might of one small town against one even smaller, but the talent pool is huge.
Both outfits are tightly stitched together with some of Cricket Shepparton’s best linchpins who’ve served their respective badges diligently for years, some for a decade or more.
One is Nagambie coach Zac Winter-Irving, who knows exactly what it would mean to raise the Haisman Shield aloft when the dust settles on Sunday.
“Look, it's obviously a massive goal of ours and we've had a pretty core group here,” he said.
“There are probably between six or seven blokes that are still in that team now that have been around for 10 years together playing in the senior side.
“It'd be terrific to cap it off and be able to win on the weekend, but that all is still to behold.”
Nagambie has the wood over Waaia this season, netting a six-wicket win against the Bombers in round 11.
But that was a one-dayer.
The last two-day match between the sides fell in the first round of finals in the 2023-24 season where Waaia scraped through by a single wicket.
It’s clearly a tight fight whenever these two duel and cranking up the contest’s voltage even further is the form Nagambie and Waaia’s main men have enjoyed.
You have the Lakers’ big three — and we’re not talking Shaq, Kobe and Lebron.
Mark Nolan (491 runs and 37 wickets), Mitch Winter-Irving (497 runs and 24 wickets) and Luke Nolan (440 runs and 19 catches) have been in searing touch and will be crucial in quelling the Bombers’ own threats.
Waaia’s Mitch Cleeland (592 runs and seven wickets), Jesse Trower (37 wickets and 180 runs) and Liam Evans (27 wickets and 87 runs) are all operating on a higher frequency this season and are in the conversation for potential match-winners come the weekend.
“You look at individual stats and they've got Mitch and Jesse, who are both really good with the ball and very handy with the bat,” Winter-Irving said.
“And then, obviously ourselves, we've got the two Nolans and Mitch and even Brayden Biggs.
“There’s obviously names that get thrown around with stats, but it's all about what happens on the two days, I guess. That's what counts in the end — anyone can do anything.”
Meanwhile, having recently led Waaia Football Club to a three-peat of senior flags, player-coach Cleeland is hoping to find a slice of that success this weekend for the Bombers in the cricket.
Waaia’s side will be unchanged from its preliminary final victory over Central Park-St Brendan’s and will feature five players from the Bombers’ 2024 Picola District Football League grand final victory.
Cleeland said he was hoping that wealth of experience in grand finals (albeit in a different sport) would come in handy when the going gets tough against Nagambie.
“It is always nice to know you have cool, experienced heads under pressure,” Cleeland said.
“That is probably as far as you can read into it as far as knowing we have guys that can hopefully stand up to that pressure.”
Waaia’s star all-rounder has once again been a consistent performer for his side this summer.
The two teams competing in this weekend’s grand final have shared similar paths, having both been successful — without taking out the top prize — since joining Cricket Shepparton in 2018.
Cleeland gave credit to Nagambie and its weapons, saying that the grand final is an evenly poised match between two of the league’s expansion clubs.
“Every time we play these guys it’s a good contest,’’ he said.
‘’They are a great side and I am not expecting anything different this time around, hopefully, we are on the winning ledger of it.
“We are trying not to overthink the process and try to control what we can control.’’
Waaia was the team to beat heading into finals last summer, having only dropped one game during the home and away season.
However, the Bombers nose-dived out in straight sets and were left to begin again in October.
Cleeland believes this time Waaia has risen at the opportune moment.
“Everything has just clicked at the right time of the year as opposed to last year when we might have peaked a bit early,” he said.
“This time we have come in as a bit more of an underdog I guess and being able to go through that way.
“It helps when you get lucky in that first week being the lucky loser.”
Waaia’s path to the grand final hasn’t been straightforward having lost to reigning premier Kyabram in round one of the finals, before upsetting ladder leader Central Park-St Brendan’s at home last Sunday.
The Bombers’ depth in the bowling department is one of — if not — the best in the league boasting the likes of Will and Jesse Trower, Evans, Jordan Cleeland and Cleeland himself.
However, Waaia's coach said he was well aware of the talent standing in the way of Haisman Shield glory.
“As a collective (the Lakers) are quite well rounded I would say,” he said.
“They have a very good bowling line-up and that is spearheaded by Mark Nolan himself and their batting is the same thing as they centre it around Luke Nolan being the defensive anchor and then they have so many guys who can go and score around him.
“They are a great fielding side too, so we have to be on our A-game to stand up to all three of those.”