Katandra entered round 10’s Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield clash 12 points outside the top six, meaning two wins from the final two rounds, plus a bit of external luck, is required for an Eagles fixture in March.
But at the end of day’s play on day one, Katandra are hanging on by a thread.
Despite a defiant half-century from opener Corey Hickford, batters two through six all fell for 11 runs or less as current top-six side Nagambie all but sewed up its spot for another round.
Mitchell Winter-Irving and Auld did the damage, removing the likes of Sam Green, Ben Pedretti and Raymond Ireland in the top order for a handful of runs, before lower order pairing Ben Clurey and Ryleigh Shannon were able to stem the bleeding.
Clurey and Shannon’s knocks of 24 and 25 helped the scoreboard tick over, but Winter-Irving and Auld would continue sweeping up the Eagles when they departed, leaving Katandra scrambling for an all-time bowling display to save their season.
The Eagles were bowled out for 161 in the 55th over, handing 22 overs to Nagambie to bat for the rest of the day.
Nagambie’s Zac Winter-Irving stated it was “standard” cricket tactics that got the job done for the visitors.
“I was pretty happy with the bowling, the outfield was a little slow so the five seamers did well with some standard old line and length cricket,” Winter-Irving said.
Winter-Irving also praised James Auld for his work with the ball in the young gun’s best outing for the season.
“Auld did a terrific job, with 4-32 in the end,” he said.
“We’ve been happy with his output with both bat and ball this season, he’s a perfect all-rounder for us, and with the ball he always seems to create a chance.”
Yet, while Nagambie certainly has the upper edge, Katandra may be quietly optimistic it can pull off an upset after its efforts with the pill in the evening.
Hickford continued his impressive form after producing Katandra’s highest score, knocking over Tom Barnes for a golden duck in the first over.
Dale Short and Auld were made to fight for every run, with the pair’s strike rate both under 40 respectively.
Short would snick off for 15 in the 14th over, as would Auld in the 21st for 23.
The late wickets hand Katandra two fresh batters to pepper on day two, with Mark Nolan surviving 26 balls and yielding just three runs to see out the day, while number five bat William Ulrich has yet to face a ball.
The Lakers are 119 runs shy of victory with a full 80 overs remaining, but with three of the top order knocked off, Katandra are a sniff for an unlikely upset to keep its season’s heartbeat pumping.
But with a deep batting order, and known match-winners to come, Winter-Irving isn’t flustered.
“It was a bit of a shaky start, being 1-1,” Winter-Irving said.
“But the boys pulled it together to chip away a a few runs.
“It wasn’t perfect but we feel 120-odd to get with seven wickets left is a nice set-up for next week.”
THE GAME SO FAR
Katandra 161 (Corey Hickford 50, Ryleigh Shannon 25, James Auld 4-32) play Nagambie 3-43 (James Auld 23, Dale Short 15, Grant Hutchins 1-3)
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