Haisman Shield | Central Park remain unbeaten after grinding out result at Karramomus

“We weren’t probably at our best, Karramomus have a solid bowling lineup and stuck to their plan really well,” Larkin said.

“We lost wickets at regular intervals which isn’t like us this season, but we managed to hit that 160 mark which in the end proved to be enough.”

Batting first, the Tigers were cruising at 1/71 before Jason Ibbotson got to work.

The Bloods’ veteran curdled Central Park’s run flow with a trio of wickets, and if not for Connor Holland’s steadying knock of 63, capitulation may well have ensued.

The dismissal of teenager Keiran Hogeboom saw Central Park all out, with Ibbotson (4-21), Zane Newbound (2-16) and Billy Jones (2-26) doing enough damage to restrict the usually run-happy Tigers to a chaseable total.

Bar the early exit of Jones, Karramomus were sailing along — but akin to Ibbotson’s efforts in the first innings, were soon reeling thanks to a gutsy spell put in by Dwain Vidler (2-14).

Vidler’s cameo triggered a Karramomus collapse, with Larkin lauding the new Tiger for his performance in helping cut the Bloods down for 99.

“Dwain Vidler’s spell in the middle was massive for us,” Larkin said.

“He came in and bowled nine overs on the hop in 40-degree heat, and to take 2-14 doing that is ridiculous.”

Larkin also praised Holland for exploits with the willow, commending the youngster for taking his opportunity and running with it.

“Connor’s probably missed out on a bit of opportunity batting down the order, so with Brenno (Brendan Scott) carrying a bit of an injury we decided to give him a run up top,” he said.

“It was really good to see him take his opportunity, which is something we have been big on for everyone this season.”