Having taken the points in the group stage head-to-head during the T20 competition a fortnight ago, the Lakers would have been optimistic heading into the one-day clash on their home deck.
But the Bloods, who overcame the Nagambie defeat to be crowned T20 champions, have been the form team of the early season, and stunned the Lakers from the outset on Saturday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Nagambie was immediately under siege, with a hostile Lachie Keady forcing opening duo Tom Barnes and Dale Short on to the back foot.
Barnes had no answer as Keady rocketed one into the stumps in the third over, forcing him to depart for just two runs, while his replacement at the crease, Mitch Winter-Irving, also fell victim to Keady, lasting nine deliveries and adding seven runs before he was trapped in front, leaving the Lakers two down with 15 runs on the board.
Mark Nolan strode to the crease, looking to steady the ship alongside Short; however, it took just 13 deliveries for Keady to send Nolan (7) packing, while James Wilson departed two balls later for a duck as Keady delivered a double-wicket maiden to leave Nagambie teetering at 4-27.
Zac Winter-Irving (1) became the fifth wicket to fall as Nagambie’s top order crumbled, the scoreboard reading 5-28, which soon became 6-33 and then 7-34, as Flynn O’Brien and Short both departed, and the Lakers stared down the barrel of an embarrassingly low total.
Brayden Biggs (12) and Matthew Martin (21) weathered the storm to an extent, soaking up 20 and 39 deliveries, respectively, while ticking the scoreboard over; however, it came down to James Auld and Ryan Ezard to salvage a respectable total for the Lakers.
Joining the crease together in the 29th over with the score at 9-76, the pair batted out the last 16 overs in a 66-run stand for the final wicket, dragging Nagambie to a decent total of 9-142 from 45 overs, with Ezard finishing unbeaten on a team-high 40, with Auld the next highest scorer for the Lakers on 25 not out.
With Karramomus needing 143 for victory, Nagambie’s bowlers were left little room for error, and any wriggle room diminished significantly in the 13 overs it took until Biggs found a breakthrough, by which point the Bloods had reached 49 runs.
Hope was fading fast for Nagambie, as the visitors added another 43 runs before Nolan claimed his first scalp, and the second of the innings, to reduce Karramomus to 2-92, although when Auld snared a wicket with the first ball of the following over to make it 3-94, the Lakers were still in with a sniff.
The Bloods brought up the century, which Nolan recognised by claiming the wicket of Declan Newbound to leave the visitors at 4-101, and it seemed as though the tide was beginning to shift, with the wicket proving tricky for the new batsmen to get set.
But just as the Lakers began to find some momentum, it was wrested away, with Karramomus pair Toby Keady and Zavier Davidson guiding the visitors to 4-142 and within one run of victory.
Keady and replacement batsman Chris Couch would both fall victim to Biggs before the winning runs were hit, reducing the Bloods to 6-142, before Davidson sealed the four-wicket win with a boundary.
Biggs finished with team-best figures of 3-19 for Nagambie with the ball, supported by Nolan (2-21) who also took multiple wickets, while Auld (1-41) was the only other wicket taker.
The Lakers will look to redeem the loss when they travel to Princess Park in Shepparton to take on Shepparton Youth Club United this Saturday, with SYCU still searching for a maiden win this campaign.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Nagambie’s B Grade side suffered a six-wicket loss to Central Park-St Brendan’s at Deakin Reserve to remain without a win through two rounds, while the D Grade side secured a three-wicket win at Nagambie Primary School courtesy of a team-high 37 runs from captain Keenan Shepherd.
Nagambie’s senior women split the points with Shepparton Youth Club United after the game was abandoned on Sunday.
