An improved batting performance, inspired by a half-century from the ever-reliable Luke Nolan, served as the catalyst for the victory as the Lakers were finally able to give their bowling attack a competitive total to defend.
Nagambie captain Mark Nolan said it was fantastic to see his side produce its best cricket after a five-week lay-off.
“It was a very good win. Obviously having the bye before Christmas, we hadn’t played for quite a while, so to come out and be back at our best first up after the break was very pleasing,” Nolan said.
“Having worked hard on our batting in the break, it was great to see that come to fruition straight away. Having first innings runs on the board certainly made our life a lot easier with the ball and really showed us what we can achieve at our best.”
Winning the toss and batting first at Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve, it was pivotal the Lakers got off to a good start, with Luke Nolan once again the man to stand up.
Having to negotiate a tough wicket and excellent new-ball bowling by the Jets’ openers, Nolan dug in and compiled a patient 54 off 115 balls to take the pressure off his side’s faltering middle order.
Setting up a solid platform, Nagambie cashed in through the final overs, with cameos by Tom Barnes (18 off 11) and Jonathan Moore (18 off 20) helping lift it to 180 from its 45 overs.
With its bowling attack finally having some first innings runs to play with, Nagambie continued its strong momentum into the second innings, taking crucial early wickets to have the Jets on the back foot.
Brock Boddington was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-18 off his 8.1 overs, while the remainder of the attack added valuable contributions to dismiss the dangerous Notherners batting line-up for 155.
Nolan said this victory would give his side a lot of confidence as it looked to make a charge towards finals contention.
“If we want to play finals, we have to start beating those top teams, so it was really good to put in a performance like that against a strong side like Northerners,” he said.
“We are now starting to get our best team out on the park and starting to believe that we are one of the competition’s best sides. Now it is just about stringing some more wins together and continuing to push our way up the ladder.”
In B-grade action, the Lakers could not recreate the heroics of their senior side, falling to Northerners by 129 runs at Nagambie Recreation Reserve.
Losing the toss and bowling first, Nagambie was unable to make those crucial early breakthroughs as the Jets’ top order came out and looked to dominate from ball one.
Declan Newbound was particularly impressive for the visitors, coming in at number three and striking a free-flowing 55 off just 65 balls to set up the perfect platform for his team.
William O’Brien toiled hard for the Lakers, taking 2-35 off his nine overs to try and contain the Northerners’ onslaught, but a late surge saw the Jets post a mammoth total of 226.
With building early partnerships the key to Nagambie’s chances of a successful chase, it was a horrific start for the home side as the top order crumbled to see it in a spot of bother at 4-6.
Having seen the game slip away in a matter of minutes, Hugh McKweon tried his hardest to give his side something to smile about, hanging in for a brave 23 not out.
But the Northerners bowlers were simply too good, wrapping up the Nagambie innings for just 97.
Nagambie’s E-grade side started off the new year in fine style, prevailing by nine runs in a thriller against Karramomus.
Jeremy Ezard was the star for the Lakers, striking a blistering 72 from the top of the order to see his side to a strong first innings total of 180.
Jonathan Mandaradoni was the glue that kept the Bloods’ chase together, compiling a brilliant 75 while his teammates fell around him.
But it wasn’t enough, as the Lakers, led by Bo Harrison (3-16) and Ryan Ezard (3-32), stood up in the big moments to post a crucial victory.