Nagambie denied by stunning partnership

But after 10 overs on Saturday any casual observer would have had the visitors well and truly in control of the battle.

Led by the lethal bowling of Mitchell Winter-Irving, as well as skipper Mark Nolan, Nagambie had sent United openers Jake Callow (4) and Steven Tate (2) back to the pavilion with the scorecard reading 2-16.

The situation soon became dire for the home side with Fahad Mirza (12) joining his teammates back in the sheds, leaving United in tatters at 3-20 and with more than 180 runs still required for victory.

Enter Sebastian Menzhausen and Rehan Bari, who despite finding themselves together in the middle much earlier than either probably would have anticipated, dug in to set about the gargantuan task ahead of them.

What unfolded in the next 53 overs was a brilliant display of patience and resolve by the pair and painful in equal measure for the Nagambie fielders, as Menzhausen and Bari played a magnificent counterattacking role to secure the win for their side.

With a strike rate of a little more than 32, Menzhausen steadied the ship at one end, hitting four boundaries on his way to 59 off a ridiculous 182 balls, soaking up all of the early pressure with aplomb before eventually being dismissed LBW by Winter-Irving.

It was a knock that freed up Bari at the other end, who smacked 14 fours and two maximums en route to an unbeaten 108, raising the bat after facing 177 balls, a fairly decent clip considering the circumstances he came in under.

The pair took the total from 3-20 to 4-153, a partnership of 133 runs, before Menzhausen eventually fell less than 50 runs from victory.

Nonetheless it was a pivotal knock from United’s number four, with his side securing victory at four wickets down with seven overs to spare, a remarkable turnaround from its early misfortune.

For Nagambie, Winter-Irving was the best of the bunch with the ball, finishing with a valiant 3-46 from 19 overs, and looked to be the hero early until his efforts were foiled by the Menzhausen-Bari partnership.

Nolan was the only other wicket-taker, finishing with figures of 1-54 from 25 overs.

The result also comes as Shepparton Youth Club United’s first win of the season, taking six points away from the contest to improve to 11th on the ladder and leaving Pine Lodge and Euroa winless below it.

Conversely, Nagambie picks up its first loss of the season, although its 4-1 record is still good enough to have it in fourth following the completion of the round, level on 30 points with the three sides ahead of it, although with a game in hand over Kyabram and Tatura.