Waaia Recreation Reserve witnessed a high-quality display on Saturday between two sides on winning streaks and harbouring serious finals ambitions.
Chasing 213 to win, the home side had to do without opener Brayden Carey after his untimely dismissal late last Saturday.
Henry Barrow would not let opening partner Sam Trower off any easier, with the vice-captain caught out minutes into the second day.
Skipper Mitch Cleeland joined the fray with his side at 4-60 and in need of direction.
He provided all that and more in what threatened to be a game-breaking knock.
Unfortunately, it takes two to tango with the willow and Cleeland continued to find himself short of dance partners.
THE GAME
Waaia 200 (Mitch Cleeland 83, Jack Gaskill 5-57, Henry Barrow 4-54) lt Morooopna 212 (Jac Smith Williams 56, Brodie McDonald 40, Connor Brown 6-69, Jordan Cleeland 3-42)
STAR PLAYER
Jack Gaskill (Mooroopna): Gaskill was the star of Mooroopna’s second-day show, with a bag of five poles that could prove pivotal in the chase for top spot in this freshly wide-open season.
Still 97 shy of the target with two batters left in the sheds, the final piece of resistance arrived in the form of leading Haisman Shield wicket-taker Jesse Trower.
He and Cleeland resurrected the chase patiently and efficiently, before Gaskill broke through and claimed the vital skipper’s scalp, roaring in relief as he did so.
It was all hands on deck for the Cats in securing a memorable win, catching nine of Waaia’s batters out — with particular focus on Ben Woods claiming four behind the stumps.
Henry Barrow did it all himself to put the exclamation mark on his side’s 12-run triumph, as he removed Will Trower off his own handiwork.
With a fifth win on the bounce, ending Waaia’s perfect record on the way, Gaskill has plenty of reasons to smile.
“Being top of the league and unbeaten, (Waaia) are a good batting side,” Gaskill said.
“To knock them over at their home ground was huge for us and it sets our season up really nicely.
“Overall, I’d say this was our best day out this year so far.”
Moving to second ahead of the festive break after such an inauspicious start to life in the Haisman Shield this season is an accomplishment in itself.
Of course, the Cats gratefully had some help around the grounds.
“You look at yesterday and we were the only top six team to win, so things went in our favour,” Gaskill said.
“It’s huge that we’ve already played Central Park, Katandra and Waaia and we’re second.
“We’ve used 18 players as well, playing a lot of juniors, and Ben Woods probably had his best game yet in A-grade as well.”
So, what’s in store after the break coming off a triumph of this definitive nature?
Is this Mooroopna side officially inserted as a top contender?
“We’ve still got to play some good teams, but if you would have told us we’d be second going into Christmas, I’d have taken that all day long,” Gaskill said.
“To say that we’ve lost one game and taken five on the bounce is great.
“It also puts us in contention for a home final, which is our goal for this season.
“We’ll definitely give the better teams a good crack.”
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