Brilliant Nagambie bowling inflicts more Magpie misery in Haisman Shield

By the close of play, Mark Nolan’s outfit was in unequivocal control and ― whether wishful thinking or otherwise ― could potentially have its sights set on 20 wickets, rather than being content with 10.

With the manner in which the first six dropped, coming inside the final 18 overs of play at Nagambie Recreation Reserve, there would be reason to dream on.

With maximum points virtually non-negotiable given the expected difficulties of Nagambie’s remaining schedule, day two ― however long it lasts ― will still have its storylines.

In Euroa’s defence, James Lloyd did seemingly all he could to keep the Lakers’ total manageable, and deserves primary credit for Nagambie eventually posting what would largely be considered an under-par score.

Of course, if the 20-wicket triumph comes through on Saturday, that hardly matters.

With that said, Vaughan Kirk was able to preserve his spot at the crease when play resumes by salvaging a 37-ball innings of his own in the twilight.

There was no answer to Nagambie’s attack anywhere else in the line-up, though, with three ducks already registered among the six Magpies that found themselves in the sheds post-haste.

Mitch Winter-Irving’s spell doesn’t tell the whole story, with a wide and no-ball among the three runs he has conceded off three miserly overs.

There will be plenty for Nolan to weigh up next week.

“At the end of the day, we were pretty happy with where we finished up,” Nolan said.

“We thought we left a few runs out there, but to take six wickets late was pretty good.

“When we went out to bowl, we were hoping to take three wickets and anything more was a bonus.

“It’s not much fun to bat at that time of day because you can’t achieve much, but they were good conditions to bowl in.”

Far more runs could have been left out there than anyone may have seen coming, with the Lakers struggling to 5-40 at one stage and the smell of a season-crushing upset starting to linger.

Once that ship steadied, though, Nolan’s side never looked back.

For that reason, though, the first four wickets of the day will be vital in Nolan’s eyes, rather than potentially another 10 afterwards.

“Our focus will just be taking these four as quick as we can to get the six points, then see where the rest of the day takes us after that,” Nolan said.

“We just managed to put the ball in the right areas, and they were trying to hang around and survive, but we kept challenging them.

“It was a howling wind to bowl into, but we weren’t in a great spot with the bat, so we’re happy to be in a pretty good one now.”