The hosting Eagles pushed through to 243 in the 77th over before being bowled out, largely thanks to a sizeable partnership between Kieran Collins and Sam Wright, and even had time to fire six balls down at Kyabram before stumps.
Though it couldn’t get a breakthrough late in the day, Katandra will feel it has a fair score to defend against a run-happy Redbacks contingent.
And rest assured, it was an eyebrow-raising affair from the get-go.
The first ‘‘look up’’ moment came straight away as Corey Hickford, a usual bowling exponent, came in to open the batting.
Though he slashed one to the ropes as Katandra struggled to escape Kyabram’s restraint, Hickford departed for 17 at 1-26.
Ben Pedretti stuck around a while longer and came one lusty blow short of raising the bat on 44, but in the following exchanges, it seemed the Eagles were never going to truly take flight.
Enter Wright and Collins.
The ex-AFL talent worked harmoniously alongside the English import for 33 overs, showcasing an exhibition of skill and raw power to get the Eagles ticking past 200.
By the time both were dismissed — Wright for 66 and Collins for 59 — the sun hung low in the sky, Kyabram was ready to wrap things up and Charlie McLay made sure of it with a string of quick wickets.
THE GAME
Katandra 243 (Sam Wright 66, Kieran Collins 59, Charlie McLay 5-68) v Kyabram 0-1 (Jackson McLay 0*, Tim Nelson 0*, Scott Richardson 0-1)
He left with a haul of five, while Tom Holman (3-38) had an exemplary day with the cherry.
Jackson McLay and Tim Nelson are at the crease at 0-1, with both yet to score as an extra is currently the only score on the board.
Should the Redbacks chase down Katandra’s target, it would surely catapult them into finals contention for the first time this season, while dropping the premiership-holding Eagles out of the top four.
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