In what can only be described as a ruthless round eight hit-out, Waaia flattened the Lodgers by 210 runs to surge closer to a coveted top-six spot on Cricket Shepparton’s Haisman Shield ladder.
While several Bombers wowed at Lemnos Recreation Reserve, one man stood above the rest: Diplock.
The Zimbabwean was on fire with the pill, taking season-best figures of 7-10 with a double wicket maiden and a hat trick nestled among the staggering stat line.
However, his bulldozing bowling was made possible by Waaia’s earlier damage with the bat.
Sent in first, the Bombers built a commanding 8-251 off the back of a composed, no-nonsense middle-order effort.
Jaime Riley and Mitch Cleeland were the glue, steadying things at three and four after Damien Atkins went for cheap and Jordan Cleeland was caught after making a handy 28-run start.
Riley’s 71 was busy and controlled, Cleeland’s 61 was of the explosive variety as it came off just 45 balls, the pair refusing to let Pine Lodge string pressure together.
When both departed and the Lodgers thought they might escape with something manageable, Bailey Smith arrived and ripped that idea up as he unloaded a rapid-fire 49 batting at six, turning a solid total into a daunting one in the blink of an eye.
Darshana Prasad Loku Hettige was Pine Lodge’s standout with the ball, working hard for figures of 3-34, but by the 45th over the damage was already well and truly done.
What followed was a demolition.
Diplock needed just one over to set the tone, starting the second innings with a double-wicket maiden that immediately dismissed Hayden Cann for one and the dangerous Dylan Hardy for none.
The Bombers tightened the screws as Pine Lodge’s scoring rate flat lined, and when Will Trower entered the attack, the Lodgers’ woe worsened.
Trower snared Hettige and Rohan Francis’ wickets in successive balls, and though the hat trick didn’t arise, Waaia continued pressing its foot to Pine Lodge’s throat.
Diplock crashed Liam Trevaskis’ castle in the 16th over, removing the only Lodger to provide pushback with the bat as he walked for 14.
And with his next over, Diplock brought the house down.
The import cleaned up Travis Knight, Jai Brown and Travis Waters in three balls to end the game and see the Lodgers slump all out for 41, putting a hat-trick exclamation point on a wild Haisman Shield affair.
Waaia lifts to seventh on the ladder with a crucial game against fifth ranked Karramomus coming up, while Pine Lodge takes on Katandra (10th) in round nine.
THE GAME
Waaia 8-251 (Jaime Riley 71, Mitch Cleeland 61, Darshana Prasad Loku Hettige 3-34) def Pine Lodge 41 (Liam Trevaskis 14, Brandon Diplock 7-10, Will Trower 3-20)
STAR PLAYER
Brandon Diplock (Waaia): Diplock delivered the Haisman Shield’s best bowling display of the season on Saturday. Seven wickets, four maidens and a hat-trick make this an easy decision.
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