Numurkah wedged into finals equation after gritty win over Shepparton Youth Club United

The Blues were tested by an SYCU side bouncing into round nine with a win to its name, and from the outset, SYCU skipper Sam Nash had plans to test Numurkah’s resilience.

Nash found the edge of Matthew Price in the first over, safely caught by Jake Callow, with the Blues opener departing for a duck, before Nash was on a hat trick with the caught and bowled dismissal of Dustan Ebborn.

The visitors’ captain had half an LBW shout for his hat trick ball but one leg bye was run, but three balls later Nash would strike again, getting rid of the dangerous Raguvaran Aravinthan, startling the favourites to an alarming 3-14 start.

Kyren Dawson would steady the ship for Numurkah but Dylan Grandell, Kody Jackson and Riley Dawson’s scores of nine, 10 and eight had the Blues staring down a low total to defend.

However, as Liam Gledhill came to the crease at 6-68, an ominous sign of a shift in momentum came immediately.

Gledhill faced up to Grayson Widmer and took the SYCU bowler to the fence on his first two deliveries, signalling an aggressive scoring mindset for the Blues.

Gledhill, as well as a steady contribution at nine from captain Matt Cline, would steer Numurkah to 8-200 after 45 overs, the former scoring 79 not out off 73 deliveries, Gledhill’s second lower order half-century this season.

Numurkah’s confidence was high again, but SYCU too held belief after a round eight win.

A 55-run, 17-over stand between Oliver Swain and Tyler Green challenged the hosts with the new ball, before Green was stumped for 40 off Aravinthan’s bowling.

Swain would depart five overs later with not much scoring in between as the buffer between the top four side and cellar-dwelling one began to come to the fore.

Aravinthan would take Sebastan Menzhausen’s wicket too en route to a 4-24 display with the Kookaburra, with Menzhausen’s 45 the top score for SYCU.

Ultimately, the runs dried up, and a tail end collapse of 4-13 spelled defeat for United, all out for 157 after 40 overs, taking a 43 run defeat home to Princess Park.

Numurkah now sit nine premiership points safe inside the top six, and with a healthy quotient to boot, as it gears up for Old Students in round 10 - a win all but locking in its place inside March action.

Meanwhile, SYCU will play the roaring Central Park-St Brendan’s Tigers at Deakin Reserve as 80-over cricket is set to return.