In a Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield encounter that quickly shifted from zero to 100, the Eagles steamrolled Pine Lodge by 177 runs, turning a warm afternoon at Katandra Reserve into a bubbling cauldron.
Sent in first, Katandra built a towering total of 6-272 off the back of a gargantuan batting performance that had the Lodgers languishing through the first 45 overs.
At the centre of it all was Corey Hickford.
The all-rounder came within seven runs of a century in a beautifully balanced knock of 93, slashing eight boundaries and two majors in a stand that lasted 36 overs.
He found an ideal opening partner in Brady Black (34 runs) for the first portion of the innings and later Ben Pedretti, whose half century off 60 balls gave the Eagles the ballast they needed in the middle overs.
Talon Wilson (15) and Hadleigh Sirett (25) provided tidy cameos through the middle, while a late flurry from Scott Richardson (26 not out off 18) added gloss to what was already an gleaming batting display.
Darshana Prasad Loku Hettige (2-44) proved the pick of Pine Lodge’s attack, but staring down a formidable Katandra bowling brigade, 272 always loomed large for the Lodgers.
Very large.
Katandra’s bowlers then treated the second innings like a slow tightening of a vice, as Hickford — not satisfied with dominating with the bat — led the charge with the ball.
He took Hayden Cann’s wicket for 18 after Sam Green removed Liam Trevaskis on 13, eventually finishing with superb figures of 3-24 off 7.2 overs.
Karl Rosevear was equally brutal, taking 3-26 from nine overs and breaking key partnerships just as Pine Lodge looked to settle, finding himself on a hattrick after dismissing Hettige and Ryan Kearney in successive balls.
Though Rohan Francis was able to deny him of the feat, by then the writing was on the wall for Pine Lodge.
By the 34th over, the Lodgers were all out for 95, their run rate a trickle compared to Katandra’s flood.
The win lifts the Eagles into ninth and, while finals do seem unlikely, the equation is not impossible.
Katandra will have a tough ask to drag itself into the top six with victory required in two-dayers against Nagambie and Karramomus, while Pine Lodge faces Karramomus and Shepparton Youth Club United to close out its season.
THE GAME
Katandra 6-272 (Corey Hickford 93, Ben Pedretti 50, Travis Waters 2-28) def Pine Lodge 95 (Hayden Cann 18, Dylan Hardy 14, Corey Hickford 3-24)
STAR PLAYER
Corey Hickford (Katandra): Though he didn’t get his ton, Hickford’s 93 off the stick paired with three wickets easily landed him player of the match honours and points to his class across both facets.
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