THE GAME
Tatura 8-185 (David Miller 43, Peter Watt 29, Lucas Paul 4-34, Mahesh Priyadarshana 1-18) lt Euroa 6-187 (Nick Abley 66, Mahesh Priyadarshana 29, Michael Archer 3-38, Jayden Armstrong 1-24)
STAR PLAYER
Nick Abley (Euroa): What a way to introduce yourself to your new teammates — creamed 66 runs as the top-order pillar the Magpies have been crying out for. One to watch in the future for sure.
Euroa pinched its fourth win of the Haisman Shield season on Saturday, getting the job done by four wickets against Tatura at Howley Oval.
The Magpies kept their opposition to a middling total and had little trouble chasing it down, with debutant Nick Abley cracking 66 to steer the ship to safety.
Having won the toss and batted, Tatura got 43 from opener David Miller, but was left crying out for someone else to stand up as Raj Singh (17), Connor Davies (14) and captain Michael Archer (13) all made starts, but could not go on with the job.
Peter Watt also cracked 29, but Tatura could not handle spinner Lucas Paul, who found 4-34 from seven overs to limit it to 8-185 from 45 overs.
Euroa lost opener Rodney Jones for seven, but Abley and Declan Redfern (18) steadied things.
Redfern fell to Archer at 2-64, but Mahesh Priyadarshana (29) pushed on with Abley and the duo batted Euroa to a commanding position, the Magpies passing the total six wickets down with more than 10 overs to spare.
Captain Sean Hemeter said the bowling performance had been great.
“It was a cracking deck, there was a bit in it for everyone, it was a bit green but certainly flattened out,” he said.
“They batted well to start, but we tied them down a bit with our spinners, but towards the end they started scoring quite quickly again. But 180 didn't feel like enough, it easily felt like a 230-plus ground.
“Lucas Paul took four, Mahesh and Shammy (Sham Dadallage) bowled beautifully as usual. Riley Dowell as a medium-pacer really bowled nicely in that 35 to 40-over range.”
Hemeter said Abley's debut performance had been high-quality.
“It was his first game, his brother Nathan has been playing with us as well, they've come over from Violet Town, so they're both locals to the area,” he said.
“Nathan has been playing really well and Nick showed us in his first game he's a quality cricketer. He's great to have around the side, he's a young man, but he has plenty of experience at the A-grade level.”
Euroa is now 11th on the ladder with four wins, while Tatura remains in search of its first win.