Mooroopna has ended the first day of its Haisman Shield round six match against Nagambie with a commanding total on the board.
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Playing on their home turf, the Cats won the toss and elected to bat first against the second-ranked Lakers and posted 242 off 77 overs.
Opening duo Mathew MaCansh (35) and Brodie McDonald (47) combined for an important 85-run partnership, but couldn't push on with their innings.
Although the Cats’ skipper Sam O'Brien was left happy with the total, he did say the side may have left some runs out on the pitch.
“I thought we started really well being none for 80-odd,” O'Brien said.
“We had some really great contributors, with Brodie (McDonald), Shoaib (Shaikh), Matty (MaCansh) and Brady (Mulcahy) all getting great starts.
“We would have liked a bit more runs at the end of the innings, but overall we are pretty happy with the score.”
Nagambie had terrific showings from Brayden Biggs (3-59), Nathan Fothergill (3-54) and Josh Sanderson (3-56), with Fothergill ending the important partnership between Mooroopna's openers.
McDonald was the first to go, which brought an end to his highest innings of the season and leaves his tally on 157 runs from five innings.
“Brodie was nothing short of fantastic, he's been in great touch all season,” O'Brien said.
“We're really looking forward to seeing him continue to put in great performances.”
However, the Mooroopna captain praised the performance from Mulcahy, highlighting the No.3 batsman's ability to find the gaps in the field.
“I thought Brady was probably the pick of the batsmen,” he said.
“He looked to be in great touch right from the first ball, working the gaps ... it was a great two-day cricket innings.”
When both teams return to the Cattery for the second day of play, there will be a slight increase in intensity.
Due to the events between Katandra and Shepparton United on Saturday, the winner of this encounter will go to first position on the ladder after six rounds.
Brodie McDonald (Mooroopna): Although McDonald fell three runs short of his first half-century of the season, it was still a superb effort at the top of the order against a red-hot Nagambie attack. His innings of 47 — which involved nine boundaries — takes his season average to 31.4.
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