Shepparton United 115 (Dwain Vidler 31, Steve Tate 27, Mark Nolan 4-8, Brayden Biggs 2-25) lt Nagambie 4-118 (Mark Nolan 53, Luke Nolan 26 not out, Tahir Yaqoobi 2-29).
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Mark Nolan (Nagambie): He's got back-to-back Lightfoot medals and if he keeps up this sort of form — a lazy 4-8 and 53 runs — the Lakers captain should clear some room on his mantlepiece for another.
Nagambie's quest to return to the Haisman Shield grand final began in strong fashion with a six-wicket win against Shepparton United at Princess Park.
The Lakers answered questions in all facets of the game, reeling off 5-6 with the ball and responding well from being 3-34 with the bat to take the win and move to 1-0 for the new season.
Back-to-back reigning Lightfoot medallist and Lakers captain Mark Nolan began the 2020-21 season where he finished the past two, starring with the ball to take 4-8 and adding 53 with willow in hand for another man-of-the-match performance.
United was on the ropes early at 2-7, but the middle-order rallied well and carried the side to 4-99, with Dwain Vidler (31), Steve Tate (27) and Keegan Armstrong (24) among the runs.
But the Lakers got the huge scalp of Vidler to make it 6-109 and finished things off with another 4-6, meaning they needed just 116 for victory.
Nolan said the bowling — particularly that of Nathan Fothergill — had been tidy.
“It was a pretty good performance with bat and ball, all the boys were very keen to be back out there on the field. It's just good that we were able to start the season with a win,” Nolan said.
“The three seamers bowled really well — Nathan Fothergill was exceptional, he bowled nine straight on one leg basically and gave away no runs.
“They put on a bit of a partnership in the middle, but we pulled it back a bit and bowled really well in the last 10 overs and took six for about 10, that's probably what won us the game.”
United began its defence well with Tahir Yaqoobi (2-29) picking up two early wickets to leave the Lakers 3-34, but Nolan (53) and brother Luke (26 not out) added 73 for the fourth wicket, able to cruise to the six-wicket win.
“We were probably in a little bit of trouble at 3-30, but credit to United, they bowled really well and we had to work really hard early. Luke and I were able to put on a partnership in the middle stages, and that really helped us take control,” Nolan said.
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