Gallery | Sharp bowling lands Kyabram comprehensive Haisman Shield victory over Karramomus

With Karramomus batting first, the tone was set inside the opening overs.

Louis Sabbagh-Holt needed just eight deliveries to strike first, removing Zavier Davidson for a duck and opening the door for a relentless new-ball assault.

Sam Langley soon followed, ripping through Mitch McGrath for seven before nailing Bailey Simpson first ball, leaving Karramomus in disarray at 3-10 and already clinging on.

Ethan Baxter briefly steadied but departed for 10, while Declan Newbound battled his way to 25 before being dismissed as Kyabram continued to press at both ends.

Bloods’ skipper Nathan Jones showed grit with 21 from 52 balls, trying to slow the bleeding and give his side something to bowl at, but the noose kept tightening.

The only real resistance came from Lachie Keady down the order.

Batting at nine, Keady swung freely to top-score with 29, dragging Karramomus into triple figures and sparing them an even grimmer fate.

Even then, the innings never truly recovered, folding for 102 as Sabbagh-Holt finished with astonishing figures of 4-5 and Langley backed him superbly with 3-25.

“I thought we started really well with the ball with Louis and Sammy Langley up front, they bowled beautifully to get us off to a good start,” Redbacks skipper Jackson McLay said.

“Putting pressure on, we were able to take our chances and it felt like we had them under pressure from ball one until the end of the game.”

Chasing a modest target, Kyabram resisted the temptation to rush.

Openers Cade Mueller and Billy McLay took a measured approach, respecting some tidy bowling from Karramomus while ensuring there were no early stumbles.

Mueller made 14 before falling, but McLay anchored the chase with a composed 36, rotating strike and keeping the Redbacks firmly in control.

Paul Parsons provided the other key contribution at the top, punching out a fluent 34 as Kyabram moved to 3-88 and within touching distance of the target.

Zac Groombridge fought back for Karramomus with 3-26, briefly injecting intrigue into proceedings as a couple of wickets fell in quick succession - including a rare golden duck for recently returning Victoria Country star Kyle Mueller.

But the result was never truly in doubt.

Lukas Hanslow applied the finishing touch in the 18th over, crunching a boundary to seal the win and cap off a convincing performance.

“Cade and Billy were quite watchful up front; when you’re chasing a small total you can try and get it in a hurry,” McLay said.

“Karra were bowling quite well so our boys were quite respectful with their approach which is good.

“We are in two day cricket now so there’s probably no need to chase bonus points or anything like that.

“How the top three went about it, they got us within 14 runs and it was fantastic to kill the game pretty much right up front.”

The victory keeps Kyabram 10 points clear at the top of the ladder and sets up a mouth-watering clash with fourth-placed Nagambie away next round after the Australia Day break.

McLay labelled it a “very big test”, but his side will go in confident.

“Our bowling at the moment is probably as strong as it’s been for a couple of years,” he said.

“We’re putting sides under pressure from ball one and hopefully with the bat we can keep grinding out long periods of time.

“In two-day cricket, if you can bat your 80 overs and hopefully have wickets in hand after tea, it goes a long way towards putting a big total on the board.”