Haisman Shield | Fothergill five-for leads Lakers into top six

It was Nagambie’s fourth win in five starts since the season’s post-Christmas resumption and captain Mark Nolan said he was impressed with what his side produced with ball in hand.

“It was a good win, we probably could have got a bit more with the bat, but it was a tricky wicket to score on, but we just bowled really well,” Nolan said.

“Nathan (Fothergill) in particular bowled really well, he’s probably been our best bowler all year and he just showed his class with the five-for, he gave the Euroa batters nothing and it was just really impressive.

“The pitch really suited our bowlers with a bit in it and it was just a good performance all round.”

Nagambie’s top order continued its strong form in the early stages, with opener Dale Short (32) and Luke Nolan (35) combining for a 65-run stand to have the Lakers in control at 1-81.

That is when Magpies captain Andrew Squires turned to Vaughan Kirk for a spark, who quickly broke the partnership before ripping through the Nagambie middle order in a scintillating spell of 4-20.

Suddenly struggling at 6-127, some late order hitting by Tom Barnes (22 off 19) would help lift the Lakers to a competitive total of 150.

Needing early breakthroughs, Mark Nolan and Fothergill were at their brutal best with the new ball, tearing through the Euroa top order to have the game firmly in Nagambie’s grasp.

Each bowling nine over spells, the pair complemented each other perfectly, with Nolan’s economical 2-9 (including four maidens) allowing Fothergill to really attack the batters on his way to a five-wicket haul.

Ryan Hill (30) and Nicholas Hill (22) did all they could to try and resurrect the Magpies’ chase through the middle order, but the Lakers were clinical through the final overs to finish the innings on 105.

A win that pushes Nagambie up to equal third in the wins column, Nolan said his side was really starting to hit its straps as the run to finals heats up.

“It is nice to be in the hunt now after where we were at the Christmas break being in a bit of strife, we have won four of our last five and come into a massive game against Numurkah next week full of confidence,” he said.

“When you have your full-strength side in it makes a big difference, pretty much having our better team on the park after Christmas it has really shown in our results, if we play at our best we can beat anyone.”