With runs that is, as Mooroopna recorded its second win of the 2025-26 Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield season, but its first innings total of 5-219 was the only time this campaign the Cats have clawed past triple figures after totals of 98 and 80 in rounds one and two.
The navy blue chose to bowl first against the winless Lodgers, and it proved to be a happy decision for Henry Barrow’s men, as the Cats would deliver two strong first-up partnerships.
The opening pair of Paul McDonald and Ben Wood combined for 74 before McDonald fell just shy of a half-ton knock for 45, off 41 deliveries too, the only Cat to score at greater than a run a ball except for middle order bat Simon D’Elia.
Cyrus Shafi would step up to bat next though, and he and Wood would only continue the jump-start the opening duo had brought to Mooroopna.
When Wood fell for a game-high score of 70, the Cats were cruising at 2-172.
Three more wickets would fall by innings’ end, but Mooroopna had posted a formidable total, one not yet seen by the boys in navy blue this year.
“It’s been a long time coming for our batters really,” Barrow said.
“The openers got us off to a near-perfect start and when Cyrus came in he just carried us on.”
However, Pine Lodge wouldn’t go down without swinging.
Liam Trevaskis and Hayden Cann would combine for a 93-run opening partnership across the first 15 overs, matching the required run rate while frustrating Mooroopna’s bowlers with patience and a seemingly unwavering focus.
“We probably didn’t bowl or field how we wanted for those first 15 overs,” Barrow said.
“Once we got those opening wickets though, the game seemed to fall in our favour.”
The wickets would fall, and at once.
Trevaskis (33) and Cann (57) were dismissed within four balls of each other, and the momentum of the game was firmly back with the Cats.
Dylan Hardy (40) and Ryan Kearney (29) would post admirable scores to try and pull the game back, but at strike rates of 55.6 and 65.9, the pair weren’t able to find runs quick enough to challenge Mooroopna’s sky-high total.
When Kearney’s wicket came, the dam wall broke, and Pine Lodge suffered a critical blow with a 5-4 collapse that spelled the end of any genuine contention for a win remaining, eventually all out for 186.
One of six teams with a 2-1 win-loss record, Mooroopna may have the hardest round fixture of all, coming up against Karramomus which have yet to lose a white-ball match so far this year.
“Karra’s got good young cricketers that have been building over the last few years, it’s good to see them win games of cricket,” Barrow said.
“It’ll be a good test for us.
“As I keep saying to my boys, if we do all three facets of cricket well, we can give anybody a go, and we proved that week one when we knocked off the reigning premiers.”
THE GAME
Mooroopna 5-219 (Ben Woods 70, Paul McDonald 45, Darshana Prasad Loku Hettige 3-32) def Pine Lodge 10-186 (Hayden Cann 57, Dylan Hardy 40, Henry Barrow 3-42)
STAR PLAYER
Ben Woods (Mooroopna): Finally, runs came for Mooroopna’s men, and it was Woods who took full advantage, combining for partnerships of 74 and 98 while posting a patient 70 off 118 balls.
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