Mooroopna batter Nick Breslin goes large on his way to 89.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Mooroopna has remained in touch of the finals pack with a solid win over Shepparton Youth Club United to enter the Christmas break.
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With a reduced overs match following a period of no play on day one, SYCU had four overs to bat to begin day two and it certainly would have been buoyant about its chances.
With plenty of wickets in hand, SYCU swung for the fences and scored 33 runs off the last four overs, reaching 8-215 by innings’ end.
However, that energy would quickly subside for the visitor.
Despite an early blemish with Joel May run out for 10, opener Cyrus Shafi and first drop Nick Breslin – who was making his season debut – took no time to wonder as they launched an attack on United’s bowling engine.
The pair combined for 26 boundaries across its individual displays, but its combined partnership of 131 runs set the tone for the Cats to cruise towards victory.
Mooroopna batter Cyrus Shafi plays a late cut.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Mooroopna batter Nick Breslin survives an LBW appeal.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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SYCU wicket keeper Jake Callow watches the ball trickle to fine leg.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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SYCU fielder Tyler Green return Kookaburra to bowler.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Mooroopna batter Nick Breslin goes large.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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SYCU fielder Abraham Lake sails one in from deep.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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SYCU bowler Max Henderson sends down a bullet.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Mooroopna batter Nick Breslin was given not out in this tight single.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Shafi’s knock of 60 was only to be outdone by Breslin’s 89, with SYCU’s Jake Callow’s glove work ending the latter’s hopes of a century thanks to a solid catch behind the stumps.
Shafi handed his wicket away when the Cats hit 150 and Breslin would depart not too long after with Mooroopna 3-165, still requiring 51 runs for victory.
But Ben Woods determinedly ensured the runs required would be met, slicing and dicing the United attack to make 30 not out as two further wickets fell around him at the 180 and 200 mark.
However, SYCU’s momentum with the bat was never able to translate to the ball, with the Cats’ coach Henry Barrow hitting the winning runs in the 65th over, Mooroopna home with five wickets to spare.
The win has Mooroopna in and among the top sides of the ladder as the Christmas break arrives, narrowly outside the top six due to a lower quotient than the two other sides with a 4-3 record.
For SYCU, the loss will be gutting after putting itself in one of the strongest winning positions it’s been in all season, but now the club has been condemned to a winless 2025 half of the season, sitting at 0-6.
It faces Katandra when it returns to action in Janurary, while Mooroopna is tasked with Numurkah.
THE GAME
SYCU 8-215 (Jake Callow 78 not out, Sebastian Menzhausen 41, Simon D’Elia 3-63) lt Mooroopna 5-219 (Nick Breslin 89, Cyrus Shafi 60, Sebastian Menzhausen 2-26)
STAR PLAYER:
Nick Breslin (Mooroopna): The Cats’ number three bat notched a huge score in his first match for the season and combined in a mammoth partnership that all but guarantee a Mooroopna victory.
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