The Redbacks, who are fresh off winning the A-grade T20 decider on Sunday, come into this match as the competition’s form team after winning their past seven one-day contests.
But, with clashes against fellow contenders Numurkah and Mooroopna washed out along the way, it is safe to say they have not faced a test as tough as the ladder-leading Eagles since their opening-round defeat to Central Park-St Brendan’s.
The perfect test for this Kyabram squad as it gears up for a finals charge, coach Jackson McLay said his team could not wait to get stuck into it.
“We are pretty excited about making the trip up there and testing ourselves, we didn’t get the chance to face Mooroopna a couple of weeks ago which was unfortunate and Katandra are obviously flying at the moment,” McLay said.
“With so much talent set to take the field on each team I just think it will come down to which side bats better, that seems to be how the year is panning out with the top sides.
“If we are able to keep wickets in hand and then accelerate in the back end that will be the recipe for getting the win.”
In a match set to be decided by batting, the Redbacks will be over the moon that they have the form player of the competition in Kyle Mueller.
The powerful Kyabram skipper finds himself in a unprecedented patch of form, having produced scores of 131 not-out, 15, 110, 55 not-out and 65 in his past five digs.
But coming up against the competition’s top team, McLay said it would take more than just Mueller to get across the line.
“The way Kyle is playing at the moment has been special, I’ve had people come up to me and say they haven’t seen somebody hit the ball that cleanly so consistently in this competition for a long time,” he said.
“But at the same time, we know it is going to take more than just Kyle to get the job done this week and I’m confident we have the batting and bowling depth to really challenge Katandra.
“We’ve had some good battles over the years against Katandra, so I am pretty confident it is going to be a ripping game.”
What the other clubs had to say
Waaia captain Mitch Cleeland
“Nothing is happening easily for us in any game at the moment, so this week it is a case of getting back to basics and hopefully that will get us a much-needed win.
“Last week was especially disappointing (against Nagambie) and it has put us in a position where it is essentially do-or-die for us, it is completely on us if we want to play finals.
“Going down to Euroa is going to be another big challenge for us, they have been a very competitive side all year and will be tough to beat.
“So hopefully everybody is up for it and we can get that six or seven points that we need to secure our spot in the finals.”
Nagambie captain Mark Nolan
“We need to win our last two and then hope other results go our way (to get into the finals), so we just need to take care of business on our end, we can’t do anything besides trying to get a win.
“It is obviously going to be a massive challenge for us coming up against Mooroopna who are probably the best team in it at the moment, but we’ve always had good battles against them, so we are expecting this to be a good game.
“They have obviously got two quality opening bowlers, so with the bat we will need to see them off and make a big score, and then with the ball we are going to have to be on-point because they have some really good bats as well.
Northerners coach Steve Allen
“Last week we copped a comprehensive beating (against Kyabram) which was very disappointing, but we just need to put that behind us and start fresh against Old Students this week.
“The key for us will be around building partnerships with bat and ball, if we can do that we will then put a lot of pressure on Old Students and hopefully come away with a win.
“In terms of the ladder we aren’t really focused on the finals and how it is shaping up, for us it is more about development and this is another great opportunity for our young guys to perform.”
For Katandra, the key to victory will be quelling the influence of the in-form Mueller.
Skipper Ben Clurey said it would be a whole-team approach to apply pressure on the Redbacks’ batting unit and hopefully force a mistake out of their red-hot skipper.
“If you put pressure on down the other end, you can make him feel the pressure of being the one that has to score the runs and hopefully force a mistake,” Clurey said.
“But I’ll back our bowling attack to do the job, the plan will just be to attack the stumps and then see how we go from there.”
Currently sitting on top of the ladder, a win on Saturday afternoon would all but secure Katandra the 2022-23 minor premiership.
But for Clurey, the more important aspect of the match will be his side testing itself against another of the competition’s top contenders.
“Kyabram are in ripping form having won their last seven, so these are the sides we are going to have to beat in March if we want to achieve that ultimate goal,” he said.
“We are really excited to test ourselves against Kyabram, having put in good showings against Central Park and Numurkah recently we are pretty confident we will be able to push them all the way.
“Our batting has been terrific in these past few months, so the goal is to build a couple of big partnerships, put over 200 on the board and then let our bowlers go to work.”
Haisman Shield round 13 tips
Karramomus v Numurkah
Central Park-St Brendan’s v Shepparton United
Katandra v Kyabram
Northerners v Old Students
Nagambie v Mooroopna
Euroa v Waaia
Aydin Payne (News sports editor)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Katandra, Old Students, Nagambie, Euroa.
Last week: 4. Total: 46.
Tyler Maher (News editor)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Kyabram, Northerners, Mooroopna, Waaia.
Last week: 5. Total: 50.
Zac Standish (News sports reporter)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Katandra, Northerners, Mooroopna, Euroa.
Last week: 6. Total: 53.
Bransen Gibson (News sports reporter)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Kyabram, Northerners, Mooroopna, Waaia.
Last week: 5. Total: 44.
James Kleeman (News reporter)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Katandra, Old Students, Mooroopna, Waaia.
Last week: 6. Total: 48.
Ron Anderson (News sports sub-editor)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Katandra, Northerners, Mooroopna, Waaia.
Last week: 5. Total: 51.
Michael Van Dorsser (Cricket Shepparton figure)
Numurkah, Central Park-St Brendan’s, Katandra, Northerners, Mooroopna, Waaia.
Last week: 5. Total: 52.