A five-wicket haul to Rup-Minyip's Mark Mbofana gave the Blue Panthers the upper-hand on day one of their two-day match against the Jung Tigers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mbofana reaffirmed his status as one of the Horsham Cricket Association's most dangerous bowlers, tearing through the Tigers' top order on a sunny Saturday at City Oval.
The Zimbabwean recruit however said his highlight of the day came from a stunning catch to end a "frustrating" Tigers' partnership late in the innings.
Mbofana rapidly dismissed Tyler Neville, Sam Leith, Josiah Mock and Tyler Puls to have Jung at an eye-popping 6-30 early in the innings, with the Tigers' top five batsmen combining for just 17 runs.
However, solid batting from Simon Mock (39), David Puls (20) and Dale Dridan (21) late in the innings helped restore respect to Jung's total.
A ninth-wicket partnership of 37 between Dridan and youngster Levi Mock (12) turned what could have been a disaster into a respectable final total of 134.
The partnership was only broken by a piece of magic in the field from Mbofana, off the bowling of Bailey Young.
"I had a pretty good day but the catch was the highlight," Mbofana said.
"I took a one-handed screamer diving to my left - they had put on a bit of a frustrating partnership and I had to take that catch.
"I might have taken a few better ones than that, but that would probably be one of my top two or three catches."
With the ball in hand, Mbofana's 5-24 was easily his best return of the season. The star all-rounder was limited in the first half of the season with a minor injury, but said he was now back to his best.
"I had a bit of an injury and wasn't bowling much but I'm better now," he said.
"Hopefully I can take this form into the twenty20 grand final against Homers."
But before those two powerhouse sides lock horns next Sunday, Mbofana was hoping to pile on the runs against the Jung Tigers on Saturday.
Day one finished with Rup-Minyip at 2-49 with Mbofana (13 no) and Brayden Ison (28 no) at the crease.
"Saturday will hopefully be my day - I want to score a decent total," Mbofana said.
"If I can stay out there for 50 overs, hopefully I can go big, and we can have a nice smooth win."
In other A Grade contests, Colts will resume at 1-61 on day two, closing in on Noradjuha-Toolondo's total of 162.
The Horsham Saints also set a target of 162 for Homers, with the Pigeons resuming at 1-12 on day two.
Blackheath-Dimboola forfeited their match against Laharum.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.