Instead, Numurkah had to work for its six points and third straight victory in a run chase that appeared academic on paper.
Tim Braybon showcased his best once again after Euroa elected to bat, shining with four wickets among a Numurkah bowling battalion that never let the Magpies off the leash.
Needing barely three runs an over with a victory target of 139, the Blues’ issue was never a time limit.
Instead, Magpie bowlers continually chipped away at partnerships to sow the seeds of doubt.
James Du Toit and Josh O’Dwyer were gone before long, so Raguvaran Aravinthan picked up the slack with his best knock since arriving in the competition.
THE GAME
Numurkah 7-139 (Raguvaran Aravinthan 54, Tim Arnel 33, Walter Jackson 2-32) d Euroa 8-138 (Andrew Squires 33*, Andrew Butterworth 31, Tim Braybon 4-22)
STAR PLAYER
Raguvaran Aravinthan (Numurkah): Aravinthan’s best batting performance this season came at a handy time with woes plaguing the Numurkah order. His neat and tidy spell with the ball helped set the stage and his half-century was the Blues’ guiding light during the chase.
However, Aravinthan’s dance partners would make only brief cameos in the middle.
An eventual 40-run stand alongside skipper Tim Arnel for the fifth wicket proved Euroa’s undoing, with the Blues carrying too many men in reserve for the bottom-placed visitor to seal an unlikely maiden triumph.
Andrew Squires deserved credit for bringing along the anchor of a faltering first innings after coming in at seven with an unbeaten 33 that gave Euroa something to bowl to.
Arnel is happy with the points as they come.
“We’re really clicking and playing good team cricket. Whoever we bring in is playing for the team,” Arnel said.
“It’s all really coming together. We’ve bowled disciplined lines and Ragu and (Matt) Cline set things up well.
“We gave a couple of guys a chance up the order and it’s a testament to Ragu’s attitude and his work ethic.
“His class is above what some of us can do.”
A longer-tenured Blue was at the centre earlier in the day, with Tim Braybon racking up his 200th A-grade outing for the club ― and marking the occasion in style with a 200th wicket among his four on the day.
“He’s an ultimate team man: loyal and selfless,” Arnel said.
“You know what you’re going to get with him and he showed what he can do.”
That said, there is little time to celebrate this winning run with a massive pair of match-ups ahead in Katandra and Central Park St Brendan’s to close out Numurkah’s regular season.
Though all three wins have come as the chasing side, the Blues have been at least seven down on each occasion, with no sure things handed out.
“We don’t see it as a daunting task. We know what we’re capable of doing and we’ve got our full squad available,” Arnel said.
“It’s quite deceiving (being seven down); even though we lost a couple early, we still cruised to 100.
“We bat really deep and have so much confidence in our middle and tail.
“Even though seven down might look like a close finish on paper, I was always confident and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Saturday is the first half of Numurkah’s two-day meeting at home to Katandra and the game will start at 11am to accommodate the club’s 50th anniversary event on Saturday evening.
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