Old Students end their Haisman Shield season on a high, claiming outright win over Karramomus

By Liam Nash

Feb 18, 2024

Bowled ‘em: Karramomus’ Cooper Delahey is skittled by Callan McCabe during Old Students’ comprehensive Haisman Shield win on Saturday. Photo by Megan Fisher

Outright is all right for Old Students.

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The Students put on a blistering display to beat Karramomus at Vibert Reserve, securing an outright victory in their final game of the 2023-24 Haisman Shield campaign.

By and large, this season has been a sour one for Callan McCabe’s troops, but Saturday was cause for celebration as they peeled through Karramomus’ order to expose a run-shy Bloods.

Liam Callegari, who took nine wickets on day one, was up to his spin doctor antics again as he dished up more proverbial pills to claim a jaw-dropping 14-wicket match in the most chaotic match of round 12.

THE GAME

THE GAME

Old Students 161 (Maninderjit Singh 38, Mohammad Shahid 32, Zane Newbound 5-58) and 1-61 (Noah Muir 33*, Maninderjit Singh 28*, Zane Newbound 1-30) d Karramomus 100 (Zac Groombridge 22, Nathan Jones 16, Liam Callegari 9-31) and 118 (Nathan Jones 34, Cooper Delahey 27, Liam Callegari 5-52, Callan McCabe 4-28)

STAR PLAYER

Liam Callegari (Old Students): Was there ever any doubt? Callegari left Karramomus batters and onlookers alike totally mesmerised across two brilliant innings of work, with 14 poles rocketing the spinner onto the Haisman wickets podium.

It was whiz-bang cricket from the get-go by Students.

Maninderjit Singh began day two with a slew of boundaries before he was removed by Zane Newbound, who claimed his five-wicket haul in doing so.

Mohammad Shahid then followed suit by blasting a few to the ropes then exiting soon after as Lachie Keady cleaned up the tail.

Then, as if he hadn’t missed a beat since the previous weekend, Callegari began to cook.

Students opened with spin as they did in the first innings and struck similar pay dirt as their resident leg-spinning legend sent Mitch McGrath packing in the third over.

Callegari had Karramomus at 2-20.

Then McCabe and Sam O’Brien got firing.

Suddenly the Bloods were haemorrhaging at 5-51.

Nathan Jones (34) and Cooper Delahey (27) applied the tourniquet and stopped the flow of wickets, however, both met their end via modus of McCabe magic as the Students captain skittled both in the same over.

Callegari picked up where McCabe left off with a wicket the next ball before McCabe grabbed his last of the day, finishing on 4-28 — figures which would usually merit best bowling accolades in most games.

Not while Callegari was around, though.

Students’ spin king clean bowled Keady for his fifth, having his rap sheet across both days read an absurd 14-83.

While the pats on the back would undoubtedly have come thick and fast for Callegari following one of the Haisman Shield’s best ever performances, the game wasn’t done.

O’Brien was the only casualty as his 18-ball duck mattered little in the game’s context, with Noah Muir (33 not out) and Singh (27 not out) carrying the travellers over the line with consummate ease.

Saturday’s win lifts Old Students into 11th on the ladder while keeping Karramomus rooted to its foot, and with the latter assuming the bye in the final round of the season, it’s safe to say Students signed off in style.