Haisman Shield | McLay century, Mueller partnership see Kyabram pick up maiden Haisman Shield win

Joined at the crease by Redbacks captain Kyle Mueller for much of the contest, McLay performed well on a tricky batting wicket.

Scoring 10 fours on his way to a century, McLay would fall at the hands of Zac Groombridge towards the end of the innings, however, by that point the damage was done.

Redbacks coach Jackson McLay said it was good for the side to pick up its first win of the campaign.

“It was obviously a big win,” McLay said.

“The way the boys, especially Kyle (Mueller) and Charlie (McLay) with their 100-run partnership were able to set the game up was great, and then Adam Nunn to finish it off with a 42 not out.”

Alongside Kyabram’s batting exploits, its bowlers were also sharp on the day.

The ever dangerous Darin Ohlsen picked up an impressive 4-11 off nine overs, while teammate Lukas Hanslow bowled 3-10 off 2.2 overs in his first A-grade game of the year.

“Darin is a class bowler, in my opinion he’s probably one of if not the best bowlers in the competition, he just does the job week in week out,” McLay said.

“And Lukas got his opportunity at the end and picked up three wickets which was reward for him.”

While Charlie McLay’s century rightfully stole the show, the performance of Mueller was also an important one, with the team’s captain recovering from a trip to hospital the night before the game to grind out 42 runs.

The win moves Kyabram to seventh on the ladder, with a win, a draw and a loss.

“It’s going to be a tight season, so you don’t want to fall behind the eight ball,” McLay said.

“They’re games that we know ourselves that we have to win and we just have to stick to our processes and we know if we do that the result will take care of itself.”