Willis picked up 5-28 while teammate Mick Waldren also chipped in with 3-44 as the pair outclassed the Saints at the Sportsground.

Nic Broes (62) was the star with the bat for St Pat’s but received little support out in the middle as his side were all out for 144 chasing the Redbacks’ total of 274.

When Adam Ryan (34) departed to have his side at 2-85 the match was still there for the Saints to take.

However, a collapse from the Saints middle order had them on the back foot.

Broes was eventually caught behind off the bowling of Willis to leave St Pat’s at 7-127, effectively ending their winning chances.

Willis was happy to come away with his biggest haul of the season so far in the face of a niggling injury.

“It was nice to get a five-for and to get the win. I got through 16 overs, which was tough on the calf. I’ve just got to try and take it a bit easy and take my opportunities to keep helping the team when I can,” he said.

“I think once we got on a roll they couldn’t stop us. Because the pitch was very flat and there wasn’t much on it for bowlers, for us to take just the one wicket in the first 20 or so overs, but then take more as the day went on, was a great effort.

“They batted really well, especially Nic Broes. With the exception of Adam Ryan no-one batted with him long enough though.”

Saints captain Brendon Cutmore said the signs were good for his side in their loss to the defending champions.

“They just played a great game of cricket but for us it was still an improved performance based on our previous games against them. We were just beaten by a stronger team who were on point all day,” he said.

“I think we did well to get to 144. We batted out 56 overs but they just bowled to really good areas. It’s a good experience for our young bowlers because it shows them what level they have to be playing at for these two-day games.”

Broes made a strong impression with the bat, playing a timely innings before his trip to Newcastle for this week’s Bradman Cup campaign with Western Zone.

“Nic was the bloke who really stood up and showed how everyone should be batting. If you take his 60 out of the equation then we’re rolled for less than 100,” Cutmore said.

“We can still take a lot of positives away from it. It’s about trying to build up a junior club and about teaching them what they need to be competitive. They are starting to play the cricket that they need to play.”

The victory for Redbacks gets them back on track after consecutive losses to end the one-day portion of the season.