The Willows elected to bowl first on a very even wicket; a move that surprised a few, but had the intention above all for the Southwest XI to bat their full 50 overs.

Nawid Mohammady and Dan Vedder opened the bowling and both bowled with good control. We managed to contain the South West batting through the early and middle stages. Chris Mugford certainly troubled them with his extra pace and bounce. Grant Dickson with his off spin, took two wickets in quick succession, and Mitchell Price, on debut, picked up his first Willows wicket with his very first delivery.

The highlight of the South West innings was a very patient innings of 108 retired by Mathias Paltridge. He showed great promise, and was well supported by Jonty Hunter with 58. They combined to produce a fifth wicket partnership of 148 – an outstanding effort. South West finished on 212 from their 50 overs. An outstanding feature of The Willows fielding effort was the wicket keeping of James Rennie, who effected two sharp stumpings and a run out.

The Willows run chase did not get off to a good start, with the early loss of Phil Harris, and two other wickets in quick succession. We were left struggling at 39 for 3. Then James Rennie, Joel Lieschke, Mitchell Price, and Chris Mugford all combined to give The Willows a chance of victory. But the run chase fell away, and we were bowled out 14 runs short in the 43rd over. Jonty Hunter capped off a fine game with 4-38, combining with B. Stocks 4-32 in producing match winning bowling performances for the Southwest XI.

The value of Southwest XI batting the full 50 overs underlined their well-deserved first ever victory over The Willows.