I arrived to a dampish pitch and greening outfield at Jaguar Oval, after a wet week. After winning the toss, I did my normal thing and asked to have first use. The rain, “while good for farmers, will always be true opposites for batsmen”.

In testing conditions, The Willows made it through to 153 with Dave Wakefield contributing a tidy 49. Four of the Nelson bowlers took two wickets apiece and they were backed with excellent fielding and attacking field placements.

When they were six down for 21, I thought we were on top. But the pitch baked quite nicely and Nelson didn’t play all their batting cards up front (a tactic which had coach Garry MacDonald’s fingerprints all over it). Hughes was the first to show a bit of guts and then they played their trump, usual opener Simpson came in at number eight. Together they put on 122 with Simpson finishing 79 not out. I admired the well thoughtout chase. Having Garry as coach gave them vital experience and direction and it is fantastic to see him developing players at this level.

Standouts for us with the ball were Finnie and Stewart. Grant continues to truck in and always adds to the atmosphere of hard, fair cricket. We rolled the dice, kept the fields up, and nearly got over the line. It was a most memorable game of cricket.