All The Willows players were looking forward to meeting with and playing against I Zingari as they awaited the opportunity to renew friendships and to compete on the field.

Whenever a New Zealand team is playing Australia there is a little more on the line and all players rose to the occasion and the game was played in excellent spirit. There was some good cricket from both camps and the values of both clubs were demonstrated.

I Zingari elected to bat first on a greenish wicket and with warm but overcast conditions batting was not easy. The Willows opening bowlers, Michael Newton-Vesty and Hamish Wright, bowled very tightly and extracted movement off the wicket. At one stage Hamish had fine figures of 2 for 14 off seven overs including three maidens. Tight bowling was continued by Sam Davis with 2 for 15 off six overs. There was a fighting innings from W Knight who retired on 52 and an outstanding final wicket partnership between Lachlan Bayliss-Smith and Sebastian Hodge, two of the younger members of the I Zingari team. Lachlan and Sebastian batted out the overs leaving The Willows 151 for the win.

In reply Tim McConnell batted aggressively at the top with a quick 21. But it was the 90 run partnership between Harry Miller who retired on 52 and Justin Murray (30) that enabled The Willows to reach their target in the 29th over. At the end, Michael Newton-Vesty and Will Macfarlane with some aggressive batting were both unbeaten.

On behalf of The Willows, I would like to thank our I Zingari friends for touring once again. The Willows Club is very grateful for the support and encouragement received from I Zingari over the years and our association is highly valued as it is with Christchurch Boys’ High School who have been hosted at the Camden ground on numerous occasions. It is now time for The Willows to visit I Zingari.