Two sides assembled for the traditional Christmas game on what was an absolutely beautiful day at The Willows. The Willows brains trust let the skipper know that Hawkswood had had the better of the fixture over the previous few seasons and another loss was not an option.

The Willows won the toss and decided to bat on what looked a good wicket with an extremely quick outfield. After losing an early wicket The Willows got through to 100/4 around the 25th over mark and looked in a reasonable position due to the good work of the top order, and in particular Michael Singleton and Jonathan Davidson. But Hawkswood turned the screws and as usual Andrew Nuttall (playing for the wrong team!) tied an end down which created wickets at the other. At the end of 50 overs The Willows finished at 197/8 and felt they could be 30-40 runs light.

The Willows desperately needed wickets early and that was supplied by an excellent new ball spell from Grant Stewart and Matt Parr. These two knocked the top off the Hawkswood batting order and at 27/4 it was a long way back for the Hawkswood side. Wickets continued to fall throughout the innings except for young Harry Fitzpatrick who batted extremely well with wickets falling regularly at the other end. Eventually he was last man out for 73 and Hawkswood were finally dismissed for 111.

It was a fantastic day at The Willows to finish 2015 and an excellent turn-out from The Willows family and friends. A special thank to the Club for putting on what has become a wonderful annual event at The Willows.