In a departure from unofficial tradition, The Willows XI fielded first allowing King’s High School an opportunity to get some valuable batting practice ahead of the Gillette Cup Finals.

The King’s opening pair of Cumberland and Horne combined well for an opening stand of 101. The King’s captain Joel Meade and Cumberland then combined to put The Willows bowling under real pressure, with Meade compiling a very hard hit 62, and Cumberland finishing 91 not out. Had the match not been reduced to 40 overs, a century would have been a certainty, such was the class of Cumberland’s innings. Wickets were few and far between with King’s reaching 244/2 after 40 overs. Ryan McEwan was the pick of The Willows bowlers with 1/35 from 8 overs.

The run chase would always be a challenge for The Willows. A promising start from Fraser Hill and Ben Laughton (43) gave The Willows a chance to set up a good run chase. However, wickets lost at regular intervals, really meant that the task was too tough. Brad Doody with 45 and James McKegg with a patient and well compiled 21 not out, provided some stability in the middle order, but tight bowling and enthusiastic fielding restricted The Willows to 158/7 from 40 overs. The chief destroyer for King’s High School was K Johnston with excellent figures of 3/18.

Records would indicate that this is the first win for King’s High School over The Willows, a win that was thoroughly deserved, with King’s completely outclassing The Willows XI.

The King’s High School side were a credit to themselves, their School and supporters in the way in which they played the match and conducted themselves. We look forward to welcoming them back again next season.