On a day that could only be described as a scorcher, The Willows were drawn to play Timaru Boys’. As I was driving down from Waiau, the temperature was already 30 degrees by 10am. I decided it might be wise for The Willows to break tradition and bat first.

Winning the toss and choosing to bat on a wicket which was true and even, The Willows run rate was above six from the first over. Mark Weeds found the middle of bat and the ball started hitting the fence. Losing his opening partner early bought in Ryan Banks at three, and the power hitting continued with some spectacular drives. Ryan was dismissed by a very good ball from J Merhtens LBW for 31. Callum Hill joined Mark at the crease and together they cracked the ball all over the park. The Timaru boys stuck to their guns and chased the ball hard to the fence but they could not contain our men. Callum retired at 59 and Mark was eventually caught on 47. The Willows declared at 176 off 25 overs.

The Timaru boys were under pressure from the first over with bowlers Fraser Sheat and C Hinton showing their class and accuracy. Rotating the bowlers regularly kept TBHS unsettled and under pressure, and top catching by Maulik Patel gave them no second chances. J Merhtens showed some spine pushing through to 36, M Otley supported him well with 27 but that was all. The visitors could only front up with 99 runs. Fraser Sheat was man of the match with five wickets, but it must be said that B Hamel and C Hinton supported him well by bowling line and length and giving nothing for the Timaru boys to hit.

In all, it was a very solid performance by The Willows as youth combined with experience to create total dominance.

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