The Willows gathered on a fantastic day for their match against old rivals London New Zealand Cricket Club. After a quick team meeting we were left under no illusion of the importance of the fixture and that gaining victory has been an extremely close battle in the past.

While the day was looking like being a very hot one, the pitch still had a green look to it and on winning the toss LNZCC had no hesitation in sending The Willows in. As suspected the LNZCC seamers were tough to see off early. Accurate bowling from Kelvin Scott in particular was well supported by Dobson and London NZ skipper Lester. This tight bowling saw The Willows slump to 25/4. Thankfully as the sun began to dry the pitch The Willows were able to recover largely thanks to some hard work from Kelly and Williams. At lunch the Willows were 130/6 with Kelly out for a well-made 50 and Williams not out on 32. The hot sun and the usual outstanding lunch gave The Willows an opportunity to accelerate after lunch and the side managed to get through to a respectable 222/6 with Williams finishing 61 not out, well supported by Dunne on 57 not out.

While this was a decent total it was felt to be a bit light given the great conditions. The Willows were able to gain an early breakthrough but the LNZCC side were always above the run rate required with some outstanding stroke play. Almost all players contributed but powerful hitting from Ben Dormer stood out as he made a very quick 61. Kelvin Scott then showed off his all-round skills, comfortably guiding his home with 41 not out in the 37th over.

A fantastic day played in great spirit with LNZCC taking home the Trevor Campbell Trophy.