Once again conditions were ideal for the Willows match against the combined Northwest Schools XI, with the Willows captain announcing to the opposition that he had won the toss and that the Willows would bat. The two teams then settled down to do battle, with a lot of pressure on the home team who had been performing below expectations according to the Match Manager.

The youthful Schools team bowled very well at a Willows team which contained a wide array of ages and ability. While eight of the ten batsmen got into double figures, no one went on to really dominate with the bat. A solid opening partnership of 59 between Bill Walsh and Michael Singleton off 9 overs laid the platform for The Willows to achieve a total of 225/7 off their 50 overs. This was achieved after some middle order jitters where the Willows slumped to 138 for 5, however some cautious batting from Michael Grafton and Tim Harrison got the run rate scoring again. There is no doubt this total would have been much higher if not for the unfortunate hamstring pull to Dave Grocott while he was in full flight.

It was obvious to the Willows this was not a huge total with the wicket playing so well, and would require a top bowling and fielding effort.

After 10 overs the Schools side were 27/4 and the game appeared safe. However, no one told J Miles-Win 50, E Commons 29 and N Shaw 24 who endeavoured to swing the game back in favour of the Northwest XI. Inspired bowling changes and excellent performances from Jack Nuttall and Bill Walsh saw the wily Willows keep the pressure on to restrict the opposition to 132.

This was a most enjoyable game, well umpired by Matthew Hill and Luke McKay, an umpire on an exchange visit from Melbourne. The day concluded with the traditional speeches and presentation of awards and trophy. Thanks again to scorer Tony Campbell, the Match Manager and barbecue expert Wayne Miller and his lovely wife Kaye, with special thanks to all Willows players for participating.