In a game played in high spirits, The Hawkswood Wanderers XI won the toss and elected to bowl on a good looking wicket tinged with green. Early morning drizzle gave way and pleasant conditions ensued.

Up against a demanding Hawkswood bowling attack, The Willows lost wickets regularly and struggled to form partnerships. Brad Doody and Justin Murray added 27 for the fourth wicket to take The Willows to 65/4. Ben Harris and Doody added a further 80 for the seventh wicket giving The Willows hope of a 200 plus score, before Harris went for 23 with the score at 153. Doody became the 8th wicket to fall 8 runs later, with the lower order unable to chip in with any significant runs leaving The Willows with a threadbare 165 to defend. For Hawkswood, the seam bowling of Mulcock always troubled the batsmen with the figures of 5/43.

A classy Willows bowling line-up including three former internationals, Shane Bond, Stu Roberts and Justin Vaughan, was not able to make inroads into a Hawkswood batting line-up that counter attacked superbly once established. Bond showed he hadn’t lost much of the pace that bought him so much success and Roberts bowled with his usual purpose to ensure Hawkswood had to work hard for runs.

After a slow start, the Hawkswood openers Dickson and Briele were able to score freely in the middle part of the innings. Briele went for 38 with the score at 76 and Bond returned for a second spell in an effort to capture quick wickets before the new batsmen became established, but the Kelly brothers batted soundly to bring Hawkswood home.

Ex-Central and Northern Districts batsman David Kelly in particular, showed his class and ended with an effortless 40 not out and Martin ended with an unbeaten 24. The Willows spinners Hamish Robertson and David Wakefield demonstrated they have bright futures in the game and bowled with great control.

The attendance of a large number of children to visit Santa as part of The Willows children’s Christmas party, and the traditional lolly scramble around the boundary edge, added to the festive atmosphere and made it yet another enjoyable day.