After initially being postponed due to wet weather, we were greeted by hot sunny conditions for the rescheduling of this fixture. The St Thomas’s captain, Tom Scott, won the toss and asked The Willows to take first use of the pitch.

In testing early conditions Paul McCarthy and Tom Agnew scored 47 for the first wicket with McCarthy especially aggressive after last year’s performance of being bowled first ball by his students! McCarthy was followed by Richard Taylor and Agnew continued before his retirement for a well compiled 57.

The Willows batsmen set the platform for the late onslaught which was carried out very effectively by Matthew McEwan and Chris O’Connell carrying The Willows through to a healthy 239/5, which was always going to be a testing score for the College lineup to achieve. For St Thomas’s, Fraser Austen bowled aggressively and was always at the batsmen.

In reply St Thomas’s were never in it after a dazzling opening spell by Constable Grant Stewart who claimed 5 early wickets being well supported by Messrs O’Connell, McEwan and Julian Marsh. The failure of the St Thomas’s batsmen really highlighted the platform set by The Willows early batsmen McCarthy, Agnew and Taylor who all withstood the new ball which made things much easier for the latter batsman. The St Thomas’s boys were encouraged to embark on a programme to bat “time” and to build partnerships throughout the innings.