Early season nerves were soon put to rest when the Willows won the toss and invited the South Canterbury XI to bat first and test the fresh Willows wicket for runs. The South Canterbury XI, led by veteran Warren Eddington, is a side made up of promising players from the Mid and South Canterbury regions.
Doody and Nielsen opened the bowling for the Willows, and soon had South Canterbury in trouble with the first wicket falling at nine. Doody bowled with fire and accuracy, returning excellent figures of 1-28 from eight overs. Troels Nielsen, always reliable and accurate, was equally effective with 2-24.
At 79/4 the South Canterbury XI looked in some trouble, but Sawers dug in and batted with some skill in reaching 79. His innings was instrumental in South Canterbury posting a competitive score. There were some useful contributions throughout the South Canterbury innings, but no one once established was able to press on and support Sawers. Fraser Hawes, the young left arm spinner, bowled very well in tandem with an excellent mentor, Andrew Nuttall, who was as competitive as ever. Lyn Sparks and Richard McGuire showed why they were such effective first grade bowlers with two very useful spells. Mark Savill was his usual bubbly self in the field, helping to keep all the Willowers on their toes.
South Canterbury managed 187/9 from their 50 overs, a score that was to test the Willows batting lineup.
Early trouble for the Willows, with Derek Burrell back in the pavilion at 16. His opening partner Aaron Johnstone, who had earlier impressed behind the stumps, compiled a compact 32, to get things back on track. The Willows middle order suffered the same fate as South Canterbury a number of batsmen getting starts and not going on. Wade Burrell (39) chipped in just at the right time and gave his side some hope. With the score at 145/7 the match was evenly poised.
Some luck, in the form of rain, came the Willows’ way, making it difficult for bowlers to hang onto the ball. A combination of this damp luck and one or two streaky shots from the lower order saw us get home for a narrow two-wicket victory.
Despite the damp end to the match, it was an enjoyable day’s cricket played in a good competitive spirit. We are indebted to the efforts of Warren Eddington and Murray Parker who led and managed a most promising team. I am sure they will be keen to renew the battle for the Lex Eddington trophy next season—a match the Willows looks forward to hosting.