The Willows won the toss and chose to bat. Stand in opener Alex Rowe was the only Willows batsman who took advantage of his promotion and the excellent conditions and scored a well compiled 57, but when he was the fifth Willows batsman to fall, the total was only 99. The tail did not wag and The Willows were dismissed for a paltry and inadequate 139.

The College side’s fielding supported their bowlers well. A couple of very smart catches were taken in front of and behind the wicket. Their energy and enthusiasm on the field was in sharp contrast to a lacklustre batting display.

The Willows made an early breakthrough and looked to have a chance of an unlikely victory until captain Veitch and wicket keeper Alexander Finch combined for a 64 run partnership with sensible risk free batting that saw St Thomas close to victory.

When the partnership was broken, Karl Belcher who had earlier taken 4/21 of his eight overs arrived at the crease. He saw off the best of The Willows’ bowlers, the parsimonious Mike Hawke, and then struck a succession of boundaries that saw the College side through to a comfortable five wicket victory and deserved possession of the Brother Bill Dowling Trophy for the first time.