After a very good lunch the temperature was approaching 30 degrees when Ross Bayliss won the toss for Clarrie Anderson’s team, unsurprisingly he had no hesitation on batting first on a very good wicket! However what was surprising was the 2nd ball of the game, a low flat full toss from Andrew Ireland that opening batsman Tim McConnell ducked – which hit the top of the stumps! As it wasn’t above waist high though, the dismissal counted and with both Andrew and his brother Matt Ireland bowling good opening spells the opposition was soon enough 40/3, when the dangerous looking Ross on 22 was dismissed.

At this stage Simon Carter (30) and Andrew McGuire (23) came together to put on 46, but when they were both out together the game was again in the balance at 86/5. Johnny Calder (22) was then joined by Vince Barry’s son Jake, who after surviving a very confident LBW appeal from Alec Astle before he had scored, then proceeded to bat very well for 42. They put on 78 and with some effective hitting from Vince Barry (20) at the end, the final score was a challenging 197/9. Pick of the bowlers was definitely Alec Astle, while the Ireland boys both bowled well, as did Mike Hawke and Trevor Thornton in very tidy spells. In the field Mark Lane showed he is still a classy keeper. The Ireland brothers both impressed with their speed, enthusiasm and strong arms while the captain managed to hold a full blooded drive with a diving one handed catch at short cover.

In reply, both the Ireland brothers shaped well but were then out to the deadly Barry father and son combo, both falling to extremely good catches at mid-off by Jake from lethal full tosses by Vince! Trevor (29) and Mark (18) combined to take the score to 70/2 in good time and things were looking very promising, but then both were out in quick succession (shades of the opposition innings).

Arthur Pitcher then entered at 70/4 and proceeded to play a heroic innings in the heat of the day, holding the middle order together and putting on 37 with Mike Hawke (20) and a further 37 with Andrew Davidson, before falling for a very well compiled 22. The required run rate was climbing steadily by now though after good tidy spells by Steve Chambers, Gubby Allen and Alistair Sheard and once Andrew was out for an excellent 36, the tail fell quickly in their attempts to hit out against the pace of Simon Carter. He took 4-12 to enjoy an excellent debut at The Willows after his innings of 30, but was pipped for man of the match honours by fellow debutant Jake Barry, who similarly enjoyed a very good all round match with 42, a wicket and 3 top class catches at full stretch.

So Clarrie’s XI won a most enjoyable match by 32 runs, despite Clarrie’s absence on this occasion (allegedly for surgery to his jaw, to stop it dropping more after such a poor sporting year for NZ!). The umpires Graeme Evans and Howard Fowler, the scorer, caterer and photographer all played an excellent part in a great day. It is always a privilege and a pleasure to play at this lovely ground – although during the after match speeches the match manager confirmed his reputation as a ruthless selector by promptly axing the losing Willows captain for this annual fixture next year (as the captain had just predicted, having seen the same fate befall his predecessor last year!). Mind you as Clarrie’s XI has now won the last 3 fixtures it’s clear why the selector is ringing the changes!