The Willows batted first on a good pitch and made a solid start with Oliver Hutton contributing a solid 32 at the top of the order. The dashing Paul McEwan who looked at ease at the pitch continued the momentum. McEwan produced a fine array of shots and unfortunately fell one short of a deserved half century. Hutton and McEwan shared a 65 run partnership, which set the platform for a belligerent innings from Andrew Ellis who produced some of the best batting of the day. Ellis and Chris Pettet ran eagerly between the wickets and helped set a respectable score of 229/6 after 50 overs. Otago Boys’ produced a top bowling and fielding effort in the heat of the day.

Otago Boys‘ replied in a positive fashion, chasing The Willows total with aggression. The chase was made up of many mini partnerships and was dominated by some big hitting from Rutherford and Hill.

The Willows bowling was well lead by Chris Seabourn at the start of the innings with McEwan and Ellis providing the brakes on the Otago innings. Wickets were shared between Graeme Inglis and Andrew Ellis.

The match was a nail biter to the last ball, with one run needed. A missed run out by The Willows gave the Otago Boys’ is deserved victory.

My thanks on behalf of the team to the officials and for the top class facilities for the game.