When the captain, batting number eleven, arrived at the crease in the 22nd over (of 40), the perilous state of his Willows side was succinctly underlined by his greeting from Umpire Terry McLisky: “That’s two legs and I trust you have your resignation ready”.

When the last wicket finally fell. The Willows had mustered an inadequate 126. This score was not a reflection of the conditions; the day was hot and sunny and the pitch and outfield conducive to high scoring. It was a reflection of an energetic, safe and at times spectacular fielding and bowling performance from the College side spearheaded by Michael Davis with 4/26. Only Anup Nathu (29 including seven fours) provided any resistance.

When the visitors batted, opener Alex Crisp scored a quick fire 59 and at the drinks break the College side was cruising to its target at 80/1.

Enter Todd Astle. Seven overs later, Astle had taken 5/10 with a display of class leg spinning that mined the College sides chase and earned the grateful admiration of his more experienced Willows team mates.

Greg McCarthy also came to the rescue with four wickets from the other end. Both bowlers were ably assisted by wicketkeeper Paul Rutledge who finished with three stumpings and two catches. The three of them engineered a spectacular collapse by the College side who lost 9 wickets for just 19 runs meaning The Willows were unlikely victors by 23 runs.

The architects of our win, Messrs Astle, McCarthy and Rutledge were all left to ponder over the vagaries of cricket and the fact that on the day they all had more dismissals than runs.

This was the first visit by a College side to The Willows mid-week and the first by St Thomas of Canterbury of Canterbury College. The spirited play of the visitors ensured that on both counts the day was an undoubted success. The College would be disappointed that their batting did not achieve victory in a game they dominated for three quarters of the overs played, but they could feel well satisfied that their bowling and fielding contributed to a great contest They will make welcome visitors in the future.