This game was played under overcast skies on a very good wicket-there was pace and bounce to give true value to stroke play and accurate and aggressive bowling alike.

The School team inserted the Willows, no doubt on the reasonable assumption that the large number of elderly has-beens in our side would find the lively pitch too difficult. Fortunately only our skipper met that expectation by not troubling the scorers, but the rest of our side, with varying degrees of success, managed to contribute so that we got through to a useful 200. The innings was built around a solid 59 from Gareth Brooks, one of the ‘young Turks’ in our side. He played a very demanding new ball attack with confidence and was able to reap the rewards of his commitment as the ball became older. Three of our veterans – Lindsay Thorn, David Bond and Dayle Hadlee – all got a few to give us some respectability.

The best of the School bowlers was captain John Blakely, who bowled at a lively pace to take full advantage of the helpful conditions. He was well supported by Fraser Hawes who bowled his left­ arm spinners with good flight and at times sharp turn.

The early School batsmen struggled against some excellent seam and swing bowling. Only one of their top order reached double figures. However, it would be fair to say more experienced players would have faired no better, especially against Sam Davis and Richard McGuire who bowled aggressively on a good line and length to let the movement and bounce do the rest. There was stronger resistance in the bottom half of the order with John Blakely and Dean Burrowes both getting through to a very creditable 36, primarily against the wily ‘spin twins', Andrew Nuttall and Dayle Hadlee, who showed that flight and variation are every bit as effective as sharp turn.

Although the Willows had a comfortable victory, there is no doubt that the School team contained a number of very talented players, and we will watch their progress with interest.