Things started badly with the Willows being asked to field after losing the toss. While wickets did not come easily on a flat, hard deck, at lunch we were happy with our progress and felt we were in a good position. However, it appeared ( as usual) that many of our players over indulged at lunch as the Swamphens blazed their way through to 236.

Tidy bowling from Chris Bisman and Matt Hudson in the middle avers of the Swamphens inning proved invaluable. Enjoying one of the more successful days in the field was Jarrod Ward who showed how good fielding is an important part of any teams performance.

With only one volunteer to bat in the top five, 236 seemed a long way off. It seemed further off when the Willows slumped to 7 for 3. But again it was Chris Bisman to his team’s aid with a cavalier innings of 73 which gave the Willows a chance of victory.

However, wickets continued to fall at the other end and despite a gallant ninth wicket partnership between Lyn Sparks and John Grocott (35) the Willows fell short by 37 runs.

Thanks to the umpires and to Tony “Cambellini” Campbell in the scoring hut, as ever an important part of every match, and of course to the caterers for the marvellous lunch. As match manager Peter Dormer put it, while we continue to lose silverware, at least there is less for Mike to dust between rolling the pitch and watering the square!