Unfortunately, another sunny arrival at “The Willows” was marred by the sight of a pitch half soaked by overnight rain. A new evenly soaked pitch was prepared and the Willows elected to bowl after winning the toss.

With no prior knowledge of the capabilities of our bowling attack, the new ball was given to youth. Jonathan Bisman, Willie Fairbairn and Jason Pawson bowled miserly opening spells, Jason conceding only five runs off his first eight overs. Once the screws were on the experienced Rod Innes (3/20 from 10) and the self-titled ‘part time’ bowler Tom Lancaster (5/26 from 5.2) sliced through the batting lineup. An excellent bowling and fielding effort left us chasing 147 for victory.

The Willows started slowly, losing three wickets with only 30 on the board. This included the unique dismissal of Willows debutant Lindsay Crocker – LBW to a delivery which bounced three times.

In light drizzle, solid partnerships between Gary Thomson (60 not out) and Jeremy Bull (20), and Thomson and Jason Pawson (26 not out) carried the Willows to a six wicket victory.