A dilemma caused by the selection of twelve players was quickly overcome in true Willows spirit, with Malcolm Ellis volunteering to carry the drinks. He did, however, spend the early overs in the field as a substitute.

Having won the toss and inserted the opposition – much to the chagrin of the selector – we had an early breakthrough with Andrew Ellis bowling their opener for a duck. A second wicket partnership of 85 restored the Suburban innings somewhat but wily bowling by the three Willows veterans, Craig Thiele, Andrew Nuttall and Martin Hadlee kept the score in check.

At 129 for 7 things looked under control, but some aggressive strokemaking by Craig Green (who was dropped by yours truly on 12!), with help from Robbie Withers, saw Suburban through to a total of 198. Andrew Nuttall, with 4 for 34 from 10 overs, proved that flight and spin is still an art, and difficult to combat even on a good wicket.

The Willows’ pursuit of the target began in similar vein to the opposition, with our first wicket falling at 6. Graeme lnglis (36) and a solid 45 from Andre Burrell kept us on track, but momentum slowed in the middle order. Although Ryan Burson brought us back into the game with a belligerent 50, victory eluded us by 17 runs, and each side now has one victory.

Like some of my predecessors, I was subjected to a public sacking as captain at the aftermatch function, bringing to a