Te Awamutu College provided a new fixture for “The Willows", and the Club experienced one of its most successful days of cricket.

Te Awamutu started well after electing to bat first in perfect conditions, and looked well set at 80/3. However, the Willows attack struck back to leave the opposition at 103/8 at lunch and finally 120/11 as the visitors batted twelve. All of the Willows bowlers returned flattering figures with Phil Harris (3/15), Chris Bisman (2/ 21) and Robert Goldsmith (2/ 26 ) the main wicket takers.

In our quest for victory, the Willows XI opened the batting with the two youngsters in the side, Gareth Brooks and Stephen Flanagan. These two were the only batsmen required to seal victory by 10 wickets (with Gareth 70 and Stephen 39) when the target was reached 10 minutes before tea. The innings continued for the full 50 overs with Gareth in magnificent form, reaching an unbeaten 98.

To add a bit of excitement to the day, Joe Bennett suggested that Te Awamutu bat for fifteen avers and should chase 76 to win a fill-in time match. This they did on the last ball for an exciting finish to the day’s cricket.

In conclusion, the day was very enjoyable with many highlights (who will forget Joe Bennett’s wicket-keeping, diving to his right for a one-handed catch and effecting an incredible leg­ side stumping) and I would like to thank the Club for giving me the opportunity to be the first schoolboy to captain a Willows XI. Thank you.