MATCH REPORT: Match Manager Jeremy Benton

Willows XI vs Christchurch Boys’ High School 1st XI Sunday, 9 November – The Willows Big Blue, a belter of a pitch, and two proud cricketing sides made for a cracking Sunday at The Willows as the we welcomed CBHS Cricket Club 1st XI to the oval. Willows “won” the toss and batted first with Darfield Cricket Club NZ & Canterbury Country Cricket Association Duo, Cameron Paul & Robbie Foulkes making first use of the Alan Gilmour Wicket. Foulkes gave the innings a great start with a handy 41, before current Canterbury Cricket batter Cameron Paul anchored things superbly with a brilliant 96, falling just shy of a deserved ton. Seamers Ollie Hastie & Carter Woodgate opened the bowling nicely extracting pace, bounce & seam out of the wicket. Blackcaps Todd Astle added a classy 59, guiding the middle overs, while Tim Johnston unfortunately didn’t trouble the scorers. Enter Lauchie Harper. The St Albans Cricket Club & Canterbury A allrounder lit the place up, hitting 30 not out off 14 and giving the innings a serious finish brining the total to 276 for 6. With the ball, CBHS were well served by Hanroux Wessels (2–29 off 6) and Corbyn McClurg (1–35 off 8 ), keeping the Willows about 50 short of what’s usually par at the ground. The chase started with intent. Harry O’Loughlin and Todd Williams launched into the new ball, racing out of the gates and threatening a repeat of O’Loughlin’s famous double-ton in 2023. But Edward Nuttall produced an absolute peach to remove O’Loughlin (25) and swing momentum back the Willows’ way. From there, wickets arrived steadily. Astle chimed in with two key poles, and Tim Johnston bowled a tidy, controlled spell through the middle. A great experience for CBHS players to face 2 outstanding spinners with 633 professional wickets between them. All the CBHS batters showed great aggression & positive signs of chasing the total down inside at a rate of knots including Isaac Daly (34*), Williams (28) Luke Mitchell (25) Gus Quirk (24) & Cam Jones (21) but unfortunately none were able to stay in & see the Schoolboy XI home. With CBHS still swinging, Lancaster Park Cricket Club Toby Robinson closed the innings taking the final two wickets to end the innings at 231, giving the Willows a 45-run win. Thanks to the Willows XI for their contributions to the game, with a team filled of International, Canterbury & CBHS representatives, it was a great team. A massive thanks to Country Feasts for a lunch that kept everyone charged. Big appreciation as well to our umpires and scorers who keep the day ticking.

Thank you to Saunders & Co Lawyers and Amicus Insurance Brokers as Match Day Sponsors. Your support makes days like this possible.

Big thanks to Ben Dormer & Alan Gilmour for all their time & effort put into Wicket & outfield, it truly is first class standard. Finally, best of luck to CBHS for the rest of their season, especially in the Gillette Cup campaign starting mid December. Another quality Sunday at The Willows, what cricket’s all about.

Match Manager: Jeremy Benton