Mike Dormer’s involvement with I Zingari in Australia is in large part responsible for his vision of The Willows. Mark Hodge from IZ kindly penned this tribute.
Michael Edmund Dormer became a member of I Zingari Australia in 1973 when living in Sydney. After returning to his native New Zealand a few years later, he and his wife Winsome continued to maintain their friendships with IZ members. During the three seasons he played for the club as a wicketkeeper-batsman, Mike scored 476 runs from 36 innings, with a top score of 63. In a match in Brisbane in April 1975, Mike volunteered to open the batting with WB Douglass against one JR Thomson, who had been persuaded to play for a Queensland Wanderers side against IZ, fresh from the 1974/75 Ashes series where he had tormented the English. The match report from that day records that Mike did not trouble the scorer to any great extent, but his acquiescence to open against ‘Thommo’ spoke to his character when one or two of IZ’s usual openers had quietly moved themselves down the order.
Mike attended the club’s centenary dinner in 1988 and was an enormous help to the IZ touring party during the Golden Oldies Festival in Christchurch in 1992, even playing for the club in one of its matches. Soon after, he brought teams to Camden Park from Christ’s College in Christchurch in 1993 and 1994.
Meanwhile Mike’s fondness for IZ began to germinate an idea in his mind. His wife’s family had purchased some farmland in Loburn in North Canterbury, about thirty minutes drive north of Christchurch. After negotiating the relocation of the sheep flock from a particular paddock, in May 1994 Mike founded the The Willows Cricket Club, based upon his experience of IZ and a passion to help schoolboys learn from the game of cricket.
Today, The Willows is a significant part of New Zealand’s cricket community with over 300 playing members. Its picturesque ground and facilities are immaculate. Every weekend during summer, school teams from across New Zealand come to Loburn to play against experienced cricketers, many of whom are present or past first-class cricketers. Matches are arranged to the highest standards and old-fashioned values are promoted. The Willows has also sent eight youth teams to Sri Lanka and India, several players from which have since gone on to play first-class and Test cricket.
Through his friendship with Bill Douglass, Mike had been pestering IZ for many years to make the trip across ‘the ditch’ to Christchurch. In 2008, his invitation was finally taken up with IZ undertaking its first tour to Christchurch and being hosted with typically generous Dormer hospitality at The Willows. Since then, IZ has been back to Christchurch on several occasions, with its next trip there planned for February 2022. Several members of The Willows have become IZ members as a result of the association between the clubs, and several IZ members are also members of The Willows. Mike was also instrumental in establishing IZ’s long standing relationship with Christchurch Boys’ High School, which has seen CBHS play at Camden Park many times on their pre-season tours to Sydney, and IZ being hosted at CBHS on each of the IZ tours to Christchurch.
Mike passed away earlier this week following a short illness. The club’s thoughts are with Winsome, sons Ben and Peter, and their families. Mike’s passion for the game and adherence to its traditions, together with his boundless energy and generosity will be sorely missed in the New Zealand and IZ cricket fraternities.