This season The Willows travelled to Sydney to play two matches. It was to be our second match vs I Zingari at their home ground at Camden after touring NSW in 2017, and our first match against new friends, The Primary Club in Sydney. The Primary Club of Australia is a registered charity that raises money for people with disabilities through playing cricket, and with very close overall objectives to our own.
The Willows team assembled in Sydney early on the morning of Waitangi Day. We then travelled to the picturesque Birchgrove Oval for a twenty over match against The Primary Club. When we planned our tour, NSW had been in the grip of a severe drought with bush fires throughout the state. How ironic it was then that over Waitangi weekend 2020 that Sydney received some of the heaviest rain in decades! Despite this, we did manage to sneak in a full match, and enjoyed some fantastic hospitality following the match in nearby Balmain.
Batting first The Willows got off to a tremendous start with Tim McConnell and Kelvin Scott despatching the ball to all parts of Birchgrove Oval, and eventually posted a challenging score of 138, despite losing five wickets for three runs in the middle overs! The Willows opening bowler (touring stalwart Hugo Davison, and debutant, Chris Nicholson), started very well and were almost unplayable on the damp Birchgrove surface, knocking the top off The Primary Club line up, from which they never recovered. However, while on the ropes, the clouds gathered over Sydney Harbour, and as rain started to fall it looked like the tourists may be denied a win on Aussie soil. Thankfully, it held off just enough time for The Willows to get through the overs. We were able to maintain our unbeaten overseas record, with The Primary Club only managing 98- 9 from their overs.
The following day was a ‘rest day’ for the tourists and the plan was to play some golf at one of Sydney’s top courses. However, as the rain continued (and in fact got heavier) we then resorted to shopping and indoor virtual golf, before convening for a long lunch in Woolloomooloo. Rain continued to fall in Sydney and not surprisingly our match against I Zingari on Sunday was abandoned. The tourists therefore quickly arranged a pleasant tour of the Hunter Valley wine region.
A great time was had over three rainy days in NSW. It was disappointing not get in a match against I Zingari, but we look forward to their tour of New Zealand in early 2021.
It was fantastic to meet some great people from The Primary Club, and we also look forward to their first tour to Christchurch later in 2020. Special thanks to Winsome Dormer for joining our tour, along with a number of supportive WAGs; their presence probably brought a degree of culture and decorum that would not have been experienced otherwise!