Willowers All,
The inauguration of the new river stone entranceway to the ground on Sunday 6 December 1998 in honour of our Patron, Mr Waiter Hadlee CBE, was the undoubted highlight of the past season. The Club could not think of a more fitting tribute to honour Waiter’s decades o f ser vice to cricket and we were delighted that so many friends of the Club attended.
Integral to the opening ceremony we had the privilege to assemble fellow “greats” (Messrs Bert Sutcliffe, Martin Donnelly, Geoff Rabone and John Hayes) from the historic 1949 New Zealand Tour Party to Britain to be with their Captain. Their presence over the weekend was a real bonus. We thank them all most sincerely for travelling to be with Waiter and attending a busy schedule of events. This included a Dinner (hosted by NZC), a visit to the High Performance Cricket Centre, Lincoln (hosted by Dayle Hadlee, NZC), afternoon tea at the Umpires’ Association Pavilion, Hagley Park (hosted by Eddie Brownlee) and of course a full day at the ground on the Sunday, culminating in the unveiling of the plaque by Waiter. lt was a wonderful occasion to re-live the glory of that memorable Hadlee team and to have them in our midst for a reunion.
New Zealand Cricket support appreciated
Three pre-eminent national cricket dignitaries helped us with the celebration and we acknowledge here the contributions of Messrs lain Gallaway MBE QSO, Christopher Doig OBE and Don Neely MBE.
Mr Christopher Doig, Chief Executive NZC, generously hosted the 49ers and Willows members to a superb Formal Dinner to commence the weekend. Loyal friend of the Willows, Mr lain Gallaway, President NZC, was present throughout to support us and speak more on the virtues of the 1949 players. The keynote speech by Mr Don Neely was outstanding. He also reiterated the excellence and importance of this tour for cricket in our country. The standards and sportsmanship, achieved by the Hadlee-led side, was held up as the epitome of how our game should be played. To Christopher, lain and Don we value ·your association and commitment to the Club. We could not have staged such a wonderful event without your special input. Young Willower, Matthew Wright, also made a superb speech in thanking Don and it is appropriate that this has been included in full later in the Annual Report.
Our initiative to have the 49ers in Christchurch was the forerunner for the official 50th Anniversary reunion, organised by Don Neely, President of the Wellington Cricket Association, at the Basin Reserve in March 1999, in the presence of HRH Princess Anne. lt brought great pride to the Club to see Geoff Rabone wearing his Willows tie at such an auspicious occasion. Recently too, our latest Honorary Member, Mr Dick Brittenden, sports writer par excellence, wore his Willows tie for a photo in the Press to accompany an article on his life-long involvement as a cricket journalist. Little touches like those mean so much.
The Playing Season
lt was another magnificent season of cricket. The fact that we lost more games than ever before didn’t matter. Opponents scored more centuries than we managed, but that didn’t matter. The Roger MacFarlane Trophy hasn’t seen the inside of our pavilion since 3 December 1995, but even that didn’t matter. What does matter is the camaraderie and friendship generated each Sunday. We host teams from as far afield as Motueka, Blenheim, Timaru and Dunedin and even had the King’s College (Auckland) 1st Xl play early in the New Year. Cricketers travel great distances to join together to play and enjoy cricket. This is typified by Bruce lrvine who will think nothing to drive from Dunedin to lock swords with John Gardner’s team mid-week. This season we enj oyed having Marlborough Boys’ College 1st XI and a Timaru Xl for the first time; both were competitive opponents and are certain to remain permanent fixtures.
1998/99 saw a further fostering of relationships with the Canterbury Country Cricket Association. We were delighted to have their Colts representative side play mid-week versus lads from Penrith Club (Sydney) and more. As well, two other Australian youth sides, Shore College (Sydney) and Illawarra Academy (Wollongong), had matches there too. We are delighted about this as it fulfils our objective to promote youth development in cricket. The announcement that the inaugural recipient of the 49ers Cup (kindly donated at the big weekend and to be awarded annually to the secondary school team that provides the most meritorious performance against the Willows) is the North Canterbury Secondary Schools’ Xl and that is particularly apt. Not only did they top 230 runs in their innings but they were excellently presented on and o ff the field. We also congratulate the senior Canterbury Country team on outstanding results all season. It is a tribute to the work of people like Peter Devlin (Executive Director), Michael Sharpe (on the coaching staff) and all the players. We must single out that superb innings of 223 runs by Brad Doody in the Nelson match, at the end of a successful championship defence.
The Canterbury Cricket Association had an outstanding season also. Their trophy cabinet is fair brimming too with silverware after success at both youth and senior levels. We especially congratulate Garry MacDonald, Gary Stead and the players on a top year. Throughout the season with a full International programme, letters of congratulations and expressions o f goodwill have gone to Gary (on his test debut) and Chris Harris. We acknowledge their achievements with the “Black Caps” and also that of Craig McMillan, particularly against the Indians.
Captains to be fired
Six visiting sides humbled Willows XIs during the season. They were: Christ’s College 1st XI (again!), Hawkswood Wanderers (again!), London NZCC (again!), Flaxton Wanderers (again!), Ohoka Swamphens and Woodbank Wanderers. As well, we remain winless in the away fixture at John Gardner’s. In all, seven defeats and seven captains with their necks on the “chopper” in line for public execution ! Salt was rubbed into the wound when Woodbank skipper Phi! D'Auvergne retired himself at 76 – not the usual 100. Robbie Deans has a Daryl Cullinan-type batting average against us for Hawkswood (MED very cunningly nominated him forWillows Club membership at our last meeting – a deliberate poaching ploy and totally acceptable in this day of professional sport). Perhaps the Swamphens’ win was the best; well, certainly for Ron Dalley it was. After four previous failures, the taste of victory was sweet for Ron and team. Spare a thought for another great cricket stalwart, Clarrie Anderson. His team came within a hair’s breadth of joining the Swamphens in their maiden win.
The two top Willows performances this season came from Chris Bisman who was our only centurion (compared to five the previous season) and rightfully, named as recipient of the Shadbolt Trophy (for the Best Performance by a]unior Willower) this year. The top bowling performance was Paul McEwan’s 5 for 37 versus CBHS 1st XL On the non-playing side, one who was left beaming (when is he not!) is our good friend Mike ("Pal") Phillips at that very same Sunday match, which coincided with the 49ers’ presence and was appropriately against Mr Hadlee’s old school. Amongst all the signing of autographs, bats, “Tour” books and memorabilia by Waiter, Geoff, Bert, John and Martin, one member of the public enquired of Pal, most reverentially, as to whether he was a 49er and held out a pen to him. Afterwards, Pal’s face said it all.
So many people to thank
Cricket at the Willows is special. To see the oval bathed in sunlight, deck chairs occupied with wives, partners and young children, teenagers, family members and not-so-young cricket lovers brings much satisfaction. It provides an atmosphere that takes some beating. To all, who enjoy Sundays in idyllic surroundings at Loburn we appreciate your support.
To achieve the standards we aspire to we value loyal assistance from many people. I hope I don’t miss any out! Firstly, we have excellent support from the Umpires Association and specifically from Eddie Brownlee QSM. Over the season umpires from all over the province have stood as well as some from the North Island and further abroad. For most, the Sunday with us is after a full day of club cricket the day before. We greatly appreciate your dedication and service to Willows cricket. The same applies to our Club scorer, Tony Campbell. Long hours spent up in the Preston Box is a passion and labour of love for him. Tony is one who probably knows the name of all our 160 playing members by sight. He is probably happiest when he sees one of the “older” brigade like Bull, Fisher, Fox, Wallace and yours truly going out to bat, knowing there is little chance being over-worked! Thanks again to Tony and Eddie.
Wicket and oval preparation are the domain of the efficient team of Vince Cusack and Peter Devlin. Without their knowledge, skill and input ofhard work there would be no quality cricket out there. It has got to the stage where top club and representative players are clamouring for a game at the Willows prior to mid November, assured of a flat “deck” and a chance to run into some form. Clearly, the ground staff have got it right!We all appreciate your work here gents . The decision to extend the playing block was the right one. We know we can meet our extensive fixture list without having to play more than three games on the same pitch.
The catering continues to be superb. Lyn and Ian are a real asset to the Club. They tackle this on-going and demanding task with utmost efficiency. It is good to see that amidst all the preparation there is time for them to fit in a mid-afternoon stroll across the paddocks and peruse the scene. Rest assured, for the players grappling the long boundaries, fierce nor'westers and burnt brown outfields, we appreciate the importance of your wonderful catering. Thank you.
Club member Adrian McFedries, has done a sterling job to improve the appearance of the ground. Adrian’s vision is long term and he is a young man dedicated in seeking excellence of the physical environment. He intends to develop a further shelter belt on the eastern boundary, improve the sprinkler irrigation system (to allow for automatic night use) and is a key person in our quest to site a well to give us the water needed to have permanently green grass on the oval. Adrian, like the others in this section of this report, are the life blood of this Club.
Many others support us in a range ofways – each deserves a paragraph but R. Cowles Esq. now in Melbourne won’t allow it. Space is at a premium as our Annual Report gets larger and larger but Richard puts it all together brilhantly each year. His publishing expertise continues to blossom.
The Club was the recipient of a hand roller from Vince Cusack during the year. That allows the wicket to be rolled between innings. We appreciate the generous donation Vince.
Finally, to our match co-ordinator Michael Dormer, thanks for finalising our side Sunday after Sunday. You have to juggle us all in for fixtures and that takes some doing, especially if club cricket is swapped from a Saturday to a Sunday with little notice. The j ob isn’t made any easier by the geriatric nature of the Club when titled gentlemen like Mr Justice Hansen and Philip Burdon declare themselves unavailable – both having hip replacement operations and with His Honour Judge Holderness also facing the “knackers quadrangle”. Nick Clark, B. G. Hadlee and David Brooke have also withdrawn from selectorial reckoning. Thankfully, Michael has networked wisely to ensure a pool of younger Willows talent, plus moving in on Robbie Deans!
Conclusion
And what of our sixth season – 1999-2000? Are we to be lambs to the slaughter with a planned away game with Hawkswood at Cheviot? They are not content to put us “belly up” in November each year. Now they seek a repeat dose at their beautiful cricket ground. It might help if Roger MacFarlane does, in fact, select his 3rd XI in future. He would see that as the only way we will retrieve his trophy.
We are pleased to confirm that we have arranged for Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE, to visit the Club later this year. Initial planning is for him to join us in October for a Church service at St Barnabas, Fendalton, dedicated to Christianity Through Sport, attend dinners with School 1st XI players and coaches and our own biennial one at the Showgate Lounge, Riccarton Park. To host the famous MCC Captain, now peer in the British House of Lords, is befitting the true traditions of excellence that this cricket club espouses.
The final word
Early in the New Year we were saddened by the passing of Honorary Member and great cricket lover Michael Henderson, from Motueka. At the time of his death, one’s mind cast back to March 1996, to the thrill it brought him to lead the first Motueka Wekas XI to play at our oval. Michael totally supported the Willows dream. The words he penned to our Patron, Mr Waiter Hadlee, after that initial game, now have a prophetic significance given his passing. Michael wrote:
"When we get to the ultimate gates, we might have to keep quiet about the Willows in case St. Peter says we’ve been to heaven already."
The late Michael Henderson, with those words, sums up how we all feel of a Sunday when we pull up adjacent to the Waiter Hadlee Entrance, view the scene and dream of glory and heroic feats.