The Cusacks, father and son, have had a strong impact on the success of the Willows throughout the 2000-01 season. We thank the senior; Vincent, for excellent wicket preparation and the junior, Darin, for a simple message that has guided us week by week:
"The Willows must always remain fresh, as every Sunday is a new Sunday where players and spectators expect a relaxed and professional approach to the day’s event”.
We will not allow the atmosphere at the Willows to become stale!
2000-01 Developments
Peter Nancarrow came out to the Willows this season looking for the quieter life. He never found it! Instead Peter, a retired wool broker, is busier than ever. He agreed to act as match manager for the first eleven games, organise a day at the Pakistan test for non-playing members, was host to our visitors from the
Crusaders Club, Victoria, Australia (for a week that must have seemed like a month) and then accepted a committee role in our club. Peter’s contribution all summer has been simply magnificent.
This season more school 1st XIs played at the Willows. Otago, Waitaki and Shirley Boys’ High Schools and Mt Hutt College all had excellent debut games. Paul McEwan captained a Combined Schools XI-another successful first. All visiting schoolboy cricketers receive a memento of the club, and the opportunity to
analyse the day’s play with experienced players.
There have been new developments at the ground aside from the cricket. John Hastilow kindly arranged for eight vintage cars from the Veteran Car Club of NZ to perform laps of honour around the oval. It is intended that this become a regular event prior to Christmas. The local Rangiora Brass Band entertained during the CBHS match. CTV has televised several games, and budding Willows commentators have emerged.
We have hosted cricket identities such as Glenn Turner, Swan Richards (founder of the Crusaders Club, Melbourne), David Hoskin (President, NZC), and Arvind Apte (Indian international in the 1950s).
The Playing Season
We have experienced the highs and lows that are commonplace in a sport like cricket. Right up there was a century from our trusted groundsman, Peter Devlin. Peter, with hours spent rolling, clearly knew all the vagaries of the pitch. Three of the quickest centuries ever seen came from Ben Yock, Gary Thomson and David Bond. Gary, Phil Harris and Derek Burrell all notched their third Willows ton. In the home game against Flaxton, 607 runs were scored for the loss of only 11 wickets – testimony to the superb work done by Vince and Peter. Honorary Chaplain, Fr Brian Cummings of St Bede’s . College, saw his 1st XI put us to the sword in his final year as rector.
The lows . . . For Keith Yardley, bowling into the strongest nor'west gale ever seen at the ground, brought not only exhaustion but regretfully a burst vein in the eye that required a hospital visit. Batsmen to record a ‘retired hurt’ included Murray Parker and Darin Cusack (with a century beckoning). The sought after Diana Trophy was lost to Flaxton in the return match.
The saga of close finishes continued in 2000/01. The Marlborough Boys’ College match was a classic. The scores were tied with two balls to go and the Willows nine down, when Mark Landon Lane hit the penultimate delivery for four.
Great Support
The Willows simply wouldn’t exist without the contribution of so many cricket lovers and supporters each year. That goes right to the top of the administration of the sport in NZ. We treasure the goodwill and interest from NZC people like Christopher Doig, Dayle Hadlee, Karl Johnson and others at the Lincoln High Performance Centre. Their willingness to allow visiting school teams to experience the magic of Lincoln can only foster the game for generations
to come.
Our association with the Canterbury Country Cricket Association continues to strengthen. We work together to improve country cricket.
At grass roots level, week in week out, we owe a lot to our ‘regulars’. These people facilitate the sport and without them there would be no cricket and certainly no enjoyment. Willowers are indebted to: Vince Cusack and Peter Devlin (ground), Ian James and team (catering), Kay, Wayne, Amy and Scott Miller (sausage sizzle-also Anup Nathu for expanding our taste buds by adding vindaloo, rogan gosh, tarka dal, etc. to supplement the Kiwi fare), Tony Campbell (scoring), Eddie Brownlee (umpires), Scott Miller and Thomas Hadlee (match day preparation and pavilion maintenance), Jan Whittington (secretarial), Elsa Edgar (gardens) and Richard Cowles (annual report). We thank you all.
The team selector has stuck to his task manfully. He has had his fair share of laughs when pestering about player availability and as such has disturbed:
• Rod Latham, 7am in the garden
• Geoff Allott, late one evening in the ceiling
looking for leaks
• Eddie Brownlee, 7.15am shovelling dirt
The places where Willowers communicate from or get to never cease to amaze us. Spare a thought for Roger Macfarlane-his call came at 5.30am from Robbie Deans in Romania with the message, “regretfully unavailable for the game versus Willows. “ We breathed a sigh of relief to learn that but it still didn’t matter. Hawkswood went on to record win number six from six against us anyhow. As a postscript Mr Macfarlane reminds us that “he has been offered a great deal by Moller and Young, Engravers. Five years i:q. advance for the price of two. Hard to resist!"
The Future
Rest assured Darin, the ideas and projects continue to flow. We have a commitment to ensure that every Sunday is a fresh one where the virtues of cricket prevail. Immediate priorities are to:
• send a Year 13 student to England in 2002 to coach and play with the Reigate Priory Club (Surrey) on a Charles Luney Scholarship
• install an Astroturf wicket for children to play on in the paddock behind the scorebox
• update utility storage space necessitated by the removal of the rusting barn that squats elegantly near Winsome Dormer’s exquisite house extension
Ours is a special club and what we offer is unique. Our mission is to provide a place where families who love cricket can relax together, and where the true traditions of the game can be conveyed to future generations through the association with secondary schools. The club expresses appreciation to all who support our endeavours. We want you to leave the ground on a Sunday saying, “I’ve had a good day."
Here’s to next season!