The pitch and the outfield have been top dressed, the equipment oiled and greased, and the hedges trimmed. The Willows Jaguar oval settles into a winter slumber, anticipating another busy season.
While there are many matters I need to mention in my report, I want to give priority to the retirement of our caterers, Lionel and Liz Ford. They have been with us for many seasons, notwithstanding the particular trauma Liz experienced in February 2011. With amazing fortitude, she was back on deck within two weeks. We are truly grateful to Liz and Lionel for their service to the Club, their food and their happy demeanour. Can I add a personal note of thanks – it has been a pleasure to have their acquaintance.
I wish to recognise those Willowers who have been honoured by the Queen in the last 12 months: the Hon Justice Lester Chisholm, John (JR) Reid and Richard Ballantyne.
We continued to receive outstanding reports from all the schools and colleges that play at the ground. It is this support and encouragement that makes all the hard work worthwhile. In mid- October there was a dinner at St Andrew’s gymnasium for 240 boys, headmasters and coaches. The guest speaker was Sir Graham Henry, with a question and answer session with Andy Ellis (All Black), Andrew Ellis and Matthew Bell, both New Zealand cricket representatives. As always, we are grateful to Malcolm Ellis for the Q and A and his services as MC.
The pre-Christmas game against Hawkswood Wanderers was again our pre-Christmas children’s day. Police cars carried Father Christmas, there were fairies, ponies, donkeys, a bouncy castle, barbecue, ice creams, soft drinks and presents. The guests enjoying the Christmas festivities were joined by two notable rugby identities playing cricket that day, Robbie Deans and Kieran Read. Along with all the guests, we were pleased to welcome them to the ground.
I noted above The Willows Jaguar oval. We are grateful to Jaguar International and Archibald Motors in Christchurch for the support they are bringing to the Club. Special thanks to John Fairhall of Archibalds for his contribution. It was unfortunate that the formal part of the day announcing this initiative was interrupted by a violent thunderstorm, but this did not stop many covetous eyes being cast on the two cars present, especially the convertible.
I am sure all members are aware of the activities of member Alex Reese in Sri Lanka and India. Alex’s vision is to establish a number of cricket and life skills academies to assist and support poorer members of those societies. The first academy was established in an area 20 miles south of Colombo, with the very generous assistance of the Merrill Fernando Foundation. It is wonderful that our long-term association with the Fernando family and Dilmah Tea has led to the first step on what will be an exciting journey for Alex and The Willows. We keenly look forward to further updates from Alex.
Evan Gray, former New Zealand left arm spinner and dogged middle order batsman, is responsible for The Wanderers Cricket Club in Wellington. The Wanderers has similar ideals to The Willows, and they visited and played at our ground last season. This year Evan arranged a game against The Willows at the Basin Reserve. Our team was managed by Paul McEwan and Brad Doody, and the letters and photos we have received from boys taking part speak volumes. One should not underestimate the thrill of a schoolboy player seeing his or her name on the giant Don Neely scoreboard at the Basin.
With sadness, and condolences to his family, we mark the death of John Doig. John was a leading gynaecologist in New Zealand, and was always an ardent supporter of the Club. He will be truly missed.
There is always a long list of people to acknowledge, for it is their efforts that make The Willows run so smoothly. If I omit anyone, my apologies: Tony Campbell, David Brooke and Rod Abbott, who are our scorers; the Town and Country umpires Eddie Brownlee and Graeme Evans; Kaye and Wayne Miller, with their daughter-in-law, Tash, who are our after-match hosts and kings of the barbecue; the supervisor of our superb wicket, Peter Devlin, and our match manager, ground maintenance assistant and author of the newsletter, Jim Stringleman; our secretary and treasurer, Andrew McRae and Alistair Sheard; the outstanding work of Richard Cowles, who is in the process of completing his 20th Willows annual report; John Hammond has become our webmaster and advisor on promotional matters, and even the second groundsman is enjoying our dalliance with the digital world. Finally, Isabel and John McRae, who are our membership secretaries, and Paul Rutledge, Match Co-ordinator, who all do an outstanding job for the Club. I pay tribute to all of these people, because it is too easy to turn up on a Sunday for a game or to spectate and take things for granted.
This year I want to pay particular tribute to our photographer, Rex Hayward. All who have been to The Willows notice Rex taking photos from all positions of the field, many of which put him in personal danger. What many people will not know is that these photographs are downloaded on a memory stick to be given to the respective school’s coach, to assist with coaching their teams. This is a great service, and I suspect we are the only club in New Zealand that provides it.
Once again, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Sir Hugh and Lady Anna Blackett of Matfen Hall in Durham. The Matfen Scholarship is keenly sought after by young New Zealand cricketers within The Willows watershed, which speaks volumes for the experience. It is a long and fruitful relationship made possible by the Blacketts’ generosity and support.
We are fortunate to continue our excellent relationship with New Zealand Cricket and Canterbury Country Cricket.
I just want to remind members that the Club exists to support the development of youth, both in cricket and in life. The sub is a modest $30, which most pay promptly. However, there are some whom we have to chase for this small payment. I would be grateful if all members would think of our aims and what we achieve, and assist the Club by paying subs promptly. Also, any cricketers who have had a wonderful career in the game and are members, we look forward to you playing at least one or two games each season against the school teams at the ground. Again, this promotes our core activity of youth development.
Finally I want to acknowledge those Willows members who represented New Zealand or their provinces in the last season:
New Zealand Tests
Peter Fulton, Tom Latham.
New Zealand ODI
Andrew Ellis, Tom Latham, Matt Henry
New Zealand Under-19 World Cup
Jeremy Benton, Ken McClure, Leo Carter, Josh Finnie, Rakitha Weerasundara, Jack Hunter
Canterbury XI
Matt Henry, Henry Nichols, Tom Latham, Andrew Ellis, Peter Fulton, Ryan McCone, Matthew McEwan, Edward Nuttall
Central Districts XI
Ben Smith, Ben Wheeler
Otago XI
Ryan Duffy, Blair Soper