The last regular game of our 22nd season, against Country Secondary Schools XI on 13 March was The Willows 500th game. Not only was it appropriate that such a game be played against Country Secondary Schools, it marked a singular achievement that founding members, management committee members and all members and those associated with the club can feel very proud of. Given our location in Loburn and our strong bond with North Canterbury Cricket through friends like Roger Macfarlane, John Gardner and Peter Devlin, it was fitting that this 500th game was against local young cricketers.
Our 22nd season was even busier than those that preceded it. Of special significance was the game against the Governor-General’s XI in the last weekend of the season. The Governor-General graciously attended a dinner at Medbury School the evening before the game, welcoming his team and the former New Zealand players who made up our XI. The Governor-General’s speech was laced with wisdom, and the President of New Zealand Cricket, Stephen Boock, enhanced his and brought humour to the gathering with tales from his time at the peak of the game. We are grateful to both the Governor-General and Stephen Boock for making themselves available. The Willows in the end prevailed, but only by 15 runs in a hard-fought game. It was a delight to welcome Mathew Sinclair for his first visit and he scored a fine century for The Willows. Our gratitude to all of those players who for many years have made themselves available for The Willows XI.
At our biennial dinner for First XIs, coaches and principals, we were privileged to have as our guest speaker John Eales. The ANZAC spirit was invoked on the night, and his speech conveyed many insights that the young players present will reflect on for years to come.
Over 300 children attended the Willows Christmas party and all received wrapped gifts. A great time was had by all with entertainment provided by the Salvation Army band. My thanks to the many volunteers who contributed to what is now a high point of The Willows year.
Once more we are grateful to Sir Hugh and Lady Anna Blackett, who this southern winter will welcome scholars 27 and 28, being Liam McWilliam from Southland Boys’ High School and Callum Curnow from St Bede’s College for their work and cricket experience. Sir Hugh and Lady Anna have provided ongoing support for our cricket scholars over the past 13 years.
This year The Willows had three New Zealand representatives in Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Matthew Henry. Daniel Stanley, Taylor Scott, Josh Clarkson and Josh Finnie from The Willows were all selected for the New Zealand Under-19 Tournament Team for Bangladesh. And for yet another season, Peter Fulton has led the Canterbury Plunket Shield side with distinction.
As always, we acknowledge the assistance we have received from the principals of many of the colleges with whom we are associated. We also note with pleasure that Roger Knight, a long- term member of The Willows and a great supporter, is this year’s President of the MCC.
Without the support of our umpires from both town and country, Sundays at Loburn would lose a lot of its pleasure and stature for players. We are grateful to all of the umpires who willingly give of their time to stand at The Willows on Sundays. Our caterers, Deb and Judy East continued to supply the quality lunches and hospitality that have become an integral part of The Willows scene.
The club is doing all it can to increase its communication to members through social media. One of the issues is that many players fail to notify the club that they are unavailable on a Sunday until the last minute. Most are extremely responsible, but it is not a lot to ask for that such calls do not come late on a Saturday night, or even in the early hours of Sunday! I think it is fair to say that our level of communication has increased enormously, and our webmaster, John Hammond, has played a very major part in that. The regular updates from Jim Stringleman and the photographs from Rex Hayward enhance this.
As I noted earlier, we have now played 500 games at The Willows. Interestingly, as at that 500th game The Willows has won exactly double the amount to losses. We have won 322 and lost 161, with the rest either tied, drawn or rained off. This season we played 26 games, won 14 and lost 12. One significant club record for the best bowling was broken by one of our Matfen scholars, Callum Curnow, who took 8–21 against his old school, St Bede’s, on the 8th of February 2016. For this, Callum was awarded the Shadbolt Trophy, and it will be a long time before that record is beaten. We also acknowledge Dave Kelly’s milestone of becoming the sixth batsman to reach 1000 runs for The Willows. I have no doubt Dave will continue to add to that tally. The winners of the 49ers Cup was Waitaki Boys’ High School for their stunning victory on the 6th of March 2016. Seemingly well out of it, the lower order at Waitaki batted brilliantly to secure a famous victory. Finally, in this section, can I mention Tim McConnell, who showed real Willows spirit in playing 12 of the 26 games played in the club colours. Thanks Tim, you really embody that Willows spirit. (I am grateful to John Mitchell and Phil Harris for the statistics.)
I also note with sadness the passing of Trevor Barber, New Zealand’s oldest cricketer; Derek Burrell, a long-time stalwart of the club and a member of the management committee; and Kaye Miller, our neighbour and carer of the pavilion over very many years. Finally, our only German member, Dr Hans-Jurgen Werner sadly passed in March 2016 following heart surgery.
Once again my thanks to the founders committee, the management committee and our second groundsman for all their sterling work.
I think it is time that we considered our structure, particularly in the light of the new health and safety laws that now cover New Zealand, and this is a factor that will be reviewed by both of those committees before next season.