As we approach our 25th birthday, the Club can look back with pride on another successful season fostering youth cricket.
I am especially grateful to our new Governor- General, Her Excellency Dame Patsy Reddy, for continuing the tradition of the Governor- General’s XI v The Willows. Speaking at the dinner the night before the game, Dame Patsy spoke passionately of inclusiveness, an important message that the Club acknowledges. On the playing front, her first foray into the arena led to a victory by a comfortable margin over our team of internationals.
We continue to depend on, and be extremely grateful to, our sponsors: Archibalds, Dilmah Tea, ASB Bank, Mobil Oil, Runacres Insurance, Independent Fisheries, Charles Wiffen Wines, Harcourts Twiss Real Estate in Rangiora, and Gary A Smith Panel Beaters in Christchurch. It is their support that enables the Club to flourish.
I note with pleasure that Willowers, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Matthew Henry and Ben Wheeler represented New Zealand in various formats of the game. On the first-class scene there are in excess of 15 players who have been on our Sri Lankan tours. Those tours will continue, and we have already pencilled them in for April/May 2019, 2021 and 2023. We are grateful for the support of Dilmah Tea and Sir Ron Brierley in making these tours possible.
The Club is about youth cricket, and without the support of the schools we would not have achieved the success we have. I express my gratitude to all principals and first eleven coaches who have established such meaningful relationships with The Willows. Our impression is that a trip to The Willows with the first eleven side is something to be treasured by the players concerned and long may that continue.
On the playing front, we won 15 of our 24 games. These included two matches in Australia against the Bradman XI and I Zingari XI. I am grateful to Sam Davis, who was the key organiser in putting this very successful tour together. Of the nine games we lost, they included defeats to old foes such as Hawkswood and Christchurch Boys’ High School. It was a pleasure to see the Motueka Wekas return after a 12-year break, although the towelling they handed out to us was not so well received.
Congratulations to Andrew Nuttall who achieved his 200th wicket for The Willows early in the season. This is a fantastic effort and reflects Andrew’s commitment to The Willows and his still wily skills.
The Shadbolt Trophy for a worthy young Willower went to Ben Ward for his superb 104 retired against a powerful CBHS team. It was only his compulsory retirement which prevented a major upset. His was a dominant display which unsettled the strong CBHS team in the field. The ’49ers Cup goes to King’s High School of Dunedin, who turned around a poor start to their innings with a middle order fightback that nearly led to an improbable victory.
There are always those who make these games on Sundays possible. My thanks to Jim Stringleman as match manager, and Rex Hayward for the photographs which he shares with the teams. This season we had new caterers who have been quite superb and I speak for all who attend the ground in thanking them for such great service. Off the field, the club has been involved with the Celebration of Faith Through Sport church service, an ASB dinner to support the launch of Sir Richard Hadlee’s book presenting the detailed diaries of his father, Walter, on the highly successful New Zealand team’s 1949 tour of the UK. We were represented at the 130th celebrations of I Zingari by Sam Davis and Matt Parr, and our youth team played the Wellington Wanderers team at the Basin Reserve. A number of our players have also represented Canterbury at over 60 level.
On a personal note, I was able to join the Craigengower Cricket Club of Hong Kong on its tour to Mongolia in the middle of last year. Some dedicated ex-patriots have taken cricket to Ulaanbaatar, and Craigengower was the first team to tour there. Like The Willows, Craigengower is dedicated to fostering cricket. While our focus is on youth, Craigengower’s is on expanding Chinese youth, boys and girls, and on supporting cricket in some quite unlikely places. It was a privilege to be included in that tour, albeit in a non-playing role. It is not every day one sees yaks grazing on the boundary.
Returning to the Governor-General’s dinner at St Andrew’s, I express my gratitude to Christine Leighton, the principal, for hosting the evening. Being limited to 90 attendees not all Club members who wished could attend so it was a case of first come first served! Attendees were treated to an outstanding speech from former All Black Andy Ellis, a presentation on Cricket Live by Matt Parr, a master at Christchurch Boys’ High School, and the address I mentioned earlier from Her Excellency. As well, we were entertained by two outstanding musicians. Brother and sister Samuel and Christine Jeon provided a short classical music interlude of the very highest quality.
Cricket Live was set up by Willower Alex Reese after a trip to India with The Willows. It is designed to assist disadvantaged boys and girls in Sri Lanka and India to participate in cricket and learning. Alex is a model to other Willowers as to how sport can be used to foster their development. If you are interested in finding out more, or assisting the work of the Foundation, go to: cricketlivefoundation.org
Once more, we sent two scholars to Matfen, and we are grateful for the gracious way in which Sir Hugh and Lady Anna hosted them. Scholars 31 and 32 are Rhys Petrie from Waitaki Boys’ High School and Lachlan Stove from St Thomas of Canterbury College in Christchurch.
It has been an extremely busy and successful cricket season which was dependent on all of the contributions from Club members. I want to pay particular tribute to the management committee who have ensured that all events have run smoothly and successfully. Thanks also for the fantastic support we receive from town and country umpires every Sunday.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the annual children’s Christmas party, which is a highlight and grows in numbers and success year by year.
On a practical note can I also ask players who are selected for a game but find that they have difficulty in turning out on the allotted Sunday, to please communicate this promptly to either the match day captain or to our selection co- ordinator, Paul Rutledge. If this is left to the last moment it can cause extra work for already busy people.
Finally, can I point out that next year will be our 25th birthday and we are planning suitable celebrations around October 2019.