Willows Cricket

A combined SKC/WBHS 1st XI travelled to Rangiora for the annual fixture against The Willows Cricket Club on Sunday, March 11th. It was a warm, humid day as we arrived to enjoy our pre-match cup of tea and a cheese cracker. The captains Tim O'Malley and Trevor Thornton (ex-SKC) did the toss and it was agreed that The Willows would bat first. The Oamaru side had an early breakthrough when SKC player/coach Tim McCormick got through the defences of one of their NZ under 19 squad members Michael Davidson in the first over. Rylie Rooney (WBHS) struck soon after removing the other opener and they were 10-2 and in early trouble. A quality partnership of 81 followed involving NZ u19s batsman Connor Neynens and Christchurch BHS batsman David Wakefield to gain the momentum and lifted the run rate considerably. The leg spin of Waitaki BHS player/coach Stephan Grobler was introduced and had immediate results, breaking the partnership in his first over. Jeremy Smith (SKC) then chimed in from the other end, removing McClure cheaply and dried up the runs and had all batsman in trouble with his considerable swing and seam. Grobler had another and the Oamaru side were on top heading in to the lunchbreak at 136-5. After the break, Neynens had brought up a superb hundred and with it a compulsory retirement, which left the tail to negotiate the remainder of the innings. Shaun Kelliher (SKC) took to the crease with his leg-spin and was able to bowl his 10 overs cheaply (0-30) to keep a lid on the scoring and the bowling partnership with Jason McGimpsey (WBHS, 2-23 off 7 overs) restricted The Willows to 185/8 after their 50 overs, a score the Oamaru side were confident in chasing down.

The WBHS coach/captain pair of Grobler and Lachlan Kingan negotiated the new ball effectively, Grobler taking the aggression to the bowlers, getting the run chase off to a rollicking start with a number of cleanly-struck boundaries. Kingan was the first man out which brought captain Tim O'Malley to the crease. Grobler and O'Malley dominated proceedings with a quality display of timing, and running between the wickets on the large ground to have the run chase in control at the tea break at 100-1. After the break, Grobler continued to ride his luck, moving on to 71 before he was caught in the deep. McCormick was next man in, and the SKC pair kept the scoreboard ticking over and the target dwindling in a partnertship of 25 before McCormick was bowled, with 40 still required. Jeremy Smith came and went cheaply and there were some nerves in the camp as all were counting down every run. Isaac DeBuyzer (SKC) helped halt Willows' momentum with a patient 10 before being dismissed. Brodie Flannery (SKC) was next man in and the Maniototo pair of Flannery and O'Malley combined well, running hard between the wickets to have the target down to 16 off 10 overs when O'Malley was dismissed for a fine, mature captain's knock of 50. Number 8 Rooney was at the crease briefly before being plum LBW off the thigh pad to keep the Willows in with a sniff at snatching an unlikely victory. McGimpsey arrived at the crease with the target down to single figures, and he and Flannery held their nerve to secure a famous victory, Flannery scoring the winning runs in the most unlikely of fashion - sneaking a quick single and scoring 5 with wild overthrows taking the score past 186, the Combined SKC/WBHS 1st XI claiming the R.S Eveleigh Trophy for the first time since 2002.

Thanks go to Denise More, Hamish McMurdo, Mike Seddon, and all others who did the background work in trying circumstances to ensure the team got there and things ran smoothly, the hard work playing off with a win on the paddock