The Mountain Goats started their journey from Penrith in Sydney’s Western Suburbs, early on Boxing Day morning but were forced to make an unscheduled stop in Hay, due to their hire bus breaking down with a wheel failure.

After mix up with the hire company, the Mountain Goats were forced to travel in a well worn Toyota bus which decided to cast a wheel mid way during their first journey to compete in Willowfest. Fortunately the bus decided to throw the towel in on the outskirts of the central New South Wales town of Hay.and even more fortunately near the South Hay Hotel. Even though it was a holiday, the local NRMA representative was very helpful and finally got the bus back into motion after a four hour delay in Hay. Players were able to enjoy the hospitality of the South Hay Hotel while watching the Boxing Day Test, while the bus was being repaired.

Club spokesman Billy Ellis said all the players were enjoying their first trip to Willowfest and were already planning to return next year, but they would fly in, rather than risk another dodgy bus incident. Mr Ellis said that the Mountain Goats were a combination of young and older players from the Emu Plains Cricket Club which plays in the Sydney Winter Competition. He said the players were enjoying the experience of playing on well prepared turf pitches and fast outfields.

Coming up against the reigning Cup Grade title holders O'Malley's Panthers at Henschilwood Oval Irymple, the Melrymple combination cruised past the Panthers modest total of 151, with four wickets in hand. David Kirk was the leading scorer for Melrymple with 56 runs to his name when they passed the opposition total. He was well supported by Dylan Kight's 46 runs to start Melrymple's quest for the title on the right note. Melrymple were able to restrict the O'Malley's Panthers to a modest total due to the tight bowling of Jarrod Kennedy (3/12) and Jordan Payne (3/22). While Glen Lambeth and Sam Skinner made good contributions with the bat of 56 and 42 respectively, they lacked the support to amass a defendable total.

Melrymple come up against the Adelaide Hills Cougars this morning at the Mildura Senior College in a 20/20 match, while O'Malley's Panthers will be looking to redeem themselves against the Northern Wanderers as the Mildura Senior College No. 2 oval.

The standout performance of the day was by Kangarilla batsman Haydn Thorpe who amassed the days top score of an unbeaten 153, which steered his team to a convincing win over the Markwells Demons who were bowled out for 106 to the Kangarilla's big total of 7 for 244. The two other local teams in the Commonwealth Bank A Grade competition enjoyed good wins, with Mildura East only losing three wickets in passing the Mountain Goats small total of 120. It was a mixture of the old and the young that led the way with young opening batsman Jason Harris compiling a well made 49 to be the top scorer for Easts and with good support from veteran Geoff John (23 runs) in their easy victory. Mildura East opening bowler Fabian Farley cut a swathe through the Mountain Goats batting taking 4 for 21, with John (2/8) and Harris (2/8) getting amongst the wickets. The Moutain Goats from the Western Sydney suburbs will be better today after transport problems resulting in an unscheduled stopover at Hay marred ther match preparation. The Enjoywine Blue Yabbies also started well by amassing a big total of 192 for the loss of eight wickets. Luke Collett and Phil Wright compiled a a 68 run opening stand which set the Yabbies on the road to victory, with Wright getting 42 runs and Collett 38. The Pryor Pigeons from Bendigo were never in the hunt when they slumped to 5 for 53, with David Hall returning the impressive figures of 4/ 31 off his ten overs.

The Enjoywine Yabbies come up against the Mountain Goats first up today at Turf Oval Nos. 1, while Mildura East have an important game against the in form Kangarilla at Turf 2.

The Johnny Mullagh X1 made a positive debut appearance at Willowfest when they amassed the impressive total of 172 for the loss of eight wickets at Alcheringa. The Kangarilla 2nd X1 were never able to get into the game with Johnny Mullagh bowlers Robbie Marks taking 3 for 15 off 8.3 overs and Benny Cooke Harrison 3 for 32, as they wwere bowled out for 111. Johnny Mullagh batsman Sandy Hodge was the main scorer with an unbeaten 94 to figure in the days highlights. Chad Rothe's 40 not out was the leading run scorer for Kangarilla and he then took 2 for 27 off his ten overs. The other match in the Mildura Workingmans Club B-Grade competition Mont Albert take the points by over coming the Jika Muppets total of 143 for the loss of eight wickets. Travis Baker clubbed a neat 50 to be Mont Alberts top scorer and then took two wickets tp prove his allrounder status.

Hutt River Dedication's Chris Shaw took 5 for 22 to wrout the Johnny Walker X1 for just 119 in their Mildura Workingmans Club C-Grade match. Hutt River batsmen Jarryd Mills (47 no) and Joel McMahon (23 no) were untroubled in passing the Johnny Walker total.

Sunraysia Daily Demons captain Ross Lanyon paid the price for being slow between wickets by being easily run out, but the speed of youngsters Josh and Lucas Martin gave the Demons enough to get the points against The Future. Josh Martin top scored with 52 for the Demons, while younger brother Lucas took the bowling honours with 3 for 27.

Stuart Billing put in a fine allround performance to get the Willowfest X1 victory in their match against St. Mary's. Billing top scored with 43 to be the foundation of his teams total of 195 and then chipped in with the days bowling honours of 5 for 20, as St. Marys were out for 153 off their 50 overs. St Mary's batsman Luke Davis put up some resistance with 43 but it wasn't enough against the tight bowling of Billing.

Brighton District easily took out the womans match Sunraysia Scorch with Donna Moore top scoring with 29 not out for the winners, while Scorch batswoman Jenny Donnelly's 35 not out was a good effort.

Today's matches are the 20/20 format with each team playing two matches, with the morning game commencing at 9.30 a.m and the afternoon match at 1.30 p.m.

WILLOWFEST DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS

BATSMEN

Haydn Thorpe 153 not out Kangarilla A-Grade

Sandy Hodge 94 not out Johnny Mullagh X1 B-Grade

David Kirke 56 not out Melrymple Cup Grade

Glen Lambeth 56 O'malley's Panthers Cup Grade

Josh Martin 52 Sunraysia Daily Demons C-Grade

Travis Baker 50 Mont Albert B-Grade

BOWLING

Stuart Billing 5/20 Willowfest X1 C-Grade

Chris Shaw 5/22 Hutt River Dedication C-grade

Fabian Farley 4/21Mildura East A -Grade

Gary Bell 4/29 Jika Muppets B-Grade

Kegan McDonald 4/30 The Future C-Grade

ALL ROUNDER

Stuart Billing 43 and 5/20 Willowfest X1 C- Grade

Jason Harris 49 and 2/8 Mildura East A -Grade

Travis Baker 50 and 2/14 Mont Albert B-Grade

Chad Rothe 40 no and 2/27 Kangarilla B- grade

Robbie Marks 20 and 3/15 Johnny Mullagh B -grade

While some batsman hit respectable scores headed by Northern Wanderers batsman Glen Courts hitting 75 runs and ex local Ben Walters, playing for the Adelaide Hills Cougars compiling 69 runs, they didn't have it all their own way with some fine bowling performances during the days play.

Mountain Goats captain Billy Ellis had great day with ball taking 3 for 8 in the morning game the Enjoy Wine Blue Yabbies. Then in the afternoon , he returned the days best figures of 5 for 16, but it wasn't enough to get the Mountain Goats over the line as they went down by just one run to the Pryor Hill Pigeons.

With Ben Walters starring with the bat, the Adelaide Hills Cougars recorded their first Powercor Cup Grade win over Tankard Dental Melrymple in the morning, but they were brought back to earth in the afternoon when the undefeated O'Malley's Panthers cruised past their modest total of 86 without losing a wicket.

With Melrymple still to win a game in this years championships, the challenger for Wednesday's Cup Grade Final against O'Malley's Panthers could come from any one of the other three teams in Cup Grade. The Melrymple boys have a crucial game against O'Malley's Panthers today at Henscilwood Oval Irymple.

Close games were the order of the day in the Commonwealth Bank A Grade competition with Kangarilla defeating the Enjoy Wine Blue Yabbies by just one run, and their was a similar margin in the Pryor Hill Pigeons victory over the unlucky Mountain Goats who couldn't quite come to grips with the bowling Nick Jenson who returned the impressive figures of 4 for 12.

Kangarilla continued their unbeaten run in A-Grade and amassed the highest score of the day when they hit up 161 off 20 overs for the loss of two wickets with Brian Ross leading the way with a fine 53 not out, as they easily defeated Mildura East in the morning then accounting for the Jika Muppets in the afternoon with Marcus Thorpe top scoring with 45 not out.

Mont Albert continued their unbeaten streak in the Workingmans Club B Grade competition defeating Kangarilla in the morning and then taking the points against the Johnny Mullagh Squad after lunch. The Johnny Mullagh Squad had a mixed day, but their captain Robbie Marks had a great day with the ball, taking 3 for 17 in the morning and then backing up with 3 for 30 in the afternoon to be one of the leading bowlers on the day.

In the Tourism C-grade competition, Steve Jabour's Willowfest X1 has emerged as the undefeated team on the back of some good bowling performances from Raki Woetai (4/9 and 3/22) Teei Piawi (3/15) and Stuart Billing (3/9), while batsman Matt Kirirua top scored with 53 in their afternoomn win over Hutt River Dedication. It was a tough day for the Sunraysia Daily Demons who lost both their games to the Willowfest team in the morning and Johnnie Walker X1 later in the day. Young bowlers Lachlan Skinner and Tyler Martin returned good figures of 4 for 6 and 3 for 26 respectively, but captain Ross Lanyon will be expecting a better effort from his more experienced batsman today to support the young bowlers, if they can raise the effort from their tired bodies.

Today's play reverts to the 50 over format with matches starting at 10.00 a.m. After play the Tankard Dental Willowfest Whack, longest hit competition will be held at the Mildura Senior College Oval, Deakin Avenue, commencing at 7.00 p.m.. Big hitting batsmen will be competing for a first prize of $850.00. Last years winner Darren Motschall hit the cricket ball 110.2 metres, and he will be determined to retain his title but the competition will be strong to better this hit. Entry is free for spectators and all those who attend will be eligible to go into the draw for a Ballon ride for two from Andrew Musgrove of Mildura Ballooning. Food and refreshments will be available.

DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS

BATSMAN

Glen Courtis 75 runs Northern Wanderers

Ben Walters 69 Adelaide Hills Cougars

Marcus Thorpe 62 n.o Kangarilla A- Grade

Dylan Kight 60 Tankard Dental Melrymple

Gary Bell 54 Jika Muppets

Matt Kirirua 53 Willowfest X1

BOWLERS

Billy Ellis 5/16 and 3/8 Mountain Goats CC

Chris Walker 5/19 Johnnie Walker X1

Raki Woetai 4/9 and 3/22 WillowfestX1

Lachlan Skinner 4/6 Sunraysia Daily Demons

Aaron Smiley 4/18 Adelaide Hills Cougars

Robbie Marks 3/17 and 3/30 Johnny Mullagh Squad

Willowfest President, Anthony Telfer made the announcement on December 19 2009 that The Mildura Working Man’s Club had offered their excellent venue not only as the administrative base for the Championships commencing on December 27, but it will be the venue for the Gala Presentation Dinner on December 30, featuring Test Cricket Legend and controversial media personality Rodney Hogg.

Telfer in making the announcement acknowledged the long standing support of the Mildura Settlers.

The Willowfest Committee look forward to working with the Mildura Workingman’s Club to continue to grow the Willowfest Carnival into the Future and with 5 new teams playing in the Championships, it promises to be a successful competition run over the Christmas - New Year break in sunny Mildura.

Please note the Team Managers & Umpires Meeting will now be held at the Mildura Working Man’s Club in Deakin between 9th & 10th St, Level 1, from 6.00pm on Saturday 26th December.

The Willowfest Australian Cricket Club Championships gives the opportunity for country cricketers to play matches on first class ovals that would rival our first class venues. The Mildura Rural City Council has shown its support to this carnival by providing the valuable water supply to maintain these magnificent ovals over the hot summer months so that the facilities can be at their peak for the Championships starting on 27th January 2009. Council are also undertaking an intensive aeration program on all their sports ovals to improve water infiltration, reduce compaction and improve the health and condition of the playing surfaces.

The Willowfest Committee is grateful for the valuable support of the Mildura Rural City Council.

Willowfest has been conducted in Mildura for over 30 years and the Championships have grown to be one of the premier cricket championships in regional Australia. Country cricket clubs from all states in south east Australia now compete for over $10,000 in prizemoney over the four day competition. White cricket balls will be used in all games for the Carnival to enhance playing conditions for players and spectators.

At the end of play there plenty of social opportunities for all visitors to relax and enjoy, when play is completed. With its great location on the mighty Murray River, fantastic summer weather and vast array of tourist attractions, Mildura is well suited to host such a successful cricket carnival as the Willowfest Australian Cricket Club Championships. Water activities on the Murray River attract many participants and their families to extend their stay to enjoy the great holiday atmosphere of the Sunraysia region.