Although they enjoyed limited success on the field of play, the South Oxfordshire Amateurs' first tour of Australia was deemed an outstanding triumph.
The SOA won only two of their nine matches, but such was the off-field generosity of their hosts that the 45-strong tour party returned this week with many happy memories.
The highlight of the second week was an outstanding game against The XXIX Club, a team formed as a result of Melbourne resident Ian McDonald's experiences playing for the SOA in the 1950s.
A seventh-wicket stand of 88 in ten overs by left-handers Simon Wakefield and James Horne helped SOA recover to 197-8 from 40 overs at Albert Park.
The XXIX Club secured a six-wicket victory in the final over thanks to a half-century from formerr Victoria batsman David Broad, despite a tidy spell from veteran off-spinner Roger Berryman.
The one success of the second week came against the Australian Cricket Society at Boneo, where Danny Lee recorded the SOA's first half-century of the tour.
The final game was at the Hume & Hovell ground at Strath Creek - a green oasis in an otherwise barren landscape.
Despite a half-century from the consistent John Roberts, the SOA succumbed to a decisive defeat but were entertained long into the night.
At the end-of-tour dinner at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, presentations were made to many of their hosts, and also to the main tour organisers Richard Allan (manager), Russell Hayes (captain) and Miles Hedges (treasurer).
SECOND WEEK RESULTS
Williamstown: SOA 123-8 (40 ovs, L List 38, K Baddeley 3-17), Crusaders 125-4 (37.1 ovs, K Baddeley 50 no, J Seagar 32 no).
Boneo: SOA 170-9 (40 ovs, D Lee 50 no, J Roberts 43), Australian Cricket Society 148-6 (40 ovs, I Rossborough 50 no, I Hammett 34).
Melbourne: SOA 197-8 (40 ovs, S Wakefield 43, J Horne 42), XXIX Club 202-4 (39.1 ovs, D Broad 54 no, W Stahmer 48, M Scholten 48, A Pritchard 39, R Berryman 3-54).
Strath Creek: SOA 174-8 dec (J Roberts 52 no, S Wakefield 45), Hume & Hovell Explorers 177-4 (M Scholten 52 no, P Withers 48 no, T Lamachia 43).
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