Oxfordshire Cricket shortlisted for three ECB Impact of Cricket Awards

Banbury Indoor Cricket League – Week 6 Results Summary & League Table

Banbury Indoor Cricket League
Results – Division 2 week 6 – 09.12.2025
Batting second Hooky Renegades 117-2 beat Southam 115-4 by 4 wickets
Hooky Renegades 25 points
Batting: Dave Victor 30ret no, Matt Walker 19, Brandon Parker 18, John Stubbs 11no,
Bowling: Matt Walker 2-0-17-1, Ryan O’Sulivan 3-0-33-1,
Southam 3 points
Batting: Henry Wilkins 30ret no, Luke Church 21, Chris Prophet 20no, Pete Rigney 10
Bowling: Stuart Jones 3-0-32-1, Chris Prophet 1-0-19-1

Batting second Broughton & N. Newington 114-3 beat Deddington 113-6 by 3 wickets
Broughton 25 points
Batting: Stuart Morgan 26ret no, Suchi Candavel 24no, Paul Cutler 16no, Phil Russell 12.
Bowling: Gary Cook 3-0-38-2, Phil Russell 2-0-25-1, Sushi Candavel 2-0-25-1
Deddington 3 points
Batting: Richard Munro 26, Biswajit Neog 25, Wayne Dibbal 21no, Waris Afghan 12
Bowling: Hamid Afghan 3-0-23-2,

Batting second Cropredy B 35-1 beat Middleton Cheney 32-6 by 5 wickets
Cropredy 25 points
Batting: Joey Price 20no, Harry Oakes 14
Bowling: Jake Atres 2-0-10-4. Sam Coggins 1-0-7-1
Middleton Cheney 0 points
Batting: Ewan Cunningham 4. (Extras 28)
Bowling: Freddie Smart 2-0-20-1.

Batting first Sandford St. Martin B 183 beat Bodicote 65-6 by 118 runs
Sandford 26 points (Highest score of the season)
Batting: Ollie Martin 53ret no. Matt Thompson 31ret no, Colin Simpson 31, Josh Markham
15.
Bowling: Josh Markham 2-0-14-2, Matt Thompson 1-0-5-1, Colin Simpson 1-0-6-1
Bodicote 2 points
Batting: Rahul Raj 18
Bowling: Olly Lees-Milne 2-0-28-2, Ollie Sharpe 3-0-43-1

2025 – Division 2 League Table – Week 6
TEAM	Played	Won	Bonus Points		Total
			Bat	Bowl
Southam	6	5	16	13	129
Sandford St. Martin B	6	4	16	13	109
Hooky Renegades	6	4	16	11	107
Cropredy B	6	4	14	12	106
Broughton & N.N.	6	3	13	12	85
Deddington	6	2	14	10	64
Bodicote	6	2	11	7	58
Middleton Cheney	6	0	9	10	19

STEVENTON CC WIN BACK-TO-BACK PROMOTIONS IN THE HOME COUNTIES WOMEN’S CRICKET LEAGUE

Steventon Women were crowned champions of the Home Counties Women’s Cricket League Division 2 after a successful 2025 campaign. This comes directly after they won promotion from Division 3B in 2024.

Following report by J.Bennett

The rapid rise of Steventon women and girls’ cricket..
The last few years have been something of a whirlwind here at Steventon. Until 2019 we were a club with just 2 senior Saturday teams and 1 midweek T20 team. A junior section took shape and took off during the pandemic summer of 2020, and the group of talented girls playing mixed cricket that season persuaded us to launch a girls section in 2021. We also tried our hand at Women’s softball in late 2021, in rapid response to requests from some mums and some Allstars activators, and so successful were both these ventures that we took the plunge to join the Home Counties Women’s cricket league in 2022. Our first 2 seasons were a steep learning curve, but in 2024 everything clicked and we won Division 3B, to find ourselves playing longer form cricket (35 overs per innings instead of 25) in Division 2 in 2025. How would we cope? Early signs were that it would be tough, with an opening-day defeat to a strong Deddington batting unit. But the team’s response was to learn from it, and go on a 7-game winning streak, which all but secured our 2nd consecutive title with 2 games to spare; our 10-wicket victory on the final day against challengers Wargrave was the icing on the cake.
Coaching this squad is a joy (speaking for myself and for my fellow coach Simon Lock). There is such warmth and inter-generational friendship in the group, and a culture of support & inclusivity, whilst still being driven to improve as cricketers and keep making their way up the league. Skipper Sarah Jones, herself new to the game in 2021 said “Captaining this team is something I’ll always cherish. Every player gives their heart to the team in every game. This isn’t just about lifting a trophy; it’s about our shared trust and belief in each other – I’m incredibly proud to lead such a determined and inspiring group of women and girls.” Club Chair Richard Chapman added “We are all immensely proud of the players and their success. They stand as an inspiration, demonstrating what can be achieved with hard work and dedication, and we’re looking forward to the next stage of their journey in 2026.”

We’re excited to be going into Division 1 in 2026, and we are even more excited to be adding a 2nd team, playing in Division 3 and Super 8s development, to ensure that we continue to have cricket available for all. We were also the only club in Oxfordshire to enter girls teams at U13, U15 and U18 age groups in 2025.
We welcome new players of all ages and abilities. If you or anyone you know in the Steventon / Abingdon / Wantage / Didcot area would like to get involved in our friendly community club, do get in touch. Contact Joe Bennett, 07966 592381, [email protected], or find us on FB or Insta @ SteventonCC.

Expressions of interest for 2026 Men and Women’s Open Trials

Horley CC Chairwoman Rosie Tubb nominated for The Times Grassroot Sportswoman of the Year

A massive congratulations to Rosie Tubb (Chairwoman of Horley Cricket Club) who has been nominated for The Time, Grassroot Sportswoman of the Year.

Rosie’s story so far:

Rosie took over the role of Club Chair 2 years ago and with the aim to bring the cricket community back together in Horley.

Rosie said: “I knew that the on field side of things would, in the most, look after itself, but if we created an atmosphere where people could enjoy themselves after the game as well, this would encourage not only spectators but players too.”

The biggest project during her time ,thus far, as chairwoman has been the new pavilion, which Horley is hoping to have up by April!

“This has been a long time coming, and it feels like at times, any stopper that can be put in place has been. But we as a committee are determined to push through the barriers as we know this too will help with player retention and encourage new people to join and use the facilities at Horley.”

Beyond being the chairwoman Rosie has taken on numerous jobs from being the groundskeeper, setting up and packing away the clubs fields to remarking and preparing wickets, to helping with teas and running both social media pages and training sessions. Rosie has done it all.

Rosie’s advice to other clubs trying to recruit volunteers:

“I believe to encourage more people to stand on committees, roles need to be broken down, and ‘unofficial’ roles need to be used more. Not all of us have a lot of time to give and are happy to give what little time we have, but if we break down the expectations of ‘this is your role you need to do XYZ’ and merely say ‘anytime you give to us is great’ I think more people, especially women, will give their time.”

What does the future look like for Horley through Rosie’s eyes?

“Looking forward, I am looking to put together a ‘Junior Committee’ to bridge the gap between the current ‘olds’ of the cricket committee world and those younger players who should and need to have a say in the shape of the cricket club going forward. I hope to have a mix of 13+ year old boys and girls involved in this. Excitingly for me, we are hoping to have a girls development team playing competitive cricket and that ladies softball cricket will return to Horley.

For myself, I’m excited to spend more time on the pitch playing both Seniors and Ladies, watching my children enjoy cricket and welcoming everyone new and old to our club over the season. It’s a big and exciting season at Horley and I’m so proud to be at the front of it.”

Voting closes on December 21st so please use the link below to support and vote for Rosie to be the Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year

https://bit.ly/times-swoty

From The Times:

“Rosie Tubb is chairwoman of Horley Cricket Club and has built up the women’s and junior cricket teams. More than 70 children now train and play with the cricket club every Tuesday evening during the season. Rosie raises necessary funds to keep the club going and is now leading the application to rebuild the pavilion.”

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/sportswomen-of-the-year/article/sunday-times-sportswomen-of-the-year-awards-2025-shortlist-vote-now-j8ws3bpmq

SNAP Sponsorship Partners With Oxfordshire Cricket

Oxfordshire Cricket is pleased to announce a new partnership with SNAP Sponsorship, aimed at strengthening grassroots cricket across the county. Together, both organisations will provide clubs with the tools, technology and strategic support needed to maximise their sponsorship potential.

Making Sponsorship Work for Oxfordshire Cricket Clubs

Community cricket continues to face increasing financial challenges. Through this partnership, SNAP’s platform will enable Oxfordshire clubs to promote their opportunities more effectively, connect with local businesses, and access expert guidance to help them build strong and mutually beneficial commercial relationships.

Mark Covington, CEO & Founder of SNAP Sponsorship, said:

“We’re delighted to partner with Oxfordshire Cricket. While grassroots cricket thrives on community and volunteer dedication, financial pressures remain a challenge. Together, we’ll provide clubs with the tools and support they need to secure meaningful sponsorship.”

Alex Mitchell, Director of Development and Commercial Partnerships for Oxfordshire Cricket, commented:

“We’re excited to work with SNAP. This partnership equips clubs with the tools to attract and manage sponsorship, empowering volunteers and strengthening grassroots cricket across Oxfordshire.”

Learn More

Explore how this partnership can support your club: https://partners.snapsponsorship.com/oxfordshirecricket

Oxfordshire Duo Selected for World Junior League Under-18s

Oxfordshire Cricket is proud to announce that two of our rising talents, Alfie Smethurst and Nikhil Nair, took part in the World Junior League Under-18s, a competition founded and co-owned by Adil Rashid where the world’s top under-18 talents come together to compete.

Their participation is a significant achievement for the players and they should be proud to have competed in such a prestigious tournament.

Alfie’s selection came on the back of a recent call up to the Sussex CCC Academy. Alfie ended as the second highest wicket taker in the competition and is currently playing cricket out in Australia over the Winter. After the tournament Alfie said: 

“It was really great to be in the inaugural U18s tournament, the standard was unbelievable and it really made you think a lot deeper about how you go about playing t20 cricket especially when playing guys who have skill sets that you haven’t really been as exposed to. Alongside that, having the support of two high class coaches in Gemaal Hussain and Amar Rashid was really awesome as they gave a lot of experienced insight. The tournament in general has given me a lot of confidence and a lot of things to take away and work on.”

Nikhil had a fantastic season at Oxfordshire scoring over 350 runs and taking 19 wickets in the U18 setup. On top of that, he made a few appearances for our County Men’s second team showing his growth. After his participation in the World Junior League, Nikhil said: 

“An amazing initiative and an incredibly rare opportunity to play against the best of our age across the globe. The WJL presented plenty of challenges e.g. playing in day/night conditions and playing back to back games.” 

At Oxfordshire Cricket, we take enormous pride in seeing homegrown players earn opportunities such as this. Alfie and Nikhil’s selections are the result of the commitment from themselves, their families, coaches, clubs, and teammates across the county.

Matthew Barnes – Performance Director at Oxfordshire Cricket said:

“The World Junior League U18 competition provided Alfie and Nikhil with a global stage, where they gained invaluable experience in away conditions and tasted the structure of franchise-based competition against their peers from across the world. It has been rewarding to follow their progress in the World Junior League and to hear that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”

Suri Shah to join Hampshire Vipers Academy

Oxfordshire Cricket are delighted to announce that 15 year old batting all rounder Suri Shah has been awarded a place on the Hampshire Vipers Academy for 2025/26.

Suri, who has played for Oxfordshire since November 2023 within the Under 15 age group, follows in the footsteps of Abi Norgrove who was selected on the Vipers Academy in 2021 and represented England Under 19s in 2024, and is a current Professional Cricketer with Hampshire, and Aimee Diab who was selected onto the Vipers Academy in 2024/25.

On the news of joining the Hampshire Vipers Academy, Suri said:

“I am honoured and privileged to be selected onto the highly competitive and prestigious Vipers Academy. Cricket means the world to me. So to be given such an opportunity to help fulfill my dreams I am truly grateful and looking forward with continued drive and passion. 

This would not have been possible without all the continued help and support I have received from St Edward’s School, Oxfordshire County, Vipers EPP, Gecko Cricket Coaching and my family. So thank you all and to my teammates for their kind words of support. From coming in new 2 years ago, the journey so far has been a memorable one and I cannot wait for the season to begin.”

Sam Arthurs, Pathway Manager at Oxfordshire Cricket said:

“Suri has been committed and hardworking during her time within our pathway, and it’s brilliant to see her rewarded with recruitment onto the Hampshire Vipers Academy. It was clear that Suri had a lot of potential when she first joined our pathway and over the last two years she has continued to develop her skill, whilst remaining open-minded and willing to learn.

We look forward to continuing to support Suri with the next step in her journey and wish her the best of luck for her time on the Hampshire Vipers Academy.”

Ian Cox, Head of Regional Performance Pathways at the Hampshire Vipers said:

“Suri has impressed everyone with her performances on the pitch, her attitude and work ethic. We are delighted that she has made the step up to the academy and hope the enhanced support she receives across all elements of her game will help give her the best opportunity to progress.”