Oxfordshire Cricket is delighted to officially launch the Oxfordshire Bulls programme for 2020. The programme officially got underway on Wednesday 3rd of March at St Edwards School with the first indoor sessions taking place for Under 11s and Under 13s.

The idea of the “Oxfordshire Bulls” was conceived in the summer of 2016, the offshoot of a series of conversations over the summer, with the idea of increasing competitive match-play opportunities for children attending state primary schools. Whilst the Chance to Shine programme has been a superb initiative in preserving cricket in state schools, for those children with a real passion for the game, the typical cricket offering in a primary school is far removed from the regular hardball fixtures that make up summer term for most prep school boys.

The initial principle was to select a team of Year 6 (Under 11) children involved in the Player Pathway, and arrange summer term fixtures against a selection of local independent schools, offering the state-educated boys additional longer-format cricket, and starting to close the opportunity gap. The first fixture, organised at St Edward’s School against a Dragon School XI, was unfortunately cancelled due to rain, but the programme has since grown with fixtures with a number of other local schools, involvement in tournaments and coaching sessions at Wellington College, Abingdon School, and St Edward’s School.

The summer of 2019 saw “Bulls” sides compete in fixtures at Under 10 and Under 12 level, as well as in the original Under 11 age group, alongside a growing partnership with St Edward’s, and it is exciting news that the Spring of 2020 will see us offering an indoor component of the programme for the first time.

The Oxfordshire Bulls programme forms part of Oxfordshire Cricket’s strategy to engage children and young people and to develop an oversupply of home grown players who can thrive in local, representative and professional cricket.

The programme has been enhanced to bridge the gap between independent and state school playing opportunities within Oxfordshire, providing an individualised programme of support for state school players within the Under 10 to Under 13 age groups of the talent development pathway. The additional player development opportunities will provide an environment for players to develop their talent over time, with the support of pathway coaches and fellow peers.

The programme is underpinned by a collaborative partnership between Oxfordshire Cricket and St Edward’s School, who will host the enhanced programme this year and provide facilities for the sessions to take place during the winter months and matches to take place during the summer playing programme.

On Thursday we had a great turnout for the Lord’s Taverners Table Cricket Finals Day held at St Mary’s Church in Wheatley. The competition was the culmination of a programme of delivering table cricket to schools and colleges with special needs children.

Eight teams from schools and colleges from around Oxfordshire entered for the event which was held in the historic St Mary’s Church which saw over 100 children take part in the day.

After hours of play the finalists Abingdon & Witney College and Frank Wise Special School Banbury were the two group winners of the day, with Abingdon coming out as the days winners.

A fantastic day of table cricket and it was great for all of the young people to get together and share a new found love of this form of the game.

Lord’s Taverners help to fund the table cricket coaching sessions and county competitions, meaning hundreds more young people are playing table cricket every year, making friends and developing valuable skills. Table cricket is an adapted version of cricket, played on a table tennis table and specially designed to give young people with a disability the chance to play and compete in the sport we all love.

The day finished with Chris Clements – Oxfordshire Cricket Chairman and Mervyn Ramsay – Commercial Development Officer at Lords Taverners doing the presentation.

County competitions are the first of three stages which culminate in the national final . As Oxfordshire winners, Abingdon and Frank Wise have earned a spot at the Regional Final at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Aylesbury. We wish them the very best of luck!

A special thanks to St Mary’s Church for hosting us, it was a fantastic day of table cricket, with a great atmosphere.

The first Indoor fixture at Eynsham Sports Centre this Sunday saw the rescheduled fixture of Hook Norton CC v Ufford Park CC of Huntingdonshire in the County Playoff with the winners proceeding to the Regional Finals.

Ufford Park won the toss and elected to field.

Hooky got off to a good start losing their first wicket at 43 in the 5th over with Andy Stanley falling for 24. There were excellent contributions from all the batsmen with Tom Bartlett scoring a quick 24, Adam Bennett 29 and captain Dan White top scoring with 44. Hooky were all out on the last ball of their innings in the 12th over for a very daunting total of 168. Jan Neville was the pick of Ufford’s bowlers with 3 for 40 off his 3 overs.

Ufford got off to a fast start with 13 off the first over, however after this, wickets fell at regular intervals with the pressure of trying to maintain the required scoring rate being very visible. The game was up in the 5th over when 2 wickets fell to leave Ufford at 51 for 4. Ufford Park were all out for 53 after 7.2 overs. Joe Harrington top scoring with 22.

An excellent bowling and fielding display from Hooky conceding only 3 extras with Adam Bennett with 2 for 16 and Richard Knight with 2 for 10 being the pick of the bowlers. Adam Bennett also picked up 3 catches and a run out.

Hook Norton now progress to a Regional Semi-Final at Bromsgrove School on Sunday against Neyland CC from Wales, with the winners of this then competing in the Regional Final the same day for the honour of qualifying for the National Finals at Lords on 29 March.
We wish Hook Norton CC the very best of luck!

Oxfordshire Cricket is delighted to announce that Ollie Price has signed a two-year professional contract with Gloucestershire. He joins his older brother Tom who also signed a two-year professional contract with Gloucestershire last week.

The news follows a successful 2019 season for Ollie, which saw him play regularly in Gloucestershire’s second xi, which included a match against Sussex seconds where he scored a half-century against the likes of Jofra Archer. Further to that, the former Magdalen College School pupil also played for Oxfordshire in the MCCA championship.

Gloucestershire CCC Head of Talent Pathway, Tim Hancock said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Ollie. Ever since joining the Club’s Academy in 2016, Ollie has shown commitment and promising signs of development. He has been a pleasure to coach during his time with the Academy and I can’t wait to see how he progresses over the next couple of seasons.”

Ollie expressed his delight, he said: “I was really proud and excited to get this opportunity and hopefully I can make it count next summer. I have loved being a part of the Gloucestershire Cricket Academy, and I’m grateful for the continual support from such a great set up. It’s a fantastic time to be at the club, and I can’t wait to try to contribute to this team next year.”

Gloucestershire Head Coach, Richard Dawson added: “Ollie has been showing promising signs this season in the Gloucestershire second eleven matches. He continues to show developing skills and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for Ollie in the next couple of years.”

To view the full article click here

Congratulations to Tom and Ollie Price on signing professional contracts with Gloucestershire CCC. The two brothers become the first and second professional cricketers to be produced from Magdalen College School. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played an important part in their development, especially Magdalen College School for their continued support of Oxfordshire Cricket.

We spoke to Alan Duncan – Oxfordshire and Sussex Academy Head Coach and Magdalen College School Cricket Professional about the news in the video below.

Oxfordshire Cricket is delighted to announce that Tom Price has signed a two year professional contract with Gloucestershire.

The news follows a successful 2019, which saw Price make his List A debut against Australia A. Further to that the former Magdalen College School pupil was awarded the Academy Player of the Year Trophy for 2019, at the Gloucestershire End of Season Awards.

Gloucestershire CCC Head of Talent Pathway, Tim Hancock said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Tom. He loves playing the game and I am sure he will do his upmost to take the opportunities and achieve his goals. I know I speak for all his coaches when I say he has been a real pleasure to coach during his time on the academy and his hard work and humility sets a good example to our younger players coming up the pathway. “

Tom expressed his delight, saying: “I’m delighted to have signed my first contract with Gloucestershire. I’m very grateful to the club for their continued support, and to everyone who has helped make this possible. It’s a very exciting time to be a part of this special club, and I look forward to seeing what the next year will bring”.

Gloucestershire Head Coach, Richard Dawson added: “Tom has developed his game after playing in our second team in 2019 and has shown huge potential. Everybody at the club is excited to be working with Tom over the next two seasons in helping him become a quality Gloucestershire cricketer.”

To view the full Gloucestershire article please click here

Oxfordshire Cricket are delighted to announce the release of our 2019 Handbook.

Every year we put out the Oxfordshire Cricket Handbook which summarises everything we have done over the past year and also highlights some areas to look forward to in the future. The newest edition is available below.

A hard copy of the 2019 Handbook is available for purchase by clicking here

If you have any enquiries with regards to the Handbook please contact our Marketing & Communications Officer – Nick Pinhol [email protected]

As per the previous article on the 29th of October giving notice of this years upcoming AGM that will take place next Monday 9th of December at Tiddington CC.

Oxfordshire Cricket are now able to announce the Agenda for the evening. We are also able to announce that there will be a light buffet prior to the AGM starting promptly at 7PM

• 6.30PM – Light Buffet
• 6.45PM – Introduction
• 7.00PM – AGM
• 7.30PM – Members Forum
• 9.30PM – Close

Please click on the attached PDF document below to to view the 2019 AGM Pack

2019 AGM Pack

Oxfordshire Cricket are delighted to announce that pathway players James Coles, and Harry Startin have both been awarded a place in Sussex County Cricket Club’s Academy for 2019/2020. Both boys were informed of the news last week, by Sussex Academy Director – Richard Halsall.

The fantastic news marks an exciting time in our partnership with Sussex, where both boys will go on to follow the likes of Harrison Ward who was the last Oxfordshire Pathway Graduate to be awarded a place in Sussex’s Academy. Furthermore, the news also comes on the back of a successful year on the pitch for both players, which saw them end their respective seasons playing against each other at the Lords Cricket Ground, in the MCC vs ESCA match in September.

Matthew Barnes – Performance Cricket Manager at Oxfordshire Cricket had the following to say

“I speak on behalf of everyone at Oxfordshire Cricket in congratulating Harry and James on their selection onto the Sussex Cricket Academy, and am delighted that their continued effort over time, has been rewarded with a much deserved Academy place this year.

Both boys, and their families, should be extremely proud of their selection and should now look forward with excitement to the opportunities that they will have to develop further within the Sussex Cricket Academy and locally within the Oxfordshire and Sussex Cricket Academy.

Harry and James’ selection onto the Sussex Cricket Academy gives evidence of our track record in delivering a talent development pathway that successfully identifies, develops and produces, local, home-grown players, who have the potential to progress onto First Class County Academies or beyond into professional cricket.

Their inclusion highlights the success of the partnership between Oxfordshire, Sussex and Magdalen College School, who work in unity to develop the foundations of future performance and to provide an accessible transition route into first class cricket. I hope that the success of Harry and James will ignite our pathway players enthusiasm for cricket, inspiring them to follow in their path towards professional cricket in the years to follow.”

Richard Halsall – Sussex Cricket Academy Director had the following to say:

“it’s a reflection of the young men’s performances and hard work that both Harry and James have been invited into the Sussex Cricket Academy 2019-2020. Harry is a genuinely fast bowler who gets considerable extra bounce from an aggressive length. He will develop into a genuine all rounder and as all aspiring young cricketers should be he is a threat in the field with the movement and arm that can turn defence into attack. James is an affable, humble young man with a significant competitive steel. He has dominated his peer group on a national basis and as an U15 helped his men’s league team win cricket matches. He is developing his leadership skills and is a model of self management and development. Oxfordshire should be extremely proud of both young men and they are both a reflection of the outstanding work that goes on within the County.’

James Coles had the following to say:

“I was surprised and delighted to be offered a place on the Sussex CCC Academy. I was also very excited by the opportunities that could lay ahead for me over the next couple of years that were outlined by Richard Halsall.”

Harry Startin had the following to say

“Being invited onto the Sussex Academy is an exciting next step in my journey as a cricketer. I was delighted to be selected and see this as an opportunity for me to continue to develop and gain greater exposure and insight into the professional game.”