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Oxfordshire Women V The Blaze: Match Report 17/05/25
19/05/2025After their emphatic wins in round one against Wiltshire, and Hertfordshire in round two, the Oxfordshire Women’s team travelled to Nottingham to take on Tier 1 league leaders, The Blaze, in the last 16 of the ECB T20 Vitality Blast. Having won all five matches so far this season, Oxfordshire have made a brilliant start but knew that this match would be their biggest test yet. The Blaze are a fully professional team, boasting several internationally capped players, including Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont. Oxfordshire won the toss and elected to bat on a used pitch at the Nottingham Sports Ground. Sophie Mitchelmore showed her intent in the first over, looking to ramp the ball to fine leg, whilst the 100 capped Genny Porter got off the mark with a brilliantly timed pull behind square. After Ported chopped on, Kirsty Dymond came in for her first appearance of the season and struck a measured 16, alongside the swashbuckling Sophie Grayson who punched her second ball for 6 over cover. With the away team 60-5 from the first 10 overs, Katie Waugh hit back to back reverse sweeps for 4 to add some impetus to the innings with the experienced Ellie Ingram at the other end. After their partnership was brought to an end by a brilliant piece of fielding, Oxfordshire then lost both of their talented U15’s, Niamh Rogan and Rabiya Dogar, in quick succession the innings closed on 97 in the final over. Knowing they needed to apply pressure early on, Chloe Westbury found the outside edge of Marie Kelly’s bat with the first ball of the innings, but landed safely and ran to third man to open The Blaze’s account. Westbury continued to tie both openers down, with Sophie Grayson’s off spin at the other end creating two close LBW calls that were both turned down. Oxfordshire continued their search for a breakthrough and despite some excellent fielding from Maisie Wright and Katie Waugh, were unable to break the opening partnership who showed their class, dispatching any loose delivery to the boundary. After Lottie Oxton and her leg spin were removed from the attack, the home team reached their target with a crunching cover drive, sending them through to the quarter finals. Head coach, George Setterfield, said “this was an amazing day for our squad. I’m so proud of the players for, not just getting to this stage of the competition, but the way in which they fought on the pitch. We stuck to our game plan and played with bravery. We’ve learnt some massive lessons about what it takes to play against the best, and it’s only going to help us improve us all along our journey.” After helping Oxfordshire to reach the last 16 with a quickfire 53* from 29 balls againstHertfordshire, Ellie Ingram, taking on the role of stand-in captain, leading the team in Emilia's absence said, “we knew this was going to be an enormous test for the squad, and everyone rose to the challenge. The support we have for each other in the squad has never been better – it’s what’s helped us get to this stage of the competition. We’ve got a great group of players with skill sets that complement each other brilliantly and I’m really excited by what this group can achieve this season.” Oxfordshire now turn their attention to the T20 league competition where they will take on Cornwall at Thame Town CC on Sunday 15th June. See Scorecard
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Oxfordshire Men V Buckinghamshire: Match Report 18/05/25
18/05/2025Oxfordshire CCC NCCA Trophy XI put up a determined effort but fell short in their NCCA Trophy Group 3 match at Tring Park CC. After being put in to bat, Oxfordshire battled to a total of 160 all out in 46.2 overs. There were several standout performances in the batting lineup, with Hayden Rossouw leading the charge with a composed 34 runs off 53 balls, including 4 fours and a six. Hd Ward played a brisk knock of 33 off 29 balls, finding the boundary six times. Freddie Smith added 25 valuable runs, helping steady the innings early on. Despite these contributions, Oxfordshire struggled to build momentum against a disciplined bowling attack. In response, Oxfordshire’s bowlers worked hard to apply pressure, with Tom Davis claiming a wicket while conceding 45 runs in his spell, and Luke Hayes chipping in with another breakthrough. However, the opposition successfully chased the target, securing the win. Oxfordshire CCC will regroup and look to bounce back stronger in their next fixture. See Scorecard
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Team News - Oxfordshire Women v The Blaze 17th May
15/05/2025Oxfordshire Cricket are pleased to announce the twelve player women's squad selected to take on The Blaze (Nottinghamshire Women) in Round 3 (Last 16) of the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup Knockout Competition, on Saturday 17th May 2025. Oxfordshire have made one enforced change to the squad that defeated Hertfordshire in Round 2 due to injury. Kirsty Dymond makes a welcome return to the squad for the first time this season. Captain Emilia Bartram again misses the game due to international commitments. Oxfordshire will look to put in another strong performance to extend their cup campaign knowing that a victory would set up a place in the Quarter Finals on Saturday 24th May 2025. The winners will take on the winners of the fixture between Essex and Yorkshire. ForenameSurnameCurrent ClubAge as of 1st April01/04/2025MayaBarnwellBanstead CC19RabiyaDogarHorspath CC15KirstyDymondOxford Downs CC23SophieGraysonDorridge CC20EllieIngramMoreton CC30SophieMitchelmoreOxford CC24LottieOxtonCharlbury CC20GenevievePorterOxford CC35NiamhRoganMoreton CC14KatieWaughCharlbury CC17ChloeWestburyCharlbury CC19MaisieWrightOxford CC20Total All Ages 256Total Ages minus 3 Eldest 167.00Average Age Youngest 8 20.88
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Kevin Beaumont Obituary
14/05/2025Oxfordshire Cricket is sad to report the recent death of the much-respected umpire Kevin Beaumont, aged 78. Commencing his umpiring career at an early age, he umpired several of Oxfordshire’s Minor County matches in the 1970s. In more recent times, Kevin will be known to many local club cricketers through umpiring regularly in the Home Counties Premier League. Having stood in 224 HCPL matches, only five umpires have officiated in more matches since the league started in 2000. Kevin also officiated for Oxford University on occasion in the Parks and in 2023 he toured Australia with the England Over 70s squad as their umpiring official.Kevin was Secretary of Bucks County Cricket Club for the past 27 years and, in 2019, he was awarded a British Empire Medal for his services to Minor Counties Cricket. Chris Clements, former Oxfordshire Cricket Chair said: 'Kevin was a conscientious administrator and committed Umpire in the local area for manyyears. As Secretary he was the administrative spine of Bucks CCC as-well as adding value to the Minor Counties (Latterly NCCA) in matters of national administration.As a person he was warm and engaging and always presented himself as an excellent host, closely supported by Helen, his wife.Kevin was a good friend of Oxfordshire Cricket and was always supportive. He will be sadly missed.God bless.'
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Team News - Oxfordshire Men v Buckinghamshire 18th of May 2025
14/05/2025Oxfordshire Cricket is pleased to announce the 12-player squad selected to represent the Men’s 1st XI in their upcoming National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA) One Day Trophy Group 3 fixture against Buckinghamshire. The match will take place on Sunday, 18th May 2025, at Tring Park Cricket Club. Following an impressive 90-run victory over Devon CCC on Bank Holiday Monday (5th May), Oxfordshire head into their final group game needing a win to keep their hopes of qualification alive. A victory over Buckinghamshire, combined with a favourable result in the Berkshire vs. Devon match, could see Oxfordshire progress in second place from Group 3. There is just one change to the squad that featured against Devon, with Sussex CCC Pathway product Oliver Avinou earning his first call-up, replacing Thomas Rex. The squad continues to feature a strong core of players who have developed through the Oxfordshire Pathway and those currently playing club cricket within the county. Sunday 18th May 2025 v Buckinghamshire Forename Surname/Initial Playing Qualification Age as of 1st April Current Club in 2025 01/04/2025 Oliver AVINOU ORS N/A 19 Horsham CC Thomas DAVIS TE N/A 24 Knowle and Dorridge CC Dylan DRISCOLL DA Age Group 19 Oxford CC Luke HAYES LB Age Group 19 Aston Rowant CC Arjun RAMKUMAR Club 23 Banbury CC Hayden ROSSOUW HK Club 24 Aston Rowant Tristan ROSSOUW TO Age Group 19 Aston Rowant Freddie SMITH FEH Age Group 22 Oxford Downs CC George TAIT GG Age Group 23 Banbury CC Jacob TOWNSEND JE Age Group 19 Kibworth CC Harrison WARD HD Age Group 25 High Wycombe CC Henry WELCH HR Age Group 17 Oxford Downs CC Total All Ages 253 Total Ages minus 3 Eldest 180 Average Age Youngest 8 22.50
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OVER 60s 2nd XI CROWNED 2024 CHAMPIONS AFTER DELAYED FINAL!
12/05/2025Champions! Oxfordshire seniors cricket got the 2025 season off to the very best of starts when its Over 60s 2nd XI was crowned as County Champions for 2024 in a game held over from last season due to the weather on finals day. Despite dire predictions of a 2024 final played in early 2025 on a slow ‘green top’ in freezing April conditions, the weather in Abergavenny for the final against a perennially strong Wales team was excellent and the day got off to an even better start when acting captain, Tim Riley won the toss and asked the hosts to bat. And it soon became a dream start when skipper Riley was again in action in just the second over when taking the catch that dismissed Wales opener Adams off the bowling of Anwar Pervaiz with the score on just seven. However that early success was tempered by the Wales second wicket pairing of Murray-Williams and O’Connor who posted a stand of 54 before first change Graham Nelson struck to get the visitors back in the game by bowling O’Connor for 33 when he looked well set. New batter Powell looked comfortable and he and Murray-Williams were again looking solid as they added 27 before Nelson again nipped one through the opener’s defences to bowl him for 28, to leave the match in the balance at 78 for 3. Aswani and Powell then saw the score through to 104 when the skiddy pace of Perviaz bowled Powell for 22 and quickly followed it up by again combining with Tim Riley to remove Aswani for 13 to put Oxon well in charge with half the hosts batting gone for just 107. New batters Williams and O’Sullivan both settled in without any real problems but they were now trying to force the issue against the ‘master of the miserly’ Steve Kelly and skipper Riley’s left arm spin. And the pressure told. Williams was caught by Riley off Kelly for 16 and O’Sullivan was caught by Mike Howat off the bowling of Riley for 13, with the score on 148. Thereafter the visitors subsided to 157 all out as Godwin, Smith and Doyle all perished in the pursuit of quick runs as skipper Riley added two more wickets to his tally and a run out for good measure to finish with 3-14 off five overs. Of the other bowlers Pervaiz took 3-40 off nine, Nelson 2-18 off six, Kelly 1-27 off nine, plus tight wicketless spells from Cook, Pykett and Haynes. 157 was not a daunting target and openers Ivan Mulford and Andy Haynes calmed any initial nerves by posting a very steady 54 for the first wicket before Mulford went for 17 run out by the combination of Doyle and Williams. Haynes - as aggressive as ever - continued to attack and together with Mike Howatt posted a further 30 runs before he was trapped lbw by Doyle for a vital and ultimately match winning 56, with the score on 85, but there was still work to do, with 72 runs still needed. Step up skipper Riley who with Howatt added another 30 vital runs, as the hosts struggled for the quick breakthrough that might have swung the match their way. Although Howatt went for 17 caught by O’Connor from the bowling of Doyle with the score on 115 - Riley remained resolute finishing on 35 not out and with Dave Warner, Phil Manning and Graham Nelson saw the visitors through to victory by five wickets and with the small matter of five overs to spare. Retiring 2nd team skipper Andy Haynes said afterwards: “It was an exceptionally good win to conclude an outstanding season, in extraordinary circumstances. Wales are always strong opponents and to beat them in their own back yard by such a margin is a real moment to savour!” But there was more! Just two days later new skipper for the 2025 season Robin Pykett took the Over 60s 2nds to Stowell Park for their first league fixture of the season where they secured a thumping win over Gloucestershire by 119 runs. Asked to bat by the hosts, things didn’t get off to the best of starts when the normally reliable Ivan Mulford went in the first over for just one, bowled by Tim Cull. That brought Adrian Manger out to join opener Charlie Anderson and the pairing soon had the damage repaired as they added 83 for the second wicket in 24 overs before Manger was dismissed for 39 caught by Simon Mezsaros off the bowling of Sean Walters. However the hosts were soon back in the game when in the space of two overs first Andy Kear struck to remove opener Anderson for a patient 45 off 74 balls, which was soon followed by new batter Dave Warner for just one - lbw to Sean Walters, leaving Oxon on 90 for 4 off 27 overs. The next pairing of Rupert Taylor and Ajit Shah began the counter attack almost immediately with Taylor making 23 off 29 and Shah 28 off 27 before the 49 run partnership was finally broken in the 35th over with the score on 139 when Taylor was bowled by Steve Pennington. Shah saw the total past 150 before he had to retire with a pulled hamstring and the visitors were effectively six wickets down as Carl Needham joined keeper Phil Manning in the middle, and Gloucs were still very much in the game. Manning and Needham however soon put that idea to rest with a whirlwind unbroken partnership of 68 which put Oxon firmly in control as Manning made 31 off 26 balls and Needham battered 39 off just 27, to see the visitors through to a very respectable 218 for 5 off their 45 overs. For the hosts Tim Cull’s opening spell caught the eye with 1-27 from nine overs, well supported by Sean Walters with 2-37 off seven. In reply Gloucs got off to a nice steady start with no early alarms as openers Simon Mezsaros and Kim Parsley posted 29 for the first wicket before Mezsaros was bowled by Carl Needham for 13. Thereafter the ‘hutch door’ was soon open and Oxon quickly took control of the game - as the next four wickets went down in quick succession before the score had doubled. First Richard Graham was bowled by Carl Needham for 4, followed by Kim Parsley who was caught by Ivan Mulford off Andy Slater for 16, David Yates fell to Needham lbw for 5, while Andy Taylor was also trapped in front by Andy Slater, leaving the hosts teetering on 51 for 5 off just 14 overs. Salvation looked a long way off and it soon proved to be just that as the score slumped further to 56 for 6 when Steve Pennington was lbw to Rupert Taylor for one and that then became 64 for 7 in the 18th over when Taylor struck again bowling Mark Moodie for nine. Dave Tudor provided some stout resistance batting at number eight and made Oxon work for their win when making 26 from 56 balls but he soon lost Tim Cull for one when he was bowled by Steve Kelly, after which Tudor also succumbed, stumped by Phil Manning off the bowler of skipper Robin Pykett. The hosts were finally dismissed for just 99 when last man Sean Walters was caught by Andy Slater off the bowling of Pykett, sealing a 119 run win with which to open his account as skipper. After the game Robin said: “As first games in change go it couldn’t have gone much better given such a good all round team performance, particularly as we had three of our key players missing from the side that won the big cup final just two days before.” Next up the twos host Buckinghamshire at home in a game to be played at Middleton Stoney CC. Meanwhile the Over 60s 3rd XI were getting their season off to a winning start with a resounding victory by four wickets when chasing down a challenging target in a friendly away to Worcestershire at Birlingham CC. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat with openers Paul Lippitt and Robert Teague posting 29 for the first wicket before Nigel Walker parted the pair by bowling Lippitt for 12 with the score on 19. Over the next 16 overs the second wicket pairing of Teague and Humphries then put Worcs well in control as they posted a commanding stand of 98 before Teague retired on 63. However he was soon followed by Humphries on 38 lbw to Tim House who then struck again soon afterwards when he also trapped Kevin Truswell in front for just seven with the score on 139 for 3 as Oxon began the fight back. Mark Walker played well for his 26 off 54 balls, but got little support, as Robert Bond and David Spragg went cheaply with both falling to the bowling of the excellent Tim House, before Oxon skipper Clive Ricks bowled Walker and had his opposite number Andy Robinson taken by Steve Partington, as the hosts’ innings closed on 192 for 7 from 45 overs. Tim House was the pick of the Oxon bowlers with figures of 4-37 from nine overs, well supported by skipper Ricks with 2-12 from three and Nigel Walker 1-28 from seven, while Steve Mitchell and David White were economical with run rates of just over four an over while remaining wicketless. In reply Oxon were soon in a spot of bother as both openers – Howard Lancaster and Peter Burrows were gone by the time the score had reached 21 with six overs gone. Lancaster went, caught by Kevin Truswell off Andy Padden, while Burrows was stumped by Andy Robinson off Padden. The next pairing of Ralph Orchard and Tom Scrase however fared somewhat better as they posted 30 for the third wicket before Scrase looking set on 24 was bowled by Robert Bond, with the score on 51 for 3. That then brought in Tim House and together with Orchard the pair put together a fine stand of 72 that put Oxon back in control before Orchard departed lbw to Tony Jukes for 48. House then teamed up with the very experienced Steve Partington and posted another valuable 30 plus run partnership before House completed a fine 50 before he was again lbw to Tony Jukes, with the score on 155 for 5. But with Partington at the helm the result was never in doubt as he steered the ship home with 25 not out with only Nick Warry being lost in the process for 12 - yet again lbw to Tony Jukes - while David White was 12 not out. In winning Oxon eventually totalled 194 for six and had no fewer than nine overs to spare, with Tim House the undoubted man of the match with 52 runs with the bat and four wickets with the ball. Skipper Ricks commented afterwards: “It’s always encouraging to get the season off to a good start with a win away from home against such a strong team as Worcestershire, but there’s still plenty we can improve upon and there’s going to be some proper competition for places this season as we benefit from the increasing strength of both the 1ST and 2nd XIs. 2025 promises to be an interesting season! Next up the thirds begin their league season with a tricky away game against Hertfordshire at Bayford and Hertford CC. The combined Oxs/Berks Over 70s XI were also in action this week when they too were preparing for league action next week with a very competitive friendly against Middlesex at Royal Ascot CC, in which the visitors eventually squeezed home by four wickets off the penultimate ball of the final over. Middlesex won the toss and asked the hosts to bat and got off to a good start when they removed Ox/Berks’ skipper Ian Stuart for just six in the sixth over with just nine on the board thanks to a catch by Rob Willis off the bowling of Alan Clarke. His partner at the other end Nick Cooke was equally difficult to get away and the hosts were finding it tough going against the new ball. However, the second wicket pairing of Charlie Anderson and Derek Watts battled it out and eventually began to get the better of the Middlesex bowlers and were not parted until the 28th over by which time the pair had added 111 runs with both remaining unbeaten on 50 and retiring in order to give another batter time in the middle. Unsurprisingly with two new batters at the crease and quick runs being the order of the day, wickets then fell at regular intervals, as only Ian Harvey (15) and Steve Partington (14) managed to get into double figures before the agreed 40 overs were bowled, with Oxs/Berks posting a slightly disappointing 170 for 6, when 190 plus looked on the cards in mid-innings. In reply Middlesex for the most part looked well in control as their top order built a solid platform in the early part of their innings. Openers Keith Alexander and Yunus Shafi compiled an eye-catching 48 run partnership for the first wicket and were not parted until Jim Blackford bowled Alexander for 22 in the 13th over. Shafi and new batter Carl Menzie then proceeded to add another 39 runs before Phil Ridgeway and Ken Fuller combined in the 23rd over to remove the opener for a well made 40. Oxs/Berks needed a couple of quick wickets to get back in the game and Phil Ridgeway gave them a glimmer of hope when he quickly dismissed the new batter Daniel Richards for nought. Menzie at the other end however looked very solid and steered the visitors to within sight of the win before he too retired with the score on 126. He was well supported by Alan Carter who was eventually unbeaten on 21 and skipper Simon Battersby who picked up the run rate - which had slowed somewhat in the latter overs - as he made a very rapid 30 from just 17 balls, which enabled Middlesex to secure the win in a close finish with just one ball remaining, despite two late quick wickets from Steve Partington. Among the host’s bowlers the opening pair of Jim Blackford and Nigel Walker caught the eye. Blackford took 1-25 from his eight overs while Walker was his usual miserly self with 0-18 from six. After the game Ox/Berks skipper Ian Stuart said: “This was an excellent pre-season work out before we commence league action next week. We were a bit slow to get going last season and looked a better side as the season progressed, hopefully, thanks to games like today, we will hit the ground running this year and turn in those better performances from match one.” Next up the Oxs/Berks Over 70s XI will travel to Chipstead CC for a tough season opener against Surrey. FULL MATCH DETAILS