Cricket enthusiasts have cause for celebration as the latest innovation in cricket surfaces, the PICS (Powerplay Instant Cricket Surface), promises to revolutionise the sport.

Developed by Notts Sport, the PICS is designed to allow clubs and schools to play cricket in previously inaccessible areas. Its versatility across various surfaces, including 3G and gym sprung flooring.

A key feature of the PICS is its ease of installation. Setting up requires only 2-3 people and 5-20 minutes, making it an ideal indoor and outdoor play solution. Its consistent performance across all surface types has been rigorously tested, with some surfaces demonstrating longevity under heavy indoor usage.

The latest version of the PICS boasts a Monofilament surface designed with NGU technology, offering enhanced gameplay and durability. Complimented by a specially selected and tested foam shockpad, the surface ensures consistent performance.

With its easy installation, adaptability to various surfaces, and enhanced performance, the PICS by Notts Sport is poised to be a game-changer for cricket enthusiasts.

Whether for indoor or outdoor play, this cutting-edge surface promises to deliver an unparalleled cricketing experience, opening up new possibilities for play in numerous settings.

There will be a Thanksgiving Service for the former Oxfordshire Cricket captain Peter Smith on 27th (Tuesday) AUGUST at 2pm at Bradfield College. His widow Diana has asked that anyone who played with Peter to let her know if they can go.  Her email:- [email protected].

Oxfordshire Cricket is pleased to announce the squad to play against Gloucestershire and Wiltshire on Sunday  11th of August 

The selected squad is subject to any change before now and Sunday morning

Oxfordshire Cricket return to National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA) Durant Championship action this coming Sunday 11th to Tuesday 13th August 2024 against neighbours Berkshire at Falkland Cricket Club. It is a must win match should they want to continue to challenge for the Western Division-1 title with play to commence at 11:00am.

There are three changes to the Oxfordshire squad who defeated Cheshire by an innings, with Luke Hayes, Dylan Driscoll and Tom Hinley all unavailable for selection. Luke and Dylan are included in the Sussex CCC second eleven squad to take on Gloucestershire next week, with Wrist Spin All-rounder Tom Hinley also unavailable owing to commitments with Worcestershire CCC. Like Tom, Left arm pace bowler Seb Stuart-Reckling has progressed into the professional game, joining Surrey CCC for their Metro Bank campaign. 

Home-grown professional cricketers, Zach Lion-Cachet and Harrison Ward are also both unavailable due to commitments with Sussex CCC and the Oval Invincibles respectively. 

There is positive news for Luke Maslen who is fit again to compete in multi-day cricket following a hamstring injury, with Freddie Smith also returning to the side having missed the last Championship match against Cheshire to attend his Graduation. Eitan Litvin retains his place as the wicket keeper-batter following his Oxfordshire record seven dismissals (six catches and one stumping) in the first innings against Cheshire. Oxfordshire will give a debut to former Radley College pupil, George O’Connor who will bolster the pace bowling attack. The eleven man squad has an average age of just over 22, with the eight youngest players totalling just 170 years in age. The selected team listed is subject to any changes before now and Sunday morning. 

Dated – 9th August 2024

Timing their runs to perfection?

Over 60s 2nd and 3rd XIs hit form at the ‘business end’ of the season

Andy Haynes’ Over 60s 2nd XI put down a marker with the other teams in their second round phase of the Over 60s 2nd XI County Championship, when they comfortably beat a strong Surrey side by 78 runs at the Banbury XX Club.

And not to be outdone the 3rds brushed aside a similarly strong Gloucestershire side by chasing down 206 for the loss of just one wicket. 

Sadly there was no good news from the 1st XI in their ‘must win’ game against Kent at Challow and Childrey CC, where they went down by five wickets, and now have the proverbial mountain to climb to qualify for the knock out stages, in the shape of four straight wins with potentially other results also having to go in their favour. 

At Banbury XX skipper Haynes won the toss and on a hot day and on wicket which is usually full of runs he was in doubt it was a bat first day. And so it proved to be.

Haynes and Ivan Mulford soon had the scoreboard ticking over nicely, before the skipper was bowled by Bob Airey having made 26 out of the 30 on the board when the wicket fell.

Mike Howatt was soon into his stride as Mulford rotated the strike and the pair added 41 before Howatt went to cut Mohammad Dilshad and was well taken standing up by Keith Tushingham for 19.

That brought Tim Riley to the wicket and he was very quickly into his work and was soon going at a run a ball, many of them rapid singles that got the visitors fielding under pressure. Meanwhile Mulford was now also finding his range with better shots including two huge sixes over long off.

The pair had put Oxon in very much in control at 104-3 when Mulford was bowled by the impressive Nigel Pearce for 41, who then shortly afterwards found the outside edge of Dave Warner’s bat, who was again well taken by Tushingham. The game was back in the balance. 

Keeper Phil Manning then joined the Riley and the pairs running between the wickets again soon had Surrey under pressure as they struggled defend the deeper pockets on a big paddock.

83 runs were added in quick time as the boundaries started to flow including a crisp reverse sweep from Riley just after he passed his 50. Manning – still recovering from a hamstring injury – eventually departed run out attempting another audacious second run with the score on 189-4.

Graham Nelson kept up the pace as Riley pressed on before he departed at 226 for 5 for a wonderfully fluent 72, bowled by Prakash Ganatra, shortly after which the innings closed at  241 for 7.

For the visitors Nigel Pearce’s 3-42 from nine overs was the pick of the bowling, well supported by two sharp takes from keeper Keith Tushingham.

In reply the visitors looked to be settling in for a long steady chase with no real fireworks to begin with. Clive Offer and Don Taylor put the bad balls away with ease and got off to a decent start posting 39 for the first wicket in good time before Taylor edged Anwar Pervaiz to Phil Manning for 22.

And it was the impressive Pervaiz who struck again when Clive Offer failed to keep down an attempted glide to third man and was well taken in the gulley by Steve Kelly for 14 with the score on 44. Advantage Oxon.

However, new batsmen Andrew Monk and Keith Tushingham stopped the rot and began the rebuild but it took time and overs ticked by and unlike the hosts they did not put the field under pressure with hard run singles. And when Perviaz nipped in with his third wicket trapping Tushingham lbw with another well pitched up ball for 15 with the score at 65-3, the run rate was already climbing.

Robin Pykett’s left arm spin was already proving to be very difficult to get away when he removed Monk bowled for 16, which then brought together the visitor’s skipper Ian Walters and Nick Bradwell, with the score on 84-4  

Again the pair soon looked comfortable and began to up the rate as the game began to enter its deciding phase. Oxon needed to break their partnership while one of them needed to bat through for Surrey.

Walters looked powerful as he picked off runs on the offside, while Bradwell dealt in singles in support. The pair added 60 in setting a platform that might have won them the game until Steve Kelly prised open the hutch door by bowling Walters for 31 when he went back to cut once too often  with the scorer on 144-5. 

Bradwell and Prakash Ganatra then added 19 to bring the total up to 163 with the required rate approaching 10 an over, when Kelly struck again and Bradwell was adjudged lbw for a battling 41. 

What then followed was extraordinary. The remaining four wickets then fell without further addition to the score in the space of two overs. Kelly bowled Richard Tuttle for 0 in the same over. After which Graham Nelson went one better and removed Ganatra for 7 and Bob Airey and Nigel Pearce for both for 0. Surrey went from 163 for 5 to 163 all out within the space of twelve deliveries. 

Anwar Parvaiz set the standard for the Oxon bowlers with his hard work with the new ball when taking 3-39 from nine, while Steve Kelly 3-19 from five and Graham Nelson 3-15 from four turned in the best figures.  

“That was our best performance of the season by some distance,” said skipper Andy Haynes. “Against a very good side who qualified top in a tough group – everyone contributed something. “We were equally good with bat and ball in hand, and in the field. I couldn’t be more pleased. We now need to take this form forward with us into the next three matches in the second phase,” he added. Next week the 2nds make the very long journey to Colne CC, near Burnley, to take on Lancashire.

The Over 60s 3rd XI were also in similarly impressive form as they completed their group matches against Gloucestershire at Cirencester CC, with a nine wicket win.

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat but got off to something of a shaky start thanks to the bowling of Andy Slater who sent back Martin Hopkins for four caught by Chris Butcher, shortly followed by David Griffiths for 10 – this time bowled by Ajit Shah.

The new pairing of Alan Thomas and keeper Alec Robinson did a good job of rescuing the situation for Gloucs with Thomas making 32 before he was again bowled by Shah, while Robinson went for 20 bowled by leg spinner Tom Scrase. 

When new batsman Ian Martin was trapped lbw by Mike Simpson the hosts were five wickets down and desperately in need of a big partnership to post a defendable score on what looked to be a good batting track.

And the new pairing of Peter Adams (44) and Mark Moodie (68) did not disappoint as they patiently compiled a potentially match winning stand of well over a hundred and enabled Gloucs to post a respectable total of  205 for 5 from their 40 overs.

Among the Oxon bowlers who toiled manfully in the hot sun on a flat track Ajit Shah’s were the stand out figures, with 2-24 from eight overs, while Mike Simpson was his usual miserly self with ball in hand with figures of 1-21 from eight. 

There were no alarms for Oxon as they began their chase of 206 in the hands of regular opening pair Howard Lancaster and Ajit Shah. As usual the two ran their singles hard and put the hosts fielding under pressure while also picking off the bad balls for boundaries.

So it was something of a surprise when the usually adhesive Lancaster was bowled for 20 by Alan Thomas. That however, was to be the only wicket that would fall for the remainer of the game.

New batsman Simon Oldfield was soon into his work with the ever-busy Shah rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard rolling along as the hosts bowlers began to wilt in the heat while faced with the ease with which Oxon were knocking off the runs.

The pair remained unbeaten with the stand for the second wicket passing 150 in the process as Shah racked up 74 unbeaten and Oldfield 73 not out as the visitors – assisted by a very generous 37 extras – ran out winners by nine wickets, despite home captain Bill Church frequently ringing the changes with his bowlers and using no fewer than eight to make the vital breakthrough that never came. 

So now the group matches are over the Over 60s thirds have booked their place in the 3rd XI County Championship play offs – finishing in fourth place out of the eight qualifiers. They now await the quarter final draw to discover who their next opponents will be.

And looking at the bigger picture all three Over 60s sides have now qualified from their regional groups to contest the latter stages of their respective County Championship competitions. Not bad for one of the smaller counties!

At Challow 1st XI skipper Phil Manger won the toss and elected to bat. However, it was the visitors who drew first blood when Nick Morman was bowled by a superb delivery from Rupert Staple which pitched middle and hit the top of off stump.

Charlie Anderson then joined skipper Manger and both looked comfortable as they negotiated Kent’s initial onslaught and added 59 for the second wicket in 11 overs before Manger was bowled by David Walton for a well-made 42.

Anderson and Paul Hemming have enjoyed a number of good partnerships in the middle order this season but today was not to be another. Hemming was caught by keeper Graham Nicholls off David Walton for 1 and next batsman Nick Edmondson soon went for 5 – again caught behind this time off the bowling of Chris Trevatt. Kent were well in control at 77-4 off 19 overs. 

The fifth wicket pairing of Mickey Thomas and Anderson then added 40 for the next wicket before Thomas (20) again went to the glovework of Nicholls off the bowling of Steve Bradford.

Anderson battled on, now with Rupert Taylor, and the pair added 44 before he was next to succumb run out just four short of a fighting fifty, and shortly afterwards Taylor also went – for hard hit 29 and it was that man Nicholls again doing the damage, this time with a stumping off the bowling of John Butterworth. 

Steve Roberts – supported by keeper Neil Megson thenadded 30 for the eighth wicket with a run a ball 21, before the innings closed on 205 all out.

Kent skipper Nicholls used no fewer than seven bowlers and all bar one took wickets and none went the distance on a good wicket. However star of the show in the field was Nicholls himself, with three catches and a stumping, which removed the heart of the Oxon middle order for a shade over 50 runs.

In reply the visitors were always in control. Openers John Butterworth and Jim Phillips posted 59 for the first wicket in 16 overs, after which Phillips succumbed to the nagging accuracy of Steve Roberts and 20 runs later Butterworth was caught by sub Adrian Manger off the bowling of Jon Woods.

There was hope of an Oxon breakthrough when Russel Shipton went cheaply to yet more good glovework this time by Neil Megson, for just seven off the bowling of Jon Woods, and not long after Mike Rees was trapped in front by Mickey Thomas, with the score on 101-4

However, skipper  Nicholls steadied the ship with a counter attacking 31 off 24 balls while Chris Trevatt settled in at the other end. Nicholls went in the 29th over with 73 still needed and five wickets left, but the result was never in doubt.

Trevatt and new man in David Walton batted with some ease and never looked in any trouble in taking the visitors to their target with four overs to spare and five wickets in hand. Trevatt made 37 off 43 balls and Walton 36 off 39 with six fours.

After the game a disappointed Oxon skipper Phil Manger said: “I think we all knew we were at least 30 runs short of par and would have to bowl and field really well to get a side as good as Kent under any real pressure and while we had chances to do that we were unable to exploit them. 

“If we could have broken that sixth wicket stand early we might have got back into the game, but both of them batted really well and never looked in any trouble. 

“We’ve been much improved this season in winning our regional group and making it into the business end of the Over 60s County Championship, after making it through to the Vase Final last year.

“But a dip in form after an enforced lay off has highlighted the step up in class we are now tackling, which was all too evident in the way that Kent eased to victory when five wickets down in this game, he added.

Next week the 1st XI are again at home – this time to Sussex at Tiddington CC. 

Oxfordshire Cricket is pleased to announce the squad to play against MCC Women on Thursday 8th of August at Bicester and North Oxford CC starting at 11am

The selected squad is subject to any change before now and Thursday morning

This coming Thursday 8th August 2024, Oxfordshire Cricket welcomes the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to Bicester and North Oxford Cricket Club in the annual women’s showcase match.

Members, supporters and spectators who plan to attend are politely asked to take note of the following information ahead of time. Play will commence at 11am.

Locating Bicester and North Oxford Cricket Club

Bicester and North Oxford play at the Bicester Sports Association Ground on Akeman Street just outside Chesterton. The club address is; Akeman Street, Chesterton, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 1TH

Admission

Entrance to the showcase fixture is free of charge.

Parking at Bicester and North Oxford Cricket Club

Parking at the Ground will be available on a first come first serve basis only. 

Travelling by Rail

The nearest train stations to Bicester and North Oxford Cricket Club are Bicester North and Bicester Village Station with buses or taxis available from there.

Spectator catering

There will be no spectator catering available 

Seating

Very limited seating is available at the ground, so members, supporters and spectators are asked to come prepared with their own chairs and seating.

Live Streaming

Oxfordshire Cricket intends to live stream the match for those who are unable  to attend in person.

We look forward to welcoming members, supporters and spectators to the women’s showcase fixture.

Under 60s 1st XI falter as long weather-enforced lay off bites

Two consecutive washouts sees ring rusty firsts go down by 26 runs

Skipper Phil Manger’s pre-match fears that his Over 60s 1st XI might be undercooked after having their last two matches washed out proved well-founded as his side went down by 26 runs at home to Devon.

However, it looked like business as usual for Oxon when, despite the overnight rain, the visitors won the toss, elected to bat, and were soon in trouble.

Jon Woods trapped Jeff Heath lbw for 0 with his first ball and then followed up with the last ball of his next over by bowling Heath’s fellow opener Stephen Hunt for 13 with the scoreboard on 18-1 as the fifth over commenced. Almost the perfect start.

But Devon’s middle order had other ideas. Steve Luffman and Richard Pyle dug in, did the hard yards, and ground out the runs the visitors needed to establish platform and get on top of the bowlers, as they posted 96 for the third wicket in 23 overs, with Pyle eventually going for 39, bowled by Ian Curtis.

Luffman batted on to compile an invaluable 56 from 98 balls before he was trapped lbw – again by Curtis and the game was evenly balanced at 115-4 with 15 overs remaining.

A couple of quick wickets and the hosts were back in charge, instead new batsmen Chris Cook and Mark Heather upped the tempo. The pair put on a rapid 54 with Cook making an undefeated  run a ball 46, well supported by Heather who made 21 and Des Soloman 12 from 13.

Devon’s final total of 208 for 5 from 45 overs was competitive but nor was it intimidating for an Oxon side that have routinely chased down much higher totals with some ease.

Skipper Manger and Nick Morman opened the batting for Oxon but both were back in the pavilion by the end of the eighth over with only 20 runs on the board. Manger was caught by Des Solomon off the bowling of Chris Cook, while Morman was lbw to Brian Jeary. A dream start for Devon – who now looked well in charge.

.

But like the first innings the Oxon middle order soon got to work and began to repair the damage. The ever reliable Charlie Anderson battled away with Paul Hemming and began to pull things around as they posted 61 for the third wicket, before Hemming was caught by Steve Luffman off the bowling of Alan Boon, just as he was beginning to strike the ball fluently.

And with Anderson going just three balls later, the hosts had to rebuild again just as they needed to up the scoring rate. Instead Rupert Taylor and Mike Howatt went quickly and it was left to Mickey Thomas and Steve Roberts to pull things around with the score on 96-6 with just 15 overs left when the pair came together.

With better than a run a ball needed they counter-attacked brilliantly. Thomas made a run a ball 46 not out, while Roberts made 24 in equally quick time to add to another mean spell of 0-16 from nine overs with the ball.

Roberts was eventually bowled by Steve Hunt but not before the pair had added 58, but with only five overs left the run rate was now 10 an over and Thomas was fast running out of partners. However, Neil Megson helped Thomas add 30 in three and a half overs and 24 were needed off the remaining nine balls when the keeper departed, caught by Jeff Heath off the bowling of Chris Cook. 

Sadly there was no fairy tale ending. With boundaries needed the long handle had to be deployed and Jon Woods and Ian Curtis both perished rapidly, leaving Thomas high and dry and the hosts 13 runs short of their target.

Devon skipper Mark Heather used six bowlers and all took wickets, with only two going at worse than four an over, and Keith Bell the pick of them with figures of 2-21 from nine overs.

Next week the firsts are at home to Kent at Tiddington CC in a must win game if they are maintain their title ambitions. 

“Coming on the back of the two washouts this defeat has really hurt us as we’re now nearly half way through the second phase games without a win and we need to finish second or better in order to qualify for the semi-finals,” said skipper Manger. 

“However, we’ve already shown this season that we can beat any side on our day and five wins from here onwards is not impossible and we’ll be doubly determined to turn this situation around and prove that our group win was no fluke.”

There was better news however from the Over 60s 2nd XI as they qualified for the second phase of the 2nd XI County Championship by beating Leicestershire by 167 runs at Bitteswell CC. 

Skipper Andy Haynes won the toss for the visitors and opted to bat after which Ajit Shah and Ivan Mulford made a steady start making 42 before Shah was lbw for 16 to Pete Newsome.

Mulford was then joined by Tim Riley and the two quickly settled in and began scoring freely as they posted 101 for the second wicket. Mulford made a fluent 61 before he departed bowled by Jitu Naik.

Riley was then joined by Dave Warner who missed out somewhat in only making three when he was trapped in front – again by Naik – but the fit again Phil Manning was soon into his work before Riley advanced down the pitch and was stumped by Nigel Lewis off the bowling Mick Bradshaw leaving Oxon on 173-4 and well poised for a big total with plenty of overs still to be bowled.

Manning pressed on and made a rapid 64 not out with useful support from Haynes (10), Graham Nelson (17) and Richard Cook (18) before the innings closed on a mammoth total of 292-8, also thanks in no small part to 45 extras of which 25 were wides.

In pursuit of this challenging total the hosts did not get off to the requisite good start as the first five wickets fell for the addition of only 43 runs.

Anwar Pervaiz struck first for Oxon when he trapped Nigel Lewis lbw for nine with the score on 13. Three runs later Richard Cook struck from the other end when Malcolm Butcher went for nought again lbw, and Mick Bradshaw soon followed again for nought this time bowled by Cook, and at 18-3 the hosts looked dead and buried.

Watching this carnage at the other end was Keith Webster who sadly fared no better when he was caught by keeper Phil Manning for just nine, which had helped move the score to 25-4. John Edmonds similarly yielded to the visitors opening onslaught when he too perished for seven bowled by Pervaiz. 

At 43-5 a rout looked on the cards. Enter Ron Wood who then proceeded to make nonsense of his teamates batting struggles thus far, as he put together a wonderful knock of 83 before he was last man out stumped by Manning off the bowling of Robin Pykett with the score on 125 off 38 overs. 

Sadly no one in the lower order was able to support him by holding up an end, as Dave King, Chris Jeary, Jitu Naik and Pete Newsome all went for single figure scores, with the best partnership a mere 23.  

Skipper Haynes used five bowlers and all took wickets, with Pervaiz and Cook doing most of the damage with figures of 3-19 from nine and 2-18 from seven respectively.

Next week sees the 2nds at home to Surrey in the first round of the second phase of the 2nd XI County Championship.  

Closer to home the Over 60s 3rd XI played hosts to Middlesex at East and West Hendred CC and were looking to reverse an away defeat in June, but again came up short by 12 runs against the metropolitan county, who have now become something of a bogey side for them.

Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat and despite the early loss of Jay Villiers lbw to Tim House for nine, they were soon piling on the runs as Gordon Kennedy (69) and Atula Tilakaratne (51) both made half centuries, before Kennedy was caught Howard Lancaster, bowled Mike Simpson and Tilakaratne was stumped by Jerry Senior off the bowling of Steve Wilson.

Wilson also struck twice more in quick succession as he removed Christopher Chunillal, again stumped by Senior and Peter Berg lbw, before Phil Knappet (26) Charlie Abey (14) and Everett Bailey (27) all made useful runs as the visitors eventually closed their innings on 241-8 from 45 overs.

Wilson was the pick of the Oxon bowlers with 3-47 from nine, with good contributions from Tim House 2-45 from nine and Mike Simpson 1-30 from nine. However, the bowlers were not well supported in the field with no fewer than six catches going down. 

With a hefty total to chase a good start was essential for Oxon but sadly it did not materialise. None of the top four made it into double figures. 

Simon Oldfield was run out for nine, the returning Howard Lancaster was caught by Jay Villiers off Atula Tilakaratne for just two, Tom Scrase was stumped by keeper Pete Berg off the same bowler for 0 and Chris Butcher was lbw to Gordon Kennedy for nine.

Runs from Tim House and Mike Simpson were therefore vital if a heavy defeat was to be avoided and both delivered. House made 40 before he was caught Kennedy bowled Chunillal, while Simpson went for 30, bowled by the same bowler.

Two further wickets fell cheaply to then bring together Roger Hutchence and Chalky White, whereupon the pair put together a stand of over 40 to give Oxon a fighting chance of the win.

And when White went for a rapid 26, lbw to Phil Knappett, Hutchence, who finished on 45 not out, found an equally feisty partner in Steve Wilson, whose 28 not out almost got Oxon across the line as they eventually came up just 12 runs short on 229-9 after what can only be described as a disastrous start to the innings.

The 3rds drop to 4th place in the 3rd XI competition but remain well placed to retain their spot in the play offs for the 3rd XI County Championship – in which they finished runners up last year. Next week they travel to Cirencester CC for a tough away fixture against Gloucestershire, who are pushing hard to grab one of the last spots in the same play offs.  

The Oxs/Berks Over 70s 1st XI continued their winning streak this week, when they won their third match in a row in a keenly contested home game by just 20 runs against Somerset at Bradfield CC in Berkshire.

The game was reduced to 40 overs per side after steady drizzle delayed the start by half an hour, after which Somerset won the toss and opted to field. 

Oxon’s regular opening pair of Adrian Beecroft and Derek Watts soon had the scoreboard ticking over nicely before Watts, who had scored 21 off just 14 balls, was bowled by Phil Webber.

New batsman Ian Harvey and Beecroft have both been in good form of late and so it proved again as the pair settled in and began to score freely posting no less than 105 for the second wicket at which point Beecroft was run out for 51 from 75 balls when looking well set.

Harvey continued to score freely despite the loss of Jerry Senior for seven, but then found good support from Chad Cudjoe who made 24, before he fell agonisingly short of his century when he too was run out for 96, just before the innings closed on 216-4 from 40 overs.

On a flat track the visitors bowlers toiled somewhat, taking just two wickets, with Geoff Flynn keeping things tight with a tidy spell of 0-33 from eight overs.

In reply the visitors didn’t get off to the best of starts when Neil Johnson went for 0 bowled by Ken Fuller with just one on the board. 

Not long afterwards Fuller struck again in quick succession, first when Chad Cudjoe caught Bernie Raines for just three, which he then followed up by bowling Brian Hamer for 23 with the score on 29-3. 

And things were not about to improve. Good seam bowlers work in pairs and at the other end from Fuller, Trevor Spindler was again bowling an immaculate line and length from left arm over, relentlessly keeping Somerset’s top order under pressure, which soon paid off when he bowled Steve Dove for just one with the score on 29-4. 

The visitors were now in real trouble as Phil Webber walked to the wicket to join Steve Pursey who himself had barely taken guard. Somerset needed something special and the pair were not about to disappoint their team mates.

Pursey dug in and held up one end, while Webber played his shots and the two soon began to pull things around, and run by run, dragged the visitors back into the game. 

The required rate however was still on the high side and in pursuit of those extra runs Pursey eventually succumbed, caught by keeper Nino Trapani off the bowling of Chad Cudjoe for 25 from 54 balls, having added 93 for the fifth wicket with Webber, who by this time was already 57 not out. And he was far from finished.

With new batsman Harry Humphries again just scampering his singles, Webber continued his one-man assault on the Oxon bowling as he tried – ultimately in vain – to get his side over the line.

At close of play Somerset were just 20 runs short on 196-5, but Webber was undefeated having compiled a magnificent 119 not out from just 108 balls.

Of the Oxon bowlers the opening pair of Fuller 3-39 from eight overs and the ever miserly Spindler 1-16 from eight were the pick of the bowlers. They were however in the main, spared the ordeal of having to bowl to Webber when in full flight at the end of the innings.  

Meanwhile, earlier in the week, in the South West Friendly League, the Oxfordshire Over 70s 1st XI took on an habitually strong Wales XI at Great Tew CC and yet again put in a very creditable performance without quite managing to get on the right side of the result. 

Skipper Dave Beck won the toss and with a good looking track at his disposal decided to bat. The inform Adrian Beecroft and Tim Gush opened the innings but from there matters didn’t quite go to plan.

Beecroft was the first to depart for a rare duck when he was caught by Geoff Thomas off the bowling of Paul Minchington with the scoreboard not having moved, and it had only progressed as far as 16 when new batsman Nick Warry also went for the same score this time lbw to Steve Pearce.

Tim Gush meanwhile was looking comfortable and had found the boundary twice in his 13 runs, but when he was again pinned in front lbw to Minchington for no further addition to the score Oxon were in deep trouble at 16-3.

This brought together Jim Head and the in-form Roger Hutchence who having seen it all before were untroubled and knuckled down to get the hosts back in the game. The pair compiled a priceless partnership of 90 before Hutchence was run out just three short of what would have been a well-deserved 50. 

Head however made no mistake and went on to make a 53 including six well struck boundaries, which together with a very generous 21 extras saw Oxon post a respectable 145-5 from their 40 overs.

In reply Alan Hughes and Rod Howe got the visitors off to a much better start than that endured by the hosts, when posting 50 for the first wicket before left armer Colin Houseman bowled Howe for 16.

New batsman Guy Parker was soon striking the ball well and with Hughes compiled another comfortable 50 plus partnership in taking the score to 106-1 before Oxon skipper Dave beck struck twice in quick succession, removing first Parker and then Hughes – both lbw.

However, any threat of a clatter of wickets to give Oxon hope was soon snuffed out by Gareth Davies whose careful16 not out steered the visitors home by six wickets.

Skipper Beck returned the best figures for Oxon with 2-26, well supported by Colin Houseman with 1-31 from eight overs.