News

Oxford Win Wilf Bennett

22/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Oxford claimed a nine-wicket win over Henley in the Wilf Bennett final on Saturday at Wormsley.

Oxford put their opponents into bat and started well with the ball to have them at 39/4 Henley recovered to reach 130 all out, with captain Adam Lubbock top-scoring with 41, as James Bridson took 4/20.

George Tait was dismissed with the third ball of the innings, but that did not affect Oxford. Muhammad Ayub came to the crease to partner Barney Carey and the pair secured victory for Oxford with more than four overs to spare. Ayub smashed 68 off 48, while Barney Carey hit 53 (45).

You can view the full match scorecard by clicking here

Oxford’s captain spoke after the match

Banbury Win Bernard Tollett

22/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Banbury secured a seventh successive Bernard Tollett title on Saturday after beating Aston Rowant by 37 runs at Wormsley.

Banbury was put in to bat and scored an imposing 177/5, Lloyd Sabin leading the way with a captain’s innings with an unbeaten 74 off 46 balls. He struck four fours and six sixes in his innings, while there were valuable knocks from Joe White (33), Alistair Short (23) and Charles Hill (22).

Aston Rowant lost Tom Condon early to leave them 4-1. Leo Bethell helped them rebuild with 21 before he was dismissed, which then saw Revill dismissed straight after. Hayden Rossouw hit 31, and Josh Smith hit 50 (29) to help them reach 140/8, while Joe Thomas took 4/25 for Banbury to secure a 37 run win.

You can view the full match scorecard by clicking here

Banbury’s captain spoke after the match

First Aid Course

22/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Due to the increased demand, The Oxfordshire Cricket Coaches Association has organised FOUR First Aid Courses that will take place at Horspath CC on the 10th of November and the 9th of March, and at Oxford Downs on the 12th of January and 3rd of February from 6.30-9.30PM. The course is £35 per person and is limited to 12 individuals.

To book on to a course please click here

2021 Grassroot Award Winners

21/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

On Saturday (18th September) Oxfordshire Cricket rewarded and recognised over 65 volunteers at the 2021 Grassroots Awards which was held at the magnificent Wormsley Estate.

Rebranded this year by the ECB, the Grassroots Cricket Awards (formally the OSCAs) looks to recognise and celebrate those who give so much to the game of cricket, to see it thrive in their local area. There are 9 categories that were recognised, with each nominee being rewarded and recognised for their contribution. Oxfordshire Cricket would like to thank Bicester Village, Tite Inn, Serious Cricket, and the Wormsley Estate for supporting the recognition of all the winners. The winners are all listed below in their respective categories.

Inspired to Play – An Individual or group within your club or community organisation going above and beyond to open the game up to new audiences.

Katie Harrison
Neil Pickup
Matt Swain

Connecting Communities/Engagement – A Club or community organisation which has gone above and beyond the call of cricket to support communities/groups coming back to the game we love.

Wolvercote Cricket Club

Rising Star Award – Young volunteer making a difference – 11 – 16-year-olds

Kaylan Parekh
Samanyu Shanker
Chloe Westbury
Lottie Oxton
Benedict McGuinness
Jake & Elodie Brown

Game Changer – Young volunteer 17 – 25-year-olds making a difference in the game.

Cosmo Taylor
Jack Lambden
Oliver Badger
Alexander Badger
Isaac Hall
Thomas Lydford-Brace
Nic Pinhol

Unsung Hero – Those heroes who impact our game and help us make cricket happen. This could be ground staff, coaches, officials, umpires, or other volunteers.

Mark Townsend
Chris Cordell
Tina McNally
Stephen Hibbered
Martin Philips
Richard Parker
Joe Bennett
Mandy Brine
Chris Babbs
Claire & Mat Bowden
Martyn Cross
Ray Manning
Neil Pickup
Cally Evans
Richard Powell

Growing the Game – A league volunteer, committee member, or administrator going above and beyond to support clubs and help increase the number of games played.

Andrew Hodder-Williams
Lesley Pykett
Simon Brown
Neil Pickup

Lifetime Achiever – That one individual who has given many years of service to your club or community group you could not do without.

Peter Howe
Dave Freeman
Rupert Evans
David Ackland
Ray Manning
Sue Powell

Cricket Innovators – Someone who has brought new ideas and/or implemented new systems to improve your club or community group.

Pete Joyce
Colin Simpson
Mat Bowden
Rob Richardson

Safe Hands – Those key volunteers helping clubs get Safe Hands Management Accreditation

Linda Fathers
Mandy Brine
Adrian Harris
Jack Lambden
Ann Cummings
Paul Duester
Mark Ormrod
Alex Westbury
Clare Woodcock
Sally Townsend
Jill Seaton
Rosie Beck
Nicola Ward
Mark Fransham
Sue Riley
Rosalyn Porter
Natasha Coates
Sue Sumner
Mags Lightbody
Lesley Pykett
Neil Ireson

Burford School Recognition

A plaque was presented to Burford school to recognise the first Boys v Girls match referenced in 1894.

If you were not able to attend Wormsley and are a Grassroot Award winner, please contact Nick Pinhol at [email protected]

Youth Competitions Roundup 10th September

10/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Week 20 results round-up from PlayCricket together with links to the league tables:

U11 Super 8 Softball

– Stanton Harcourt beat Cholsey by 22 runs to finish top of a closely contested Pool by 1 point from Wootton & Boars Hill CC – Congratulations Stanton Harcourt CC!

Pool 2 – Oxfordshire Cricket Club Competitions (play-cricket.com)

2020 U19 Final for Honey B Trophy

Horspath CC beat Aston Rowant CC by 1 wicket with Alfie Turner 34; Luke Heritage 33no and 3 for 19; Joe Gibbs 20 and 3 for 18. Tristan Rossouw 43; Oliver Shaw 29; Jamie Revill 3 for 22 and Hayden Rossouw 2 for 1 for Aston Rowant – Congratulations Horspath CC!

2021 U19 Finals Day for Honey B Trophy

To be hosted at Horspath CC on Sunday 19th September to feature Semi-Finals:

Horspath CC v Banbury CC at 11am

Cumnor CC v Hook Norton CC at 11am

Final to follow around 2pm

OYCL U13 League

– Challow & Childrey beat Cumnor by 104 runs with Murray Gray 78no; Henry Maunder 49 and Luke Glazer 4 for 13. Otto Rourke the pick for Cumnor taking 3 for 12 off 7 overs

Links below for each Pool Table:

Pool 1 – Play Cricket: Oxfordshire Cricket Club Competitions (play-cricket.com)

Pool 2 – Play Cricket: Oxfordshire Cricket Club Competitions (play-cricket.com)

Pool 3 – Play Cricket: Oxfordshire Cricket Club Competitions (play-cricket.com)

Oxfordshire Are NCCA Championship Winners

09/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Oxfordshire are the 2021 NCCA Championship winners after defeating Suffolk by 178 runs yesterday.

Day four started with Suffolk facing a huge task after Oxfordshire took three vital wickets on the third day at Tring Park Cricket Club.

Needing another 334 runs for victory, Suffolk took the score along to 58 before Olly Clarke castled Kyran Young.

Olly Clarke then combined with skipper Jonny Cater to remove Joe Gatting, stumped, as Suffolk left the field for lunch at 106 for 5.

By drinks in the second session, Suffolk were hanging on at 146 for 7 as Jacob Marston reached his half-century. Ben Shepperson (32), was then bowled by George Tait, and Josh Cantrell, trapped in front by Max Mannering just one run later.

Marston finally departed for 61, another victim to Clarke, who then found the edge of Adam Mansfield’s bat. Gareth Andrew’s catch giving Clarke his fourth wicket.

The winning moment came as Clarke cleaned bowled Tom Rash to spark a huge, and well deserved, celebration.

Clarke finishing with figures of five for 59 from his 24.1 overs as Suffolk were dismissed for 168.

⏪ That Winning Moment

Oxfordshire wake up to being @NCCA_uk Championship Winners 🏆👏🙌🏏 pic.twitter.com/BMsuGVYyC0
— Oxfordshire Cricket (@Oxoncb) September 9, 2021

This is Oxfordshire’s first title since 1989. It now sees coach Rupert Evans win the championship as both a coach and a player. Evans and Cater both spoke to BBC Radio Oxford following the victory.

Following the match, Gareth Andrew announced his retirement after four years with Oxfordshire. He spoke to BBC’s Ross Heaton

Horspath U19 Win 2020 Honey B Trophy

07/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Photo- Rob Judges

HOSTS Horspath made the wait for the much-delayed 2020 Oxfordshire Under 19 Cup final well worthwhile with a dramatic one-wicket win over holders Aston Rowant in a last-ball thriller.

With the later stages of the T20 competition held over until this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and the rescheduled finals day washed out in July, the decider had been a long time in the planning. But it more than lived up to expectations as the two sides served up a
terrific contest for the Honey-‘B’ Trophy, named in memory of the late Horspath player Morris Honey.

Having put Rowant in to bat and restricted them to 133-8, Horspath looked up against it at several stages of their run chase after opener Alfie Turner made 34 off 23 balls, which included several cracking cover drives among his seven fours. But Luke Heritage, who batted with a calm assurance for his unbeaten 33 from 26 balls with two fours and a six, and Joe Gibbs kept the home side in with a chance after they had been 96-8. Arriving at the last over, Horspath required 12 to win with two wickets remaining. Gibbs was unable to score off the first delivery, but then hit the next for six over long on.

He then departed for a run-a-ball 20 as he stretched to chop Eliot Hyman’s delivery back to the bowler, who gratefully clung on to the chance, bringing last man Josh Cummings to the crease. A wide meant Horspath needed five off the last three balls, and when Cummings got an edge to the next short-pitched delivery it flew past the wicket-keeper to the boundary for four. There was no run from the penultimate ball, but Cummings squeezed the last delivery out to point and the pair scampered through for the winning single to take Horspath to 134-9 and spark a massive roar from the home supporters by the clubhouse. Rowant paceman Hayden Rossouw produced brilliant figures of 2-1 from his four overs at the start of the innings, while Jamie Revill picked up
3-22 in the closing overs.

Tristan Rossouw also chipped in with 1-22 plus a brilliant direct hit from the long off boundary to run out Charlie Turner at the non-striker’s end as he attempted a second, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Horspath scrambling over the line. The home side’s bowlers, supported by some excellent catching, had earlier done well to hold Rowant in check. Charlie Turner and Cummings reduced the defending champions to 27-2 by dismissing the dangerous duo of Hayden Rossouw and Revill respectively. But then Tristan Rossouw and captain Oli Shaw put Rowant on top with a stand of 64 for the third wicket, before Heritage swung the game back in Horspath’s favour as he picked up 3-19 from his four overs. The off-spinner had Rossouw well caught by Charlie Turner at deep mid-wicket for 43 from 46 balls, and bowled Shaw for 29 off 25 deliveries, before striking again when Will Hammersley fell to a superb
catch by Rayaan Dogar at long off to make it 102-5. Gibbs then got in on the act to take 3-18 at the death with Josh Richardson and Dogar again taking good catches as Rowant fell short of setting the big target that looked on the cards at one stage.

That was to prove important as Horspath just had enough to get home in that pulsating finish before captain Tejas Anand lifted the Honey-‘B’ Trophy with Morris Honey’s family on hand to make the presentations. Now Horspath will defend the trophy at the Recreation Ground on Sunday, September 19 when the 2021 finals day takes place. They will face Banbury in the semi-finals at 11am, while Hook Norton take on Cumnor, with the final later in the afternoon.

Day 1 Highlights | County Men v Suffolk

06/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

Report by. NCCA

Jonny Cater played a captain’s innings to help Oxfordshire frustrate Suffolk on an intriguing opening day of the National Counties Championship final at Tring.

Cater made 56 from 110 balls to take Western Division champions Oxfordshire to 248 all out after they had been put in on a pitch that offered Suffolk’s seamers some early encouragement and showed early signs of taking spin.

Oxfordshire were 138 for five when seamer Joe Gatting had Olly Clarke caught behind then pinned Tom Cosford LBW in quick succession after lunch to break a threatening fourth wicket partnership of 65.

But Cater steadied things down in partnership with Ollie Currill, who played positively and contributed 25 to a seventh wicket stand of 39 before he was run out. Josh Cantrell checked a fierce straight drive and got up quickly to throw down the stumps at the striker’s end before Currill could regain his ground.

Left-hander Ollie Ebsworth-Burland, Oxfordshire’s match-winner when they ended Berkshire’s long unbeaten run in the competition last month, again batted confidently for his 33 at the top of the order.

The burly Cosford struck the ball hard with eight fours and a six in his 46 from 60 balls, but he missed out on a half century when he played across a slower ball from Gatting.

Cater and Gareth Andrew then added 45 for the eighth wicket before Andrew was taken by a sprawling Cantrell at deep midwicket off slow left-amer Jack Beaumont.

Cantrell eventually breached Cater’s defences after two-and-a-half hours at the crease, when he beat a defensive push and had him LBW.

Robbie Shurmer was bowled two balls later to give Beaumont his third wicket in the fifth in the innings to fall to spin.

Suffolk, playing in their first Championship final since 2005 having won the Eastern Division title, had 25 overs to face at the end of the day.

After a confident start, Beaumont pushed a low return catch to Shurmer and Kyran Young went LBW playing back to Andrew.

Play was twice stopped because of a low setting sun at the Town End of the ground which was in the line of vision of the batsmen which meant four overs were not bowled.

2020 U19 Finals Day

03/09/2021 by Nick Pinhol

2020 U19s Final – Sunday 5 September

This Sunday, 5th September, sees Horspath CC host Aston Rowant CC in the much delayed 2020 Oxfordshire U19 Final at the Recreation Ground at 1.30pm.

The Final, held over from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, was due to take place in July only to be washed out. But now the two sides are set to battle it out for the Honey B Trophy in memory of the late Horspath player, Morris Honey.

Good luck to both sides!