Don’t hang up your boots just yet!
Get involved with seniors cricket and play for your county.

With the future of Oxfordshire cricket looking healthy given the huge numbers of youngsters playing the game under the Oxfordshire Cricket Board ‘umbrella’ it’s perhaps no surprise to see the recent exponential growth in ‘seniors’ cricket such is the enthusiasm for the game throughout the county.

The OCB currently fields no fewer than three seniors sides at Under 50s, four at Over 60s and for the first time next year the county will also field its first ’stand alone’ Over 70s XI, having competed in the Over 70s County Championship for the past two seasons as a very successful joint XI with Berkshire.

All eight teams are now collectively run as the OCB Seniors Group, chaired by Darryl Woods and supported by a committee drawn from all three age groups, representing over 160 players from more
than 30 different clubs from the four corners of the county.

And its fair to say that as one of the smaller counties competing within the Seniors County Championship Oxfordshire has consistently ‘punched above its weight’ in terms of success both on and off the field – and the past twelve months have been no
exception.

In April 2025 the Over 60s 2nd XI were crowned County Champions for 2024 in their competition when they played their rain delayed 2024 final against Wales at Abergavenny, where despite being the away side they wrapped up a very comfortable win against a perennially strong Welsh side.

And at the other end of the 2025 season the joint Oxs/Berks Over 70s XI were also crowned joint County Champions with Kent in just their second season in the competition, in another County
Championship final which was unable to conclude thanks to the weather. Adrian Mangers’ side only lost one regular season game in making the final but the title decider was washed out by rain with less than half the overs bowled and the title was shared.

But like any well run cricket club the Oxon Seniors Group management team are only too well aware that they cannot afford to rest on their laurels.

“We are now finding that year-on-year there is an exponential improvement in the standard required to be competitive in seniors cricket of any age group, especially when playing against the counties which draw their players from the big metropolitan areas like London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds,” said Daryl Woods.

“We are therefore very keen to hear from any players qualified by age at either Over 50s, Over 60s and Over 70s, who would be interested in playing for Oxfordshire in the Seniors County Championship.”

Under the current regulations for seniors county cricket a player must also either live in or have been born in the county for which they play. Playing for a club affiliated to an Oxfordshire-based league like the Cherwell for example is no longer a qualifying criterion.

“Should any players wish to get involved in Oxfordshire Seniors Cricket please contact myself, our Secretary Peter Howe, or any of the captains listed at the end of this article. We begin training for the 2026 season at the end of January with indoor nets at Charlbury, which is an ideal time to get to know many of the guys involved and for us to take a look at what you have to offer,” said Darryl.

“We also run closed season social events and its a great opportunity to play alongside guys you’ve been competing against for many years in local league cricket, and extending your playing days a little longer as it gets harder to keep up with the youngsters on Saturday afternoons, as well as playing on new grounds both within the county and further afield as we travel to away venues as far flung as
Durham, Cornwall and Norfolk.

“So go on drop us a line – and if you’re captain or a club official and you’ve got a potential seniors players in your club who is talking about hanging up his boots – if you think it’s a bit premature – just
give us a call and we’ll make the approach!”

Matches are played mid-week so do not interfere with club cricket, with the 50s playing on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the 60s on Mondays and Tuesdays and the 70s also on Thursdays.
Looking back seniors cricket in Oxfordshire has come a long way since Derek Primett and Bob Boyles first persuaded the then Oxfordshire County Cricket Association to enter an Over 50s XI in the ECB Over 50s County Championship.

Since that first game against Berkshire at Kidmore End in June of 1986, the many players who’ve proudly pulled on the Oxfordshire Seniors sweater have definitely done the county proud, initially under Derek and Bob, and then notably the seven seasons skippered by Andrew Wingfield-Digby, which saw the Over 50s win over 80 per cent of their games. The pinnacle of which was winning the
competition in 2008 when they beat Lancashire on the famous Nursery Ground at Lords, as well as reaching another final and two semi finals.

The 50s 2nd XI was created in 2016 by Chris Bishop and under current skipper Ross Buchanan has enjoyed even greater success reaching five finals in the past seven years – winning four of them.

And such was the increasing demand from seniors in Oxfordshire to play for their county that the 50s 3rd XI soon followed in 2020 after which the side promptly won the inaugural Chris Bishop Trophy for Over 50s 3rd XIs, defended their title the following year and only missed out on the hat-trick by losing to Wales in the 2022 final. In 2023 11 teams will contest this competition proudly named in honour of one of Oxfordshire’s stalwarts of seniors cricket.

But mindful of that fact that time waits for no man, the first Over 60s matches were played during the 2015 season which included a notable win over the touring Australian Over 60 s XI at Aston Rowant.

The early driving force behind the creation of Oxfordshire Over 60s was Clive Ricks, who then went on to become the Overs 60s national chairman and remains heavily involved to the present day as both administrator and player, currently skippering the recently formed Over 60s 3rd XI, and helping to organise the county’s first Over 70’s fixtures.

The first skipper of the Over 60s was the indomitable Andrew Wingfield-Digby, who in 2017 lead the team to the Over 60s County Championship semi finals and since then the side has only failed to reach the tournaments knock out stages on one occasion.

Small wonder then that a 2nd XI was needed and duly formed in 2018, and captained by Jerry Senior, the side then went all the way to the national finals in its first season.

And not to be outdone the 3rd XI – formed in the immediate post- covid year of 2021, soon found its feet and winning ways by making it through to the national semi finals in 2022 where they lost a close fought game against Wales the eventual competition winners.

The Over 60s 4th XI first took shape in 2023 when it entered the West of England Seniors Cricket League, which is effectively a feeder league for sides looking to enter the 4th XI County Championship. They remain in what is now a thriving league with a mixture of ‘late 60s’ and those 70s players that for the last two seasons have been squad players for the highly successful joint Oxon/Berks Over 70s XI, which will now form the backbone of the
two respective counties first independent ventures into the Over 70s County Championship.

“Sadly neither Derek Primett, Bob Boyles or Chris Bishop are still with us too see just how far we have come with their initial vision of seniors cricket when they started it way back in 1985,” said Darryl.

“However I’m sure they’d all be delighted to see so many ‘seniors’ playing competitively for the county they were so proud to represent, and which continues to be one of the sides to be reckoned with in the latter stages of the competition at Over 50s, Over 60s and now Over 70s.

“So here’s looking to a successful 2026 season ahead. Come and join us by contacting one of the names listed below. You’ve probably played against at least one of them over the years!

Chairman of Oxfrdshire Seniors Cricket
Darryl Woods – [email protected]

Over 50s Secretary – Simon Brown – [email protected]
Over 50s Captains
1st XI Mark Robey – [email protected]
2nd XI Ross Buchanan – [email protected]
3rd XI Simon Brown – [email protected]

Over 60s Secretary – Peter Howe – [email protected]
Over 60s Captains
1st XI Phil Manger – [email protected]
2nd XI Andy Slater – [email protected]
3rd XI Clive Ricks – [email protected]
4th XI David Beck – [email protected]

Over 70s Captain

1st XI Adrian Manger – [email protected]