With another heatwave rolling in, Oxford Cricket Club were not put off and were hard at work, with five fixtures and one softball festival across six senior sides, with one win, one draw, and three losses to show for their efforts.

On Thursday night, the friendly Exiles side hosted St Clements Strollers at Marston Sports Ground. The Strollers XI was packed with current Oxford players, including Arthur Baldock, Ben Newbury, Ed Baldock, Ben Andre, and captained by Kasim Nawaz. Oxford captain Charlie Lawn lost the toss and were put into the field on a hot night. Arthur Baldock and Newbury got Strollers off to a flying start, before the latter was removed by Will Hale for 26. What followed next was a Strollers collapse, chiefly orchestrated by Muhammad Saqib, who took an impressive 4-5 from his two overs. Baldock top scored with 44ret for the Strollers, as they set Oxford 132 to win.

In reply, Newbury removed Krishna Katyal and Akmal Taheer in the first over, reducing Oxford to 0/2. Mahammad Sayyed made 20, and late hitting from Saqib were the highlights, but regular wickets ensured Oxford fell to a 51-run defeat.

On Saturday, the Men’s 1st XI were on the road to Challow & Childrey. Captain Jack Wilkins lost the toss and his hosts elected to make first use of the wicket. An early mix-up left Ryan Gordon (1) short of his ground, as Will Smith made no mistake. Former Roman Vishane Perera was removed by Dylan Swanepoel for 10, before Brad Taylor took over, continuing where he left off from last week - where he took four wickets. Taylor blew away the middle order, on his way to a five-wicket haul in another tireless eighteen-over spell, finishing with 5-36, including six maidens. Smith and Wilkins finished off the innings, bowling Challow & Childrey out for 115 in the thirty-eighth over, meaning Oxford would have sixty-four overs to chase down their modest target.

Openers Lee Marland (11) and Gaajuran Ganagabalan (20) saw the side off to a solid start, before both fell to leave Oxford 36/2. Last week’s centurion Julian Laird made 35, and the returning Josh Towell made 24 as Oxford cruised towards the target. Brendon Smith (14*) and Wilkins (4*) saw the side over the line in the twenty-third over, to win by four wickets.

Wilkins, was delighted with the result, that saw the side move to the top of Division 2 of the Home Counties Premier Cricket League:

“Another losing toss but turned out to be a good one! Lads did exactly what we discussed before the game so can’t really say much more, very professional performance and win! Brad Taylor being pick of the bowling again and finally picked up his first 5fer for the club after missing out with 4 last week. Another big 18 over spell (couldn’t get him off). Dylan chipped in with a few wickets bowling very well and with confidence, was great to see! Some tidy fielding also from the lads.”

“Batting was done well apart from a little hiccup of few wickets but we got the job done never the less! Very happy where the group is at, such a strong unit and hopefully we keep it up and stay top of the league.”

Elsewhere, the Men’s 2nd XI were back at Jordan Hill, after two weeks on the road, playing host to local rivals Abingdon Vale. Captain Richard Musk lost the toss and his side were invited to bat first. Openers Arthur Muir (23) and Faizaan Abbas (19) both got starts, while Ali Shah (15) helped the side last fifty. Wicket-keeper Mahammad Sayyed top scored with 38, while Raj Kiran Chowdaboyina made 27, before the in-form Tom Tebay (17*), promoted from the 3rd XI, and Musk (16*) say the side reach the end of their fifty-three overs on 172/7.

In reply, Musk took three wickets, while Rohan Hariharan and Chowdaboyina took one each, but an unbeaten 46 from Tim Chilvers led the way as Abingdon reached their target with five overs to spare to inflict a five-wicket defeat on Oxford.

The Men’s 3rd XI were on their travels to second-placed Haddenham, looking to keep up their promotion challenge. Captain Steve Hurt kept up his good record at the toss in recent weeks, calling correctly and inserting the hosts. Mamun Ahmed kept up his fine form from last week, removing both openers cheaply. However, this wasn’t the demolition job we saw from the seam attack last week. The returning Adnan Khan took two wickets, while leg-spinner Lewis Drummond also took one to leave Haddenham 72/5. However, an unbeaten 130-run stand between Ali Hasham (60*) and Ben Ratcliffe (67*) swung momentum back towards the hosts, as they declared on 202/5 after forty-four overs.

The Oxford reply got off to a shaky start, as they lost wicket-keeper Angus Barnard for a duck. Alf Symons departed for ten before Hurt (25) and Emilia Bartram (20) propelled the score beyond fifty. However, a middle-order collapse saw 73/4 become 105/7. Oxford then had to change their approach, looking for a draw - with twelve overs to survive and three wickets in hand. Arshad Siddiq and 3rd XI debutant Akmal Taheer dug in, with Taheer (12) falling with less than six overs to go. Ahmed (2) was dismissed, leaving the last pair of Siddiq and Khan to survive the remaining twenty-three deliveries. Both held firm and the match was drawn.

After the game, Hurt had this to say:

“Tough day at the office for the 3s this week. Some good bowling and catching had Haddenham on the ropes at 72-5 but we couldn't finish the job and a chase of over 200 was a tough ask on a tricky wicket. In the end it was a great effort with the bat to see out the innings for the draw.”

Back at Marston Sports Ground, the Men’s 4th XI were hosting Uffington. With regular captain Richard Pye still injured and off performing Club Panel Umpire duties, and recent captain Alf Symons called up to the 3rd XI, Roger Young was in charge of this one. After losing the toss and being invited to bat first, Oxford lost wicket-keeper Dan Broughton early, before Numa Shah (25) and Young (22) combined to build a foundation for the rest of the innings. Young fell, while there were starts for Charlie Hunter (12) and Jim Oates (10), as Oxford negotiated their way to 89/6. Youngster Arthur Stewart, making his senior debut, showed no signs of nerves, as he took charge for the remaining overs, batting well with the tail on his way to 23, before being the last wicket to fall - as Oxford were bowled out for 125 in the forty-fourth over. Credit must go to Uffington’s Hassan Safdar, who took 5-21.

In the field, there was an early wicket for Matty Wyatt (1-34), and the side were buoyed by the return of Tayyib Yasin, last seasons Player of the Year with an impressive twenty-three wickets. However, Uffington were steadfast, with contributions from Jeremy Cleeter (23) and David Alder (39) helping them make steady progress towards the target. Two quick wickets for Rueben McLusky and one for Joe Joyce helped Oxford to another bonus point, but the damage was done as Uffington reached their target in the twenty-third over. Cameron Godwin finished unbeaten on 33 to condemn the side to a six-wicket defeat.

After the game, Young praised the way the side batted during a tricky periods, punctuated by good bowling and rain interruptions:

“We lost a good game of cricket! We didn't have best of conditions, on and off for rain, when batting several times, but we managed to set a good total.”

“Twenty-five for the returning Numa Shah and twenty-three for Arthur Stewart on senior debut. Reuben McLusky bowled a good spell of 2-29 and Charlie Hunter took 2 good catches, but some big shots saw Uffington home.”

On Sunday, the Women’s section combined with Warborough & Shillingford for a softball festival at Horspath - in what was a great day out celebrating the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup, taking place in England. The Club would like to thank Horspath for their hospitality and to Warborough & Shillingford for joining forces for the day!

Next week, there is more midweek action as the Men’s 1st XI host Cumnor in the Hartwell Cup on Tuesday night, while the Women’s 1st IX travel to Steventon in the Oxfordshire Cricket Board Women’s Hundred Competition. On Saturday, the Men’s 1st XI will play host to Ickenham at Jordan Hill, while the Men’s 2nd XI travel to Minster Lovell. The Men’s 3rd XI are back at Marston Sports Ground, to take on Bledlow Village, while the Men’s 4th XI travel to Oxford Downs. On Sunday, the Women’s 1st XI are back in action, hosting Thame Town at Jordan Hill, while the Women’s 2nd XI are on the road to Oxenford.

Image courtesy of ETDC Digital Media.