Competitive cricket got underway again at Jordan Hill and beyond for Oxford Cricket Club, with the Men’s 1st XI, Women’s 1st XI, and Women’s 2nd XI all in action.

On Saturday, the Men’s 1st XI travelled to White Post Road to take on Banbury CC in the first round of the Home Counties Premier Cricket League T20 Competition. After winning the toss and electing to field first, Jack Wilkins’ side made early inroads, reducing the hosts to 37/3 at the end of the powerplay. However, an unbeaten 74 from 44 balls by Banbury’s Lloyd Sabin shifted momentum back in his side’s favour. Banbury finished on 165/6 from their 20 overs, with Brad Taylor taking 2-19 from his four overs.

In reply, Oxford lost both openers without scoring, as they collapsed to 14/6 inside the powerplay. A stubborn 28 from Jack Hobbs and 20 from Mahammad Sayyed stopped the rot. The damage was already done however, as Oxford finished on 82/9 from their allotment, a loss by 83 runs.

Rupert Evans, Oxford CC Director of Men’s Cricket, identified a number of areas for improvement before the side’s first league fixture:

“Our pre-match preparation was far from ideal due to a few players arriving late.
Our opening bowlers Brad Taylor and Jack Wilkins bowled well in the power play but due to our sloppy fielding Banbury were able to post a very challenging score which we failed to chase.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Men’s 2nd XI played host to Thame Town at Jordan Hill for a pre-season friendly. With rain scheduled for later in the day, a reduced game of thirty-five overs per-side was agreed. Captain Richard Musk and his Thame counterpart agreed the hosts would bat first. Opener Jack Beadsworth was run out in the second over, before a 100-run partnership between vice-captain Arthur Muir and Nugith Jayawarna propelled Oxford to 105/1. Jayawarna retired unbeaten on 56, while there were also good contributions from Muir (46) and Rohan Hariharan (29). Youngsters Angus Barnard (16*) and Albert Brown (10) saw out most of the final overs as Oxford set Thame 187 to win.

In reply, the visitors got off to a good start, with opener James Nielsen retiring unbeaten on 57. Off-spinner Muhammad Saqib got the first breakthrough, while there were also wickets for Arthur Parrack (2-19), Muir (2-5) and Brown (1-3) before the rain came. Oxford technically won on DLS, but there were winners on both sides as both sets of players got some useful overs in their legs ahead of the league season.

On Sunday, the Women’s 1st XI hosted Falkland at Jordan Hill in the first round of fixtures in the Home Counties Women’s Cricket League (Premier Division). Captain Genny Porter won the toss and elected to bowl first. This decision paid dividends quickly, as youngster Imi Watts removed both openers, both caught behind by wicket-keeper Maisie Wright. There were also wickets for Sophie Mitchelmore (2-18) and the spin of Emilia Bartram (3-5) as Oxford ripped through Falkland’s batting order. Isla Cutler took two wickets with her first three balls to help bowl Falkland out for 87 in the twenty-fifth over.

In response, Oxford lost Porter and debutant Jemima Vereker inside the powerplay, but were still scoring freely. Mitchelmore made 24, while Sophie Grayson made an unbeaten 34 as Oxford reached their target after eleven overs, a win by seven wickets. Porter was upbeat after the victory, challenging the team to keep the momentum going in the next game:

“It was a good win today, great to get some points on the table from our first match of the season.”

The Women’s 2nd XI travelled to Banbury for a Home Counties Women’s Cricket League Super-Eights Double-Header at White Post Road. In the first game, Captain Alishba Hussain’s side were invited to bat first. Both Bridget McGuirk and Hussain each made 10 as Oxford reached a net score of 231 in the pairs game. McGuirk and Nancy Lord picked up wickets in the bowling innings, as the hosts reached a net score of 299, a loss by 63 runs for Oxford.

In the second match, Oxford won the toss and chose to field first. Hussain picked up a wicket, while there were two for Holly Cole as the hosts reached a net score of 320 from their 16 overs. In reply, Hussain made 10 and McGuirk 17 as Oxford reached a net score of 253, a loss by 67 runs.

Despite the losses, Hussain was positive about the performances:

“It was a challenging day for us with two results not going our way, but there were still plenty of positives to take. We showed good effort and intent in phases, and with a bit more consistency we’ll turn those moments into results. We’ll keep working hard together and look forward to putting things right in the next game.”

Hussain was also keen to highlight the performances of debutants Maria Ababi and Katy Mather:

“Maria stepped up as keeper for us and was amazing, while Katy was outstanding in what was her first ever game of cricket!”

Next weekend, all six senior sides are in league action. The Men’s 1st XI host Stoke Green at Jordan Hill on Saturday in Division 2 of the Home Counties Premier Cricket League, while the Men’s 2nd XI make the short journey to East Oxford in Division 2A of the Cherwell Cricket League. The Men’s 3rd XI travel to Bledlow Ridge in Division 6C of the Cherwell Cricket League, while Marston Sports Ground sees its first action for Oxford this season, as the Men’s 4th XI host Marcham in Division 7B of the Cherwell Cricket League. On Sunday, the Women’s 1st XI host Charlbury in the Premier Division of the Home Counties Women’s Cricket League at Jordan Hill, while the Women’s 2nd XI travel to Eynsham for another Super-Eights double header, against West Oxfordshire Warriors.