Sunday 14th April 2024 marked the highly anticipated clash between Oxford Cricket Club and
the Oxford University side. Played at the picturesque University Parks under clear skies, Oxford
Cricket Club emerged victorious in both games. A captivating display of cricketing prowess was
showcased, and thanks must go to our hosts, Oxford University, for a great day of cricket.

Winning the toss for the first T20 game, the hosts decided to put us in to bat. A strong opening
partnership of 38 runs between sisters Genny and Eloise Porter set the tone for the first innings,
and Genny continued to work the ball through the gaps, despite the outfield’s best efforts to slow
it down! Contributions from the rest of the team saw us finish on a competitive total of 140 runs
for the loss of 8 wickets from our 20 overs. Notable performances with the bat include G. Porter
(31) and Emilia Bartram (22).

Oxford University started their chase well, but tight opening spells from Maya Barnwell and
Numa Shah put the pressure on, with Bartram and Isobel Kirby also bowling great areas. With
Kirby taking the first wicket (OUWCC’s skipper, Hannah Davis), our bowlers continued to chip
away at the university side’s line up. Superb spells from Laura Jacob, Kirsty Gregor, Ridhi
Kashyap and Leo Ives saw wickets fall in quick succession, with 2 wickets for Kashyap and
Gregor, and run-outs from Kashyap and E. Porter saw the hosts fall short of the total, finishing
their 20 overs with 97-9. It was a great team performance in the field, with G. Porter’s acrobatics
behind the stumps and fantastic catches for both Kashyap and Gregor.

The second game was reduced to 15 overs, and Oxford University batted first. Jacob and Kirby
opened the bowling for OCC and both bowled excellent lines, making it difficult for the hosts to
get off the mark. The breakthrough wicket came with a stumping for G. Porter off Kashyap’s
bowling, and Kashyap continued to bamboozle the batters with some brilliant spin, picking up
another wicket. A wicket for Barnwell saw the hosts finish on 73-3 from their 15 overs.

Opening the batting for OCC were Shah and Larissa Zanotto, who hit the ground running! With
the first ball of the innings crunched to the boundary by Shah, and quick running between the
wickets, the pair put on 50 runs in just 8.1 overs. Zanotto unfortunately retired due to injury
following a well-made 20 runs, and two quick boundaries for Bartram saw OCC over the line.
We continued to play out the full 15 overs, and following the wicket of Bartram, Jacob came in to
provide further firepower. A flurry of boundaries and reverse sweeps by Shah and a strong
partnership between Shah and Jacob saw us finish on 105-1, with Shah scoring 44 off 45 balls,
and Jacob ending on 15 runs.

It was a truly enjoyable day and it was brilliant to get two games of cricket in with the sun
shining (although it was pretty cold which I’m sure spectators can agree with!) Thanks must also
go to our umpires and to the scorers, Phillip Royal and Rosalyn Porter.