Dunbar and Dunbar secure back-to-back titles
Cricket First Division
Balliol.....................224-0
Worcester.............223-7
Balliol win by 10 wickets
Balliol secured back-to-back First Division League titles with one round of matches still to play in last years inter-college league cricket. Second placed Worcester were the victims of a resounding ten-wicket defeat at the hands of the champions. Making easy work of what seemed to be a testing run chase of 224, it was yet another eye catching display.
It was also the second consecutive ten-wicket win for the visitors, following a brutal demolition of the Cuppers champions, Pembroke, the week before. Worcester won the toss and went in to bat but got off to a shaky start as the wickets of openers Swart and Rowlands fell early for just 14 runs. It was the job of Hobbiss, who had been a force for the hosts all season, and the impressive Huxley to turn things around.
However, Hobbiss’ involvement was cut short by Balliol’s Australian spearhead Phil Clark, who clean bowled him for 23 with a late inswinger. This brought in-form Stringer to the crease, signalling a fourth-wicket partnership that was to become the backbone of Worcester’s innings. Both Huxley and Stringer brought up their half-centuries in good time, maintaining a run rate well over four an over.
Huxley hit a number of powerful straight drives off Clark, while Stringer played an innings of controlled aggression from the outset, before throwing away his wicket to dangerous left-arm bowler Saunders. Slow bowler Hextall claimed the important wicket of Huxley as Balliol threatened to tear through the middle order, a fairly regular sight during their ruthless league campaign.
To Worcester’s credit, a solid performance, with number eight batsman Hall contributing a handy unbeaten 18, saw them score at better than a run a ball in the last ten overs. A total of 223 seemed to present a fair test for a Balliol team which, up to this point, had not been set a total over 200 to chase. However, Balliol never looked in trouble in its run chase as brothers Pete and Tom Dunbar set about from the start to build a long innings at the crease.
Faced with a lively new ball combination of Sanderson and Hobbis, the Balliol openers scored steadily to reach 48 off the first ten overs. Pete started the more aggressively, racing to 50 off 65 balls. Tom, typically circumspect at the start of his innings, quickly reached 50 in 68 balls. With the score reaching 103 without loss after 20 overs, the signs were ominous for the Worcester bowlers. Indeed they would have no luck, despite an impressive seven- over spell from Stringer.
In a devastating ten-over stretch after the drinks break, the Dunbar brothers took the spirited Worcester attack to task, adding 81 runs to take the score to 204 without loss. By then the match was well and truly over and the task for Balliol was to ensure that both Pete and Tom finished with well-deserved centuries.
That they did, with Tom Dunbar finishing with his second century in three matches with 101 off as many balls, and younger brother Pete only marginally overshadowed with his own 102 off 109 balls. With yet another 10-wicket whitewash, over one of the top challengers to their throne, Balliol have sent a strong message to the rest of Division One and the Oxford cricketing public. Cuppers champions they may no longer be, but the Balliol cricketing dynasty is far from over.
5th Oct 2005