First class season ahead for OUCC
Cricket
Matches vs. Glamorgan, Hampshire and Durham University in the Parks
DESPITE the April showers the Parks has seen OUCC begin its first-class season relatively unaffected. Following a warm-up game against Glamorgan which was eventually abandoned, the dark blues entertained two strong teams in the form of Worcestershire and Hampshire.
The Oxford bowling and fielding was extremely well-disciplined in restricting the Worcester batsmen to less than 300 on the first day - debutant Tom Hicks (Catz) bowling 26 overs with a return of 2-61. However, David Leatherdale, a seasoned campaigner for the Midlands team, saw to it that a sizeable first innings total was amassed.
The Worcester bowlers then demonstrated their superiority in skittling out the home side for a meagre 81 - only captain John Claughton (Keble) putting up any resistance with a dogged 23.
The visitors chose not to make Oxford follow-on, opting to put the game beyond the students' reach by adding further runs with Vikram Solanki, on return from his tour with the England 'A' team, scoring freely for his 74.
With pride at stake the Oxford batsmen returned to the crease and despite opener James Louw bagging a pair, there were the first signs of real promise for the long season. Claughton excelled, scoring his maiden half-century for the club. The game was eventually lost as Jason de la Pena, on his Worcestershire debut, picked up his tenth wicket of the game.
Coach Jack Potter remained upbeat despite the setback. Potter, formerly Head Coach at the Australian Academy, insisted in true Aussie style that he had no doubts that his team would win the Varsity Match. If this is to be the case, then the fighting spirit demonstrated in every fielding session must be maintained.
The second first-class game, against Hampshire, began in similar pattern to the opener. The visitors' decision to bat ensured a hard day in the field for Oxford, aggravated by dropped catches and the occasional flurry of snow in the icy outfield. Once again the score was kept below 300 for the day, despite some typical clean-hitting from Robin Smith and a workmanlike hundred from John Stephenson. Dave Mather (Green) was the outstanding bowler, picking up his 50th first-class wicket with his first ball of the morning. He was well supported by Dean Kino (Magdalen) who has bowled well with no luck - clearly he misses the harder tracks of his native Melbourne.
By batting for four whole sessions it was quite apparent that Hampshire had no interest in making a game of the fixture, although it seemed their hosts might hand them a result as they stumbled to 65-6 before wicket-keeper Jezz Barnes gave the top order a lesson in batting as he and Hicks, who had left the field following a blow to the head, kept the professionals in the cold for over 2 hours, scoring 45 and 42 respectively. Salman Khan (Wadham) added insult to injury by getting off the mark with a huge six over the head of Mascarenhas.
The game petered out into a draw as Hants chose to indulge in some batting practice before Oxford took it to the close for the loss of three wickets.
OUCC then faced a 50-over game against Durham University, under pressure to prove themselves worthy of their first-class status. The class divide showed early as the Blues rattled up 287 for 2 with openers Louw and Byron Byrne (Balliol) sending the ball to all parts of the Parks as they each amassed centuries. A cameo from last year's captain Jim Fulton (BNC) meant that the northeners were always up against it and wickets from Byrne and Ross Garland made sure of the victory, leaving confidence high for the BUSA championship and the one-day Varsity Match in May at Fenners.