UCCE
Oxford UCCE were convincingly defeated by a strong Warwickshire second team at
The Parks on Monday. Having beaten Northants II already and secured creditable
draws in first class fixtures versus Surrey and Nottinghamshire first teams,
captain Paul McMahon was disappointed with the display which resulted in a 6
wicket win for the visitors. Batting first, Oxford put on 56 for the first
wicket with Paul Selvey-Clinton (Keble)accumulating 42 before being stumped off
Jamie Spires. No other Oxford batter really established themselves, with Ian
Westwood taking 4-19 and slow left armer Spires 3-29. A total of 147 was
unlikely to test a batting line-up of Warwickshire's pedigree, but Oxford were
given hope when Amit Suman (Pembroke) jagged the second ball of the innings back
to account for Michael Powell. From then on, however, the professional side
began to dominate, with Westwood weighing in with a classy 70 before being
bowled by McMahon's off-spin. The Oxford captain also trapped
Dominic
Ostler LBW for 34 and Oxford Brookes graduate Hugh Jones in the same fashion
for a duck, finishing with 3-32. Trevor Penney's brisk 40 not out then ended any
vague Oxford hopes and sealed a comfortable win with more than 13 overs
remaining. "It was a poor batting display which left us with too small a target
to defend", said McMahon. "But the players are learning all the time from
playing against quality opposition, and I'm confident we'll see that reflected
in the performances as we move through the season"
29th Apr 2004