Blues see off minor county challenge
The Oxford Blues cricket team went into the first BUSA game of the season on a high, after beating Oxfordshire CCC by eight wickets at the Parks last Friday. A lacklustre Minor Counties side were dismissed swiftly for 123 runs, setting a target that the Blues comfortably sailed past and lost only three wickets in the process.
A select few of this Blues team had already faced county opposition this term, but were humbled quite convincingly by the batting prowess of Middlesex, despite this UCCE Academy match panning out to a draw. Yet Oxfordshire offered nothing anywhere near the threat posed by Ben Hutton and company.
And although the visitors got off to a promising start, the Blues spinners soon got in amongst the wickets and had their semi-professional opponents left wondering how they had been sent back to the pavilion so rapidly. In fact it was a performance from the home side’s bowlers that masterminded a superb demolition job of Oxfordshire’s innings.
Despite Mike Hobbiss bowling well and not finding much in the way of an end product, Darren Gerrard struggling with the slope of the wicket and Matt Harries not quite attaining his zenith, spinners Nick Woods and Mike Munday bowled terrifically and changed the face of the game. This pair took no fewer than five wickets between them as Oxfordshire failed to cope with the turn of the ball.
The visitors’ batsmen became gradually frustrated, often flying out of the crease to take a wild swipe at the flighting ball. Their continued tactic of playing across the line on a turning pitch worked in the Blues’ favour wonderfully. Chris Stearn registered a sharp reflex stumping off Munday’s bowling, after the Oxfordshire batsman had advanced surprisingly far off his crease. Oxfordshire’s Paul Dicken was their final victim as the visitors were sent packing.
Dicken, who ironically plays for the Academy side and is therefore a familiar face in the Blues camp, was subject to a marginal level of banter. His miserable afternoon was compounded by the nature of his dismissal when, after calling for a single and heading half-way down the wicket, was sent back to the striker’s end and comfortably run out. The Blues were cleverly patient in setting about surpassing their target of 123.
Ollie Sadler and Pete Dunbar opened the Blues’ innings and made a slow but rock-steady start. However, having hit a couple of boundary drives through mid-on, Dunbar was out somewhat early - dismissed for an LBW that appeared to be pitching over the stumps. Despite the most minor of setbacks, the Blues cruised to make 124 with ease • Salil Oberoi taking the pick of the batting figures as he notched his first 50 of the season.
Oxfordshire were somewhat lacklustre in the field, and showed a certain degree of early-season rustiness in their handling of what the Blues had to hit at them. In fact, the visitors were guilty of dropping catches on three occasions, two of which came of Woods who was happy and surprised to remain at the crease.
4th May 2006