Prestigious success for Oxford ladies
Oxford sailed past their target of 160 with ease, and are favourites ahead of Varsity
The annual fi xture between the OUWCC and the MCC Women was a close, exciting match at the Parks, resulting in a notable victory for the Dark Blues. MCC Women had convincingly beaten Loughborough University, renowned for their sporting prowess, in their previous game and were thus stiff opposition.
In a game which saw current students facing many ex-OUWCC members, the Blues produced a consistently strong performance, restricting the MCC to 160/5 and then confi dently chasing down the target to win by seven wickets. Though at times a tight match, it was a well-deserved and eventually comfortable victory for the hosts, combining outstanding fi elding performances and solid batting.
The Oxford team demonstrated their superiority at decisive points of the game, achieving an impressive triumph through a mixture of determination, composure and technical skill. The excellent efforts of the ground staff enabled the match to be played, despite the appalling weather of the previous days which threatened to make the wicket unplayable.
The mixed forecasts for the day led to the decision that, rather than playing a declaration game as is custom, a 30 over game would be played instead. This perhaps favoured the Oxford Women, as, batting fi rst, the MCC were never sure what fi - nal score would become a diffi cult target to chase, and thus found it diffi cult to adequately pace their innings.
Despite a strong innings from Joynson-Hicks, scoring 63 not out, and Oxford alumna, Griffi ths, making 40 before being caught, the MCC did not accelerate suffi ciently in such a short game, and the home team could be pleased with their bowling performance.
Given the scoring potential of the MCC Women’s batting line-up, their slow scoring rate could be largely attributed to excellent bowling, notably from Annie Riccio, and superb work in the fi eld, which Captain, Natalie Wells, described as the “best fi elding performance all season”. The away team were put under pressure from the start, in a fi xture that they are not accustomed to losing. The Oxford women dominated the proceedings, leaving the esteemed MCC team no chance to shine.
A tremendous performance by Oxford with the bat then capitalised on this strong start, with Ashbee’s remarkable demonstration of batting skills deserving particular praise. Good bowling from the MCC team was unable to prevent Oxford reaching 163 runs for three, as they built on the positive momentum established by their bowlers earlier. As the sun gradually emerged, the Oxford team cruised confi dently towards victory.
With a fi nal four to the mid-wicket boundary, the Oxford team ensured victory in a match which has often been drawn, but never won, over the past seven years. MCC Captain and ex-OUWCC Captain, Sarah Laughton, declared that it was the strongest OUWCC side she had played against and they thoroughly deserved their win as they were “far better than us today”.
Wells, for her part, declared that she was “thrilled” with the “amazing” victory, at the end of a highly successful day for her team. This was a memorable and welldeserved victory for the Blues over what is a renownded and prestigious MCC team, which confi rms their impeccable current form in their BUSA campaign, with fi ve consecutive victories in the opening matches of the Premier League South.
More important, perhaps, is the potential displayed, both in terms of confi dence and cricketing technique, in view of the forthcoming Varsity match. The showdown with Cambridge takes place in 10th week at Lords. On this evidence, the OUWCC look favourites to achieve a fourth successive victory against the Light Blues.
1st Jun 2006