30 June 2021

This weekend saw a full block of fixtures against local rivals, Magdalen College School. The morning games saw the U12 sides finish on the wrong side of two games that went to the last over, whilst the U13Bs also had a thrilling finale with Mark Hanlon taking two wickets in the last over to snatch a win by 6 runs. A fine bowling performance by the U13As (Alex Elly 4 for 21) meant that they needed just 73 for victory and this was achieved without loss, thanks largely to an excellent 40no by Sam Grocutt.

The U14 sides achieved a clean sweep of victories. The As managed 140 all out with a fine 69 from Ethan Barksfield, who anchored the innings after some early wickets. MCS struggled to add impetus to their innings, with Tom Hughes taking 3 for 15, and ended up 18 short. In the B team game, Finn Gregory and Freddie Arnold both batted fluently for 44 and 31no respectively, posting 166 all out. In response, Xavier McGuire took 3 for 7 to reduce MCS to their eventual 93 all out.

At Cox’s Field, the U15A found it difficult to score quickly on a green wicket and slow outfield after the recent rain. Posting 109 for 9, it was always going to be a difficult score to defend, and MCS managed to achieve this target for the loss of 5 wickets. The U15B team produced another strong performance, with lots of batting contributions in a total of 157 for 7. This proved too many, with Harry Martin taking 3 wickets for 12 runs, with MCS finishing on 92 all out. The U15C team, playing on Upper Field, batted first and scored at a fantastic rate thanks largely to a powerful 59no from Daniel Whittenbury. Posting 195 for 5, the MCS side could not score at the same rate, and despite having wickets in hand, finished 75 runs short on 120 for 3.

Batting first, the 3rd XI achieved an excellent 209 for 3, with captain Nathan May scoring a fantastic 107. In response, some tight and accurate bowling saw the wickets shared amongst the bowlers and MCS falling to 70 all out. The 2nd XI game again saw Abingdon bat first. Some excellent MCS bowling meant that the run rate never really got going despite Charlie Hobbs’ 60no. Set the target of 130, MCS managed to pass this for the loss of 5 wickets.

War Memorial was the venue for the 1st XI game, which produced almost 500 runs in the day. Batting first, Abingdon got off to an excellent start with Liam Hilditch (48) and Freddie Smith (121) leading the charge. An outstanding century from Smith and a late flurry from Jamie Firth (37) saw the home side post 261 for 6. MCS got their innings off to a flying start until the spin of Owen Ravden and Liam Hilditch took over. Wickets fell at regular intervals, although the run rate remained on target for an MCS victory. The introduction of Rory King, who took two quick wickets, sealed the victory with MCS falling just 30 runs short in an exciting encounter.

This Monday saw our U14As travel to Bloxham for the final of the County Cup. Limiting their opponents to just 71 in 20 overs, the Abingdon side took just 9 overs to reach the target for the loss of two wickets and become County Champions – very well done to them!

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