20 June 2017
An incredibly busy week for the Cricket Club saw fixtures on almost every day. The U13s got us off to a good start, bowling King Alfred’s out for 31 in the Oxon League, with Ethan Tully taking an impressive 3 wickets for 2 runs. The score was reached for the loss of 1 wicket. The following day saw the U12As in action against Wheatley Park in the Oxon Cup. Abingdon posted 109 for the loss of 3 wickets in their allotted overs, with Max Siriwardene top scoring with 36. Unfortunately, the boys struggled to make inroads to the Wheatley Park batting and they chased the total for the loss of just 1 wicket.
All of the lower school teams were back in action again on Wednesday against Abingdon Prep School. The U13As won by 88 runs with Charlie Lloyd making 39 with the bat, the U13Bs won by 87 runs with Oliver Liddell also top scoring with 39, the U12As won by 9 wickets after bowling their opponents out for 64 (Felix Kind 3 for 14 and Harvey Vinton 32no) and the U12Bs couldn’t quite make it a full house, losing by 6 wickets, despite Robin Hambidge’s excellent 49.
Thursday saw a lull in the run of matches, but Friday presented the opportunity for the U15s to take the County Cup, faced with opponents, Burford. Batting first, the home side got themselves to 133 for 6 from the 20 overs, with nobody really getting going. Some tight bowling and a constant flow of wickets meant that Burford fell 63 runs short, being restricted to 70 for 9, with Hector Chambers and Jake Blackwell both taking 3 wicket hauls.
And then to the weekend’s matches against local rivals, MCS. On a stifling hot day, the first game to start was the 1st XI, who won the toss and elected to bat first. A couple of early wickets meant a rebuild with Alex Ling and Jamie Lawson doing a good job of getting us back on track with a 25 over partnership of 109. Sadly, both batsmen fell within an over of each other with Alex Ling making 68 from 110 balls and Jamie Lawson 45 from 64 balls. The MCS bowlers then bowled well, reducing the opportunities to score and the Abingdon side crawled itself to 201 all out, 30 or 40 runs short of par.
The MCS reply got off to a brisk start, with the help of a few early extras, until Sam Warren stemmed the tide a little with his first wicket of the day. The second wicket partnership then took MCS to within 75 of the target, and despite a late resurgence by the Abingdon bowlers, MCS passed the total 5 wickets down. Another 30 or 40 runs in the first innings would have made for an interesting game. Pick of the Abingdon bowlers was Sam Warren who returned figures of 2 for 28 from his 10 overs.
Playing at War Memorial, the 2nd XI also batted first on a flat Abingdon wicket. An impressive 240 for 8 was posted by the home side, with Josh Franklin making an excellent 84 not out. MCS were never out of the game until they faltered towards the end of the chase and fell 23 runs short, being bowled out for 217. William Webb found good form with his off spin, taking 4 for 45 and Jonny Hurrell a vital 3 for 30.
The U14A and B sides, also playing at home, were in fine form with the bat. Freddie Smith made his third century of the season, with 117 in the total of 216 for 4. MCS struggled to maintain the rate without losing wickets and Liam Hilditch wrapped up the innings for 139, taking 3 for 5. Just a few pitches along, the U14C team racked up an impressive 181 for 5, with James Calver making 57no and Max Williams 33. Max Upton then took control with the ball, finishing with 5 for 10 and bowling the visitors out for 55, maintaining their unbeaten record this season. The U14Bs had one of those days with the bat unfortunately. After bowling MCS out for a reachable total of 100 (Gregor Hawkes 3 for 7), they struggled to build any partnerships and faltered to 66 all out. This is a very strong side however, and I am sure they will bounce back strongly in their next fixture.
And finally to our U15 sides, who were being hosted at MCS. Batting first, the MCS U15A side made a solid 177 for 6, Patrick Heath taking 3 for 28. When asked to up the rate, the Abingdon boys struggled to make their move and fell 17 runs short despite the best efforts of James Coombs (44) and Nathan Hudson (31). The U15B team have struggled for runs so far this season, but showed some very promising signs with the bat this week. Ollie Graham led from the front with a fluent 30 as they got to 128 for 9 from their overs. Despite taking regular wickets and Oliver Elly’s 3 for 36, MCS passed the total for the loss of 6 wickets.
This week our U13As play MCS on Tuesday, the U14As have their Oxon Cup Semi Final on Wednesday, the U13s host St Gregory’s in the Oxon League (also on Wednesday) and the 1st XI host the MCC in an all-day game on Thursday.
The weekend sees fixtures against Winchester College and we look forward to welcoming back a good number of OAs to play in the Gerald Smithson Memorial Match at War Memorial on Sunday, which should prove to be a great day.
