Oxfordshire County Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Oxfordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county
clubs which make up the Minor Counties
in the English
domestic cricket
structure, representing the historic county of Oxfordshire
and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy
.
The club plays matches at Banbury CC, Great & Little Tew, Challow and Childrey, Radley College & Bicester & North Oxford, Aston Rowant and Thame. There are plans to expand this range of venues.
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class
game. At present, Oxfordshire competes in the Western Division of the Minor Counties Championship.
Oxfordshire CCC is an integrated part of the Oxfordshire Cricket Board.
has been found (see Rowland Bowen's history) re a designated field in Oxfordshire.
Dr Samuel Johnson
stated that he played cricket during his time at Oxford University and he was there in 1729 for one year only. This is the earliest date for cricket being played in the county.
One of the earliest references to cricket in Oxfordshire was in the Reading Mercury on Monday 4 October 1779: "On Tues. Oct 5 at Henley, the County of Berks v the County of Oxford, for £25 a side". This is the first time we read of an Oxfordshire county team. Berkshire
was rated first-class at the time but this was a minor match.
Oxfordshire has never won the MCCA Knockout Trophy
since its inception in 1983 but in recent years has suffered 2 narrow final defeats.
The following Oxfordshire cricketers also made an impact on the first-class
game:
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
clubs which make up the Minor Counties
Minor counties of English cricket
The Minor Counties are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that are not afforded first-class status. The game is administered by the Minor Counties Cricket Association which comes under the England and Wales Cricket Board...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
domestic cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
structure, representing the historic county of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy
MCCA Knockout Trophy
The Minor Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the Minor Counties in English cricket...
.
The club plays matches at Banbury CC, Great & Little Tew, Challow and Childrey, Radley College & Bicester & North Oxford, Aston Rowant and Thame. There are plans to expand this range of venues.
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
game. At present, Oxfordshire competes in the Western Division of the Minor Counties Championship.
Oxfordshire CCC is an integrated part of the Oxfordshire Cricket Board.
Honours
- Minor Counties Championship (4) - 1929, 1974, 1982, 1989; shared (0) -
- MCCA Knockout Trophy (0) -
Earliest cricket
Cricket probably reached Oxfordshire by the end of the 16th century. Although "not cricket", a 1523 reference to stoolballStoolball
Stoolball is a sport that dates back to at least the 15th century, originating in Sussex, southern England. It may be an ancestor of cricket , baseball, and rounders...
has been found (see Rowland Bowen's history) re a designated field in Oxfordshire.
Dr Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
stated that he played cricket during his time at Oxford University and he was there in 1729 for one year only. This is the earliest date for cricket being played in the county.
One of the earliest references to cricket in Oxfordshire was in the Reading Mercury on Monday 4 October 1779: "On Tues. Oct 5 at Henley, the County of Berks v the County of Oxford, for £25 a side". This is the first time we read of an Oxfordshire county team. Berkshire
Berkshire county cricket teams
Berkshire county cricket teams have been traced back to the 18th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that...
was rated first-class at the time but this was a minor match.
Origin of club
There was a county organisation in 1787, according to Wisden. Oxfordshire competed in the first two Minor Counties Championship competitions in 1895 and 1896, and an Oxfordshire side also appeared in the competition from 1900 to 1906. The present Oxfordshire CCC was founded on 14 December 1921 and has been a member of the Minor Counties since the 1922 season.Club history
Oxfordshire has won the Minor Counties Championship four times. It won the title outright in 1929, 1974, 1982 and 1989.Oxfordshire has never won the MCCA Knockout Trophy
MCCA Knockout Trophy
The Minor Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the Minor Counties in English cricket...
since its inception in 1983 but in recent years has suffered 2 narrow final defeats.
Famous players
- See List of Oxfordshire CCC List A players and :Category:Oxfordshire cricketers
The following Oxfordshire cricketers also made an impact on the first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
game:
- John ArnoldJohn Arnold (cricketer)John Arnold was an English cricketer who played in one Test in 1931.-Cricket career:...
- Jonathan BattyJonathan BattyJonathan Batty is an English cricketer who plays for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Batty made his name as a wicket-keeper batsman and was a consistent performer for Surrey for over a decade....
- Buck DivechaBuck DivechaRamesh Vithaldas 'Buck' Divecha is a former Indian Test cricketer.Divecha was right arm bowler who did fast medium or off breaks, and a useful batsman....
- Andrew StraussAndrew StraussAndrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
- Robert CunliffeRobert CunliffeRobert Cunliffe is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. During his nine years in first-class cricket he played for Gloucestershire and Leicestershire....
- Tim HancockTim HancockTim Hancock is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler.Born in Reading, Hancock joined Gloucestershire in 1991, and has been at the club ever since. His bowling has added an extra effective dimension to his play...
- Charles WilliamsCharles Williams, Baron Williams of ElvelCharles Cuthbert Powell Williams, Baron Williams of Elvel CBE is a manager and Labour peer. In his 20s he played first-class cricket while at university and for several seasons afterwards.The son of N. P...
, later Lord Williams of Elvel, sometime UK government minister
External sources
- Oxfordshire Cricket Board site
- Oxfordshire County Cricket Club website
- Minor Counties Cricket Association Official Site
Further reading
- Rowland BowenRowland BowenMajor Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....
, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 - E W Swanton (editor), Barclays World of Cricket, Guild, 1986
- Playfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...
– various editions - Wisden Cricketers Almanack – various editions