Oxfordshire County Cricket Club
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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, Challow and Childrey, 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.
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[edit] Honours
- Minor Counties Championship (4) - 1929, 1974, 1982, 1989; shared (0) -
- MCCA Knockout Trophy (0) -
[edit] Earliest cricket
Cricket probably reached Oxfordshire by the end of the 16th century. Although "not cricket", a 1523 reference to stoolball 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 since its inception in 1983 but in recent years has suffered 2 narrow final defeats.
[edit] Famous players
The following Oxfordshire cricketers also made an impact on the first-class game:
- Buck Divecha
- Charles Williams, later Lord Williams of Elvel, sometime UK government minister
- John Arnold
[edit] External sources
[edit] Further reading
- Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
- E W Swanton (editor), Barclays World of Cricket, Guild, 1986
- Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack – various editions
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