Women’s Cricket Oxford UCCE 241/2
Cambridge UCCE 137/6
Oxford won by 104 runs Oxford UCCE women’s cricket team began this season as
they finished the last – with a comprehensive victory over
their Cambridge rivals. This time the arena was not the Nursery
Ground at the home of cricket, Lord’s, but the Pembroke
Sports Ground in Cambridge, and the match the team’s first
in the BUSA Southern Premier League. Last year’s Varsity match was won by an outstanding
bowling and fielding display, which restricted the Light Blues to
a paltry 56 runs – whereas this weekend’s result was
thanks to some extraordinary batting, especially by last
year’s captain Kat Dickens who carried her bat for a
superbly fluent 124 not out. The opening partnership between the two St Anne’s
players, Dickens and Heather Lang, lasted for 33 of the
game’s 40 overs and contributed 174 runs, before Lang was
bowled by the Cambridge captain, Abi Carter. After a slow start
against the new ball, Lang compiled an excellent and patient 59,
while her partner ruthlessly punished the Cambridge bowling. Once the opening partnership was broken, Georgia Gale Grant
fell for 1 but Annie Bowden joined Dickens to make 25 in as many
balls, to accrue an unbroken stand of 66 in the last 6 overs. The final score of 241/2 in 40 overs put Oxford in a very
commanding position, but Cambridge’s openers were resilient
and rode their luck in taking a few unwise singles. The first wicket did not fall until the 21st over, Olivia
Sanderson being bowled for 25 by Amy Stamp’s second ball in
an Oxford shirt. Despite the fact that the openers had lasted
this long, the score was only 68 and the Tabs were well behind
the asking rate. After a run-out brought about by some sharp fielding the
following over, an Oxford victory seemed inevitable. The presence
of Cambridge’s senior batsman, Rachel Cowans, at the crease,
though, did leave the Light Blue eleven with some hope to cling
desperately on to. Cowans carried her bat throughout the innings
for a steady 77 not out, but received little support from the
rest of her team. They succeeded in occupying the crease but
never came close to achieving the run-a-ball target. Emma Collins, who bowled superbly throughout her eight over
spell and was backed up by some energetic, effective fielding
from her team-mates, took two wickets in two balls to finish with
2/22. The return of the rejuvenated opening bowlers, Helen Turner
and Gale Grant, quickly put paid to any lingering hopes the
Cambridge side had of saving the game, removing two further
batsmen. Turner and Gale Grant finished with identical figures of
1/26 in their eight overs as Cambridge finished with 137/6 in 40
overs. Helen Smith and Annie Bowden both bowled impressively but
were unlucky to finish wicketless. The result, a superb 104-run victory, will give the Blues
much needed confidence as they go into matches against Brighton
and Exeter. Bettering last season’s BUSA performance –
the team reached the quarterfinal, only to lose a hard fought
game against Durham by four wickets – is a tough but
eminently attainable goal. The recent victory in the 2004 BUSA Indoor championship, where
a strong Exeter side containing a number of England
internationals were emphatically defeated in the final, certainly
bodes well. This year’s Varsity match, where Oxford will
hope for a repeat of last year’s victory, will take place
concurrently with the men’s match when The Tabs next come to
Oxford on Wednesday 12 May. ARCHIVE: 0th week TT 2004
Tabs Lose Tale of Two Cities
