On the kind of summer afternoon that will stick long in the memory, the Blues edged Cambridge in a last-over thriller in Varsity 20/20, putting on a real show for the handsome crowd before they returned to the library (or to quaff more Pimm’s).
Cambridge captain Richard Timms won the toss and chose to bat, with Tom Elliot getting stuck in during the power-play overs before Rajiv Sharma had Timms caught behind by Westaway in the fifth over with the score on 36. From here, for the next ten overs Oxford managed to put the brakes on Cambridge, who were constrained to around a run a ball, bringing up the 100 in the 15th over. Credit for this must go to Owain Jones and Freddie Fox, who applied pressure in the crucial middle overs, with Jones picking up danger man Elliot for 37 to a good catch from Fox, and Fox himself then getting amongst the wickets trapping the dangerous Ansari LBW for four.
From then on, Cambridge began to score more freely, with Jon Evans and Matt Hickey putting on 44 unbroken runs towards the end of the innings, including 25 off the final two overs to drag Cambridge to 151-5 off their 20 overs, a score that seemed around par on good wicket, when the pressure of batting second in a big game is taken into account. The Oxford attack on whole performed admirably, with Agarwal, Jones and Fox all economical.
The Oxford openers set about the run chase with vigour, with the first over seeing Sharma dispatch Matt Hickey for six, and Oxford flew to 28-0 off three overs, cashing in on the fielding restrictions that limited the number of men Cambridge could have protecting the boundary. However the fall of Sharma, for a swift 21, caused the run rate to slow, with Oxford behind the required 7.5 runs per over, reaching 49-1 off eight overs. As in the Cambridge innings, good bowling after the early power-play overs had passed, particularly from left-arm spinner Paul Best, piled the pressure on the batsmen as the runs began to dry up.
The pivotal moment came when Oxford captain Ben Williams was dropped on the boundary. Williams immediately capitalised on this second chance, launching a six in the very next over as he and Sam Agarwal began to open their shoulders and put the Cambridge attack to the sword. The pair added 53 runs between the tenth and 15th over, setting up a thrilling run chase with Oxford needing 32 runs off the final 30 balls.
When Williams was bowled by Elliot Bath one run short of his half-century, the result seemed once again to be hanging in the balance, especially when Jones fell at the end of the 17th over to leave Oxford still 14 runs short of victory with two overs left. The large crowd, evidently well-oiled thanks to making the most of the refreshments stands, vociferously cheered Agarwal as he brought up his third consecutive Varsity 20/20 half-century, and it looked like he would see Oxford home, with seven required for victory off the final over.
With four runs off the first two balls of the 20th over, Oxford looked to have it in the bag until disaster struck and Agarwal was caught on the long-off boundary for a finely crafted 61 off 54 balls. With Ben Jeffery on strike, Oxford the equation was simple: three balls left, three runs needed, as a nervous crowd watched on. Jeffery was less concerned however, as he launched the very next ball for an enormous six over the leg side boundary, sealing victory in an emphatic fashion and cueing a pitch invasion from his team-mates. No-one failed, but credit to Agarwal for and Williams, whose swift 91 stand set the stage for the tense finale and meant that with wickets in hand, the Oxford middle order were able to swing freely during the tense finale.
Oxford coach Graham Charlesworth paid homage to the extremely high standard of cricket on show, and stressed the importance of the victory, given the psychological boost it will give the Blues in winning the first Varsity match in the lead up to the One Day and Four Day games.
As the only taste of Men’s Varsity cricket on offer in Oxford this year, the game certainly did not disappoint. With an extremely high standard of cricket on show, and the magnificent weather no-doubt helping to swell numbers, the Blues can go on with confidence after proving that they have the temperament as well as the ability to close out tense matches on the big stage in front of a large crowd
