Balliol secured an emphatic victory over New/St Hilda’s in what was touted as an early season title-decider. In a repeat of last year’s Cuppers Final, New/St Hilda’s were barely ever in the contest after a devastating opening spell from the Balliol opening bowlers.
Anticipation for this fixture had been bubbling ever since Balliol’s defeat to New/St Hilda’s in last years Cuppers Final. But on a fine day that appeared befitting of a cricketing classic, New simply did not turn up. Even after the toss, there was a real sense of deflation, bordering on fear, as the New captain returned to inform his team that they had been put in to bat and would be facing Balliol spearhead, Robert Frome.
Frome and Alex Hawkins-Hooker, sensing vulnerability amongst the New/St Hilda’s batsmen, ripped through the top order, taking four early wickets. Frome – who eventually finished on figures of 4-14– unleashed a potent display of accurate swing bowling, knocking the stumps for all three of his early wickets. And the Balliol team responded to Frome’s success, creating a hostile atmosphere in the field and squeezing the batsmen into a defensive game. The visitors’ woes were only cemented when clueless debutant Leo Suter fell victim of a comical run out, which in many ways encapsulated New/St Hilda’s abject performance.
By the time Balliol introduced the chirpy South African pairing of Gavin Sourgeon and Alex Brczkowski the match had been taken away from the visitors. Brczkowski’s tidy off-spin contained any attempts to transfer the pressure onto the visiting team, while Surgeon – still a bit rusty after the winter break – proved his eternal class, picking up three wickets.
The most remarkable moment of the match came when a Sourgeon delivery clipped the top of the stumps only for a stubborn pair of bails to somehow remain in place. Such fortune, however, could not prevent New/St Hilda’s post- ing a disappointing final score of 61 – extras being the single greatest contributor to the first innings total.
In response, Balliol encountered little difficulty in chasing a total that was a mere formality for such an experienced batting line-up. Marcus Maxwell hit an expansive 23 before being trapped LBW, but a steady partnership between Hawkins-Hooker and Rob Wight ensured an eight-wicket victory for Balliol, des- patching some lacklustre bowling along the way.
After the match, Alex Hawkins-Hooker spoke of his satisfaction at Balliol’s crushing victory. He told Cherwell, “Having lost to New (and St Hilda’s) in an agonisingly close-fought nine wicket defeat in last season’s Cuppers final, we were desperate to take some revenge. Our opening bowler and talisman Rob Frome made his already legendary run-up thirty yards longer, and it did the trick as he cleaned up the top order with a devastating spell. All in all, I’m happy with what I thought was a very professional team performance.”
“Special praise, however, must go to the New number ten who showed prodigious control, skill and delicacy in deflecting the ball at good speed onto his own bails – at exactly right angle to leave them totally unmoved. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
After such a convincing performance Balliol have made a decisive statement of intent as they look to assert a stranglehold over the league and defend their title. With a wide crop of talented players and an inspired Rob Frome, Balliol certainly look like strong contenders for a League and Cup double. Whatever happens in coming weeks. This certainly promises to be an exciting college cricket season.
