Our unpredictable 1st XI entertained title-chasing Oxenford and pulled off a surprisingly comfortable victory on Saturday. Batting first, Stoney set 173/9 from 45 overs - based around back-in-form George Redknap's 51, and supported by numerous scores in the teens.

Ox opener Zain Iqbal scored 64 in reply, but high quality fielding, bowling and keeping saw the visitors dismissed for just 137 as Stoney won by 36 runs. Spinner Thomas Gubbins returned excellent figures of 4 for 24, assisted by Steve Litten (2/28) and Scott Thomas (2/39). Behind the stumps Sean Holley took 2 stumpings and 2 catches, and George completed an excellent personal performance with 2 catches.

The 2nd XI faced a difficult trip to newly crowned Osberton Cup winners Chipping Norton 2nds. Bowling first on a very flat track, the lads had Chippy in trouble at 29/3 as Dan Taylor (3/43) was again in the wickets. However, a high class innings of 99no by Slamat Sami, and an ankle injury to Liam Hatton (restricting him to just 5 overs) saw the home side set an imposing 206/6.

Undeterred by the early loss of pinch-hitter Taylor, skipper Stewart Moss and the equally experienced Ben Hayes responded with a crucial 95 partnership to take the score to 111/2 from 24 overs, when Ben was well caught for 45. After the unfortunate run-out of Sam Townsend, the big-hitting Jordan Newman marched out against his home-town club, and he did not disappoint! With Stew cleverly giving Jord the strike at every opportunity, he smacked 2 x 6s and 5 x 4s in a rapid partnership of 48 which saw Stoney take the initiative. When Jordan was bowled for a superb 40, Liam Hatton (12) continued the attack before also seeing his stumps rattled. When a completely exhausted Stew was run-out for 72 in the penultimate over, it left 6 runs needed from the final over. Pete Searle has had a quiet season to date, but he took all the pressure off by thumping the 1st ball of the over to the square leg boundary. Two scampered singles brought up a memorable victory and takes the 2nds back up the table with games in hand.

Well played 22 Stones this weekend!