CRICKET: Long arm of the Law Downs Sandford

Chasing the home side’s 178-9, Marston were cruising on 159-5 when Jarryd McPhee (4-27) sparked a collapse that left them 11 runs short of victory with the last pair at the crease.

Eight were needed from the final over, but only two singles were scored as the game finished in a draw.

Earlier, Alastair Bee had taken 7-57.

Thame Town 15pts, Long Marston 10 Cumnor’s surge up the table goes on after they hammered Leighton Buzzard Town by eight wickets in a match every bit as one-sided as the scoreline suggests.

The home side’s impressive youngsters were outshone by 45-year-old Carl Thompson, who took 5-19 as Town slumped to 108 all out.

Phil Whatmore prevented complete humiliation by hitting 36, but Cumnor reached 109-2 in 16.3 overs.

Cumnor 25, Leighton Buzzard Town 3

Tiddington’s tumble down the division continued when they came unstuck at title-chasing Great Brickhill.

James Clark captured 5-45 and Iqbal John picked up 3-45 as the visitors were blown away for 126.

Tom Rowley offered some resistance before falling for 30.

Mark Nelson (40) and Doug Aris (34) helped Brickhill to 125-5.

Great Brickhill 25, Tiddington 6

Oxford 2nd reached the halfway point of the season without a win after slipping to their seventh defeat of the summer, this time to Banbury 2nd.

Adam Hall (47) and Sulaiman Hussain (36) at least gave their bowlers a total to defend, but 177-9 was to prove insufficient.

Steve Hart (4-38) and Jacques Prinsloo (3-52) played their part in keeping the score down.

Prinsloo then marshalled the run chase and was 57 not out when the hosts reached 178-7 with 20 balls to spare.

Banbury 2nd 25, Oxford 2nd 10

Ben Curlew’s 89 was the mainstay of Twyford’s 209-8 from 53 overs at Wolverton Town.

Opener Shahid Mahmood added 36, while Idrees Butt was the pick of the home attack.

Babar Raja and Ahsan Malik both fell for 31, and Jack Deal (4-24) ran through the tail to leave them 134 all out.

Wolverton Town 5, Twyford 25

Johnny Law took 6-29 in an outstanding display that saw Oxford Downs stun visitors Sandford St Martin in their Division 2 derby encounter.

Sandford were unbeaten in five matches coming into the game and had emerged as the head of the chasing pack behind the three second teams in the division.

But they came horribly unstuck at Downs, who are rebuilding after suffering relegation last term and a slow start to this year’s campaign.

The visitors struggled after being put into bat, limping to a meagre 127 all out from 49.4 overs.

Law was well supported by Wasim Mehmood, who finished with 3-24.

Frankie Crouch then ensured that the Standlake-based outfit would win without suffering any undue alarm, hitting an unbeaten 48 as they cruised to 128-3 in only 33.1 overs.

With Sandford coming up from Division 3 last summer, and half this year’s matches now played, both these teams look like consolidating their positions by finishing in mid-table.

However, with the bottom two already adrift, they can play positively in the second half of the season and could yet mount a promotion challenge if they find the required level of consistency.

Oxford Downs 25pts, Sandford St Martin 4

Joe Butcher took a hat-trick on his way to figures of 6-26 as Abingdon Vale sent Great & Little Tew spinning to 96 all out.

Six Tew batsmen went without scoring as only opener Michael Darby’s quickfire 39 suggested Tew would chase Vale’s 170 all out.

Butcher was ably supported by Luke Mitchell, who finished with 3-46 in a rare first-team appearance.

Earlier, Vale had been in all sorts of trouble on 66-7 against Matthew Warner (4-53) and Jack Belmont (3-18), but were rescued by number nine Sam Chilvers, who smashed 75 from 50 balls to turn the game on its head.

Abingdon Vale 25, Great Tew 2nd 5

Tim Condon hit a magnificent 152 not out for Aston Rowant 2nd, who amassed 268-8 from their 53 overs at Horspath 2nd.

The home side’s gallant attempt to pull off an unlikely victory was built around innings from Dominic O’Connor (49), Jehan Mohammed (42) and Jamil Faruk (33), but Andrew Dyer (3-59) helped ensure they could manage only 232-8.

Horspath 2nd 8, Aston Rowant 2nd 19

A perfectly-timed run chase earned Challow & Childrey victory in their derby clash at Didcot.

Put in, the home side posted 202 all out thanks to Ian Demain’s 85 and Rob Keat’s 34. Ryan Gordon took 3-42.

Challow crossed the winning line with two overs to spare after Tim Linnane (37) got them going, Gordon (30) maintained the momentum and Chris Warboys (42) all but got them there.

Didcot 10, Challow & Childrey 25

Atif Ali’s outstanding 125 helped propel Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts to an unassailable total of 265-7 at home to Bledlow Village.

Garry Adamson scored 60 as James Hawkes (4-95) made early inroads, but was then hit to all parts.

Bledlow settled for a draw on 171-6, Matthew Bolton hitting 61, while Mark Strong took 3-37.

Ox & Bletch Nondies 17, Bledlow Vill 6

Cropredy were held for the first time this season, but still dominated their draw with Bicester & North Oxford in Division 3.

Saim Hussain (55) and Matthew Walmsley-Pace – who was out hit wicket for 46 – helped the leaders to 242-7.

Richard Simpson took 5-52 from 17 overs.

Jon Pilgrim (30) gave Bicester hope, but Walmsley-Pace took 5-36 and the visitors’ effort petered out on 190-7.

Cropredy 18pts, Bic & N Oxford 7

James Barrett (84) and Ben Denton (39no) helped secondplaced Blewbury & Wallingford to 206-8 and a narrow win at Banbury 3rd.

The home side had been indebted to Josh Megson (47) for their 205-8, in which Scott Harris took 3-38 and Alan Bowman 3-55.

Banbury 3rd 12, Blewbury & W 25

Jeremy Kirby hit 118 – including 14 fours and three sixes – to set up Shipton-under-Wychwood 2nd’s 307-7 declared from 47 overs against Oxford Downs 2nd.

Steve Bates (46) and Paul Hemming (47no) didn’t hang about either.

Darryl Woods (78) and Paddy Daniel (49no) then steered Downs to 226-5.

Shipton 2nd 16, Ox Downs 2nd 8

Greg Jenkins hit 67 and took 4-46 as Cublington dominated their match at Horley.

The visitors closed on 271-9 as Sam Carter (59) and Pip Webb (47) were on top against all the bowlers except Jon Hart (5-48).

The hosts’ reply ended on 233-8, of which Dave Clark contributed 77 and Andrew Parker plundered 52.

Horley 9, Cublington 19

An unbroken sixth-wicket partnership between Tim Riley (51no) and Callum Cater (42no) took Buckingham Town 2nd to 184-5 and a comfortable win at Dinton 2nd.

The home side had been bowled out for 181.

Dinton 2nd 8, Buckingham 2nd 25

Witney Mills were involved in a game that finished drawn with the scores level for the second time in three matches in Division 4.

First they bowled out Bletchley Town for 222, but were frustrated by Ben Talbot who hit a terrific 134 from 123 balls.

Mills had 57 overs in reply and finished on 222-8, of which opener Pete Claridge made 56 and No 3 Michael Dove hit 44 before wickets started to fall.

Witney Mills 15pts, Bletchley Town 16

Neil Smith took 7-31 from 16.4 overs to help Tiddington 2nd stretch their lead at the top by bowling out Great Brickhill 2nd for 136 to secure a 42-run victory.

Only Barry Webb (44) and Chris Jones (34) got going for the visitors.

Earlier, Charlie Elliott (38) and Smith (37) had taken Tiddington to 178, while Hamid Miah (6-61) was unlucky to end the day on the losing side.

Tiddington 2nd 25, Great Brickhill 2nd 7

Kingston Bagpuize collapsed from 68-0 and 118-3 to 143 all out at Leighton Buzzard Town 2nd.

Their innings fell away once Toby Ricks went for 47, as Andy Smith (6-31) starred.

Richard Raine (34) and a dogged unbeaten 33 from Tom Callaghan took Town to 144-3.

L Buzzard 2nd 25, Kingston Bagpuize 25

Michael Stackhouse took 4-7 to seal Kimble’s easy win over Stokenchurch.

The visitors crumbled to 127 all out after Kimble raced to 255-7 through Steve Richards and Bradley Rose, who both made 59, then Phil Semmens, who smashed 86 not out from 49 balls.

Kimble 25, Stokenchurch 4

Keith Cartwright took 6-12 from 13 overs for Brackley, who dismissed Chearsley for only 95.

The hosts reached 96-5.

Brackley 25, Chearsley 5

In Division 5, Cumnor 2nd beat Thame Town 2nd by a solitary run in the tightest of finishes.

After electing to bat, the visitors managed 156 before being bowled out, Mark Kirsten top scoring with 33 while Alastair Thomas took 4-39.

Jack Miell (4-44) and Jon Powell (3-30) then helped bowl Thame out for 155.

Thame 2nd 7pts, Cumnor 2nd 25

Danial Khan (4-18) and Andrew Busby (3-29) joined forces for leaders Oxford 3rd to dismiss winless Aston Rowant 3rd for 97.

Only Jon Hern (30) held them up, but Jack Elliott (49) then led Oxford to 101-2.

A Rowant 3rd 2, Oxford 3rd 25

East Oxford kept up the pressure on Oxford 3rd by beating Horspath 3rd.

Siphe Mzayidume (4-30), Atif Ali (3-37) and Ali Shah (3-37) did the damage in Horspath’s 143. Robbie Cooke topscored with 40.

Shah then hit 61 in the visitors’ 144-5, made in 26.1 overs.

Horspath 3rd 7, East Oxford 25

Michael Howe-Davies (54no) and Paul Butcher (44no) produced an unbroken fourthwicket partnership that took Abingdon Vale 2nd to an easy win at Twyford 2nd.

Only Nathan Perna (3-59) celebrated success for the hosts as Vale reached 145-3 in 33 overs.

Twyford had been bowled out for 143, with Matthew Butcher taking 4-43 and his uncle, Paul, picking up 3-44.

Twyford 2nd 5, Abingdon 2nd 25

John Rolfe (38), Rory Spiers (38), Phil Brooks (35) and David Hywel Jones (31) helped Bledlow Ridge rack up 263-7 at home to Long Marston 2nd.

The visitors nearly pulled off a remarkable run chase, as Simon Robinson (58), Paul Young (51) and Rory Miscampbell (45) kept them in the game, but Ian Murdoch (4-64) helped peg them back to 259-9.

Bledlow R 17, L Marston 2nd 11

Antony Shorter took a hattrick in figures of 5-9, but still finished on the losing side for Cumnor 3rd in Division 8.

Rhys Probert hit an unbeaten 60 in Cumnor’s 146-7, but despite Shorter’s efforts, visitors Aston Rowant 4th made the target in the 33rd over for a three-wicket win.

Adrian Summons led the way with 50.

Scott Reynolds’s 86no helped strugglers Sandford St Martin 2nd to a surprise 144-run win over Division 6 high fliers Great & Little Tew 3rd.

Reynolds and Andrew Goffe (68) put on 145 for the fourth wicket in hosts Sandford’s 257-4.

In reply, Tew lost seven wickets for 24 runs, with Ryan O’Sullivan taking 4-37 as they were all out for 113.

Shipton-under-Wychwood 3rd climbed to second in Division 7 with a 31-run win against visitors Brackley 2nd.

Ali Wolfe (62) and Jerry Senior (59no) got the home side to 206-6.

Harry Davies returned figures of 3-18 as Brackley were dismissed for 175.

Jack Owen’s 6-56 helped skittle Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts 3rd for 131 in Division 9.

Ralph Watts hit 45 as Great & Little Tew 4th chased the target down with five wickets to spare in the 29th over.