A war of words has broken out in the battle to be the new chairman of the MP Sports Cherwell League.

Nominations have been made for Roger Mitty and Clive Ricks to succeed Martin Phillips when he steps down at the annual meeting at Bicester & North Oxford CC on Thursday, November 18.

And now it seems the gloves have truly come off.

In a copy of an open letter to clubs, leaked to the Oxford Mail, a band of nine executive members – who support Mitty – have launched an astonishing attack on Ricks.

The group consist of Mick Boyden, Stephen Brain, Don Brooks, Jim Lodge, Tariq Mehmood, John Pearson, Graham Stearn, Peter Tomlin and Ken White.

And they say: “We are all amazed at the shameful way in which Clive Ricks has turned this election into an unsavoury and ill-judged campaign, whose aim is to stop Roger Mitty . . . being elected and also to replace the nine people on the executive, who do not support his personal ambitions, with as yet unnamed supporters.”

They also allege Ricks has ‘insulted, antagonised and denigrated the majority of the executive’ while pursuing a ‘personal agenda’.

And they add: “Our advice to Clive Ricks would be – if you do not like the way that the executive works, then withdraw your nomination for chairman and let the elected members of the executive get on with the job.

“We believe electing Clive Ricks as chairman of the Cherwell Cricket League would be a distaster of the highest order.”

Ricks refused to get into a slanging match.

He said: “Obviously there are some fairly vindictive comments made about me, but as far as I am concerned they are water off a duck’s back.

“To my mind the accusations against me are self-defeating.

“One chairman has already said his club were not sure which way to vote, but after receiving this letter it has made their mind up to vote for me.

“I have done nothing in all the clubs I have visited to denigrate the work of the committee.

“As I have said. I think the league is well administered.”

And he claimed: “My gripe is that things are done other than at executive meetings.

“I don’t think the clubs quite have the access to the executive to make suggestions.

“When was the last time a suggestion from a club was adopted?

“Certainly not in my time on the committee.”

Ricks’s bid to become chairman is set to come under the microscope again when the executive hold their last meeting before the AGM at Oxford Brookes University on Monday.