CHARLIE Hill was Banbury 2nd’s hero after his outstanding all-round display toppled leaders Cumnor in Division 1 of the Cherwell League.

Hill hammered a brilliant century and then claimed four wickets as Cumnor were knocked off top spot in a 22-run defeat.

The visitors opted to put Banbury in first after winning the toss, and Sam Powell made quick inroads, removing openers Tom Bartlett and Jack Lambden.

A 52-run stand between Ollie Morgan and Hill got Banbury back on track, but it was Hill who dominated the remainder of the home side’s innings.

The No 4 hit 13 boundaries in his knock of 104, which helped Banbury set 220-9 off a reduced 48 overs.

Andrew Russell was the pick of the Cumnor attack with 4-62, while Powell finished with 3-37.

Cumnor were quickly on the back foot as they slumped to 8-3 as Will Bull and Alex Davies fell for ducks and Joe Dale for four.

Callum Russell (51) and James Fitzjohn (70) shared 89 for the fourth wicket as Cumnor rebuilt, but despite that, they never really recovered from the poor start they had made.

Only skipper Matt Lake (33) added lower order runs as Hill finished with 4-37, Cumnor tumbling to 198 all out.

l Banbury 2nd 25pts, Cumnor 8

ASTON Rowant 2nd took over top spot in Division 1 after having the better of a draw at home to Twyford.

Batting first, Rowant posted 183-8 in a rain-reduced 44 overs, Tim Morgan top-scoring with 46 and Thad Cooper hitting 37 not out.

Jack Deal replied with 58 for Twyford, but they lost wickets at regular intervals, only to cling on at 146-9, despite Andrew Dyer’s 4-61.

l Aston Rowant 2nd 18pts, Twyford 5

Horspath 2nd fell to a six-wicket defeat at Dinton, despite an unbeaten century from Dominic O’Connor.

O’Connor hit 121 not out as Horspath racked up 234-5.

But Philip Arnold (76no) and Faisal Ali (46) shone as Dinton reached 235-4 with nine balls to spare.

l Dinton 25, Horspath 2nd 9

Tiddington remain in relegation danger after a two-wicket defeat at Long Marston.

Will Goodman hit 63 and Charlie Elliott 35 in Tiddington’s 158 all out, Lee Beesley claiming 4-20.

Jeremy Smith then hit 56 not out to steer Marston to 159-8 in the 38th over.

l Long Marston 25, Tiddington 10

Great Brickhill are considering whether to appeal after having to forfeit their match against Leighton Buzzard when one of their bowlers, George Humphries, exceeded his overs limit in a rain-reduced match.

After the first innings was reduced from 51 overs to 48, Brickhill captain Graeme Carter said he asked the umpires if it meant a bowler’s maximum limit was reduced in proportion.

Carter said: “ I was informed there was no change, and so I decided to give George his 17th over.

“I’ve got nothing against the umpires, but they admitted later that they made a mistake.”

Because of the uncertainty, the match was played to a conclusion.

Replying to Leighton’s 203-9, Brickhill made 205-4 thanks to 98 not out from Hayden Symmonds.

l Leighton Buzzard Tn 25pts, Gt Brickhill 0

DIVISION 2

OXFORD Downs edged to a thrilling one-wicket victory with one ball to spare at Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts.

The victory maintained their push for the title and they need just one win from their final two games to be sure of promotion back into the top flight.

Nondies’ Chris Day hit 55 and Atif Ali 32 in the home side’s 202 all out, Nick Rivett taking 3-43.

Wasim Mehmood (31) led Downs’s reply, as they squeezed home at 203-9.

l Ox & Bletchingdon Nondies 13pts, Oxford Downs 25

Abingdon Vale kept up the pressure after a six-wicket win at home to Great & Little Tew 2nd.

Henry Pickford (3-25) and Joe Butcher (3-50) combined to skittle Tew for just 98, before Ben Charlesworth hit 46 and Butcher 37 to see Vale home at 101-4.

They face leaders Oxford Downs this week in a crunch title battle.

l Abingdon Vale 25, Great Tew 2nd 4

Oxford 2nd kept alive their outside chances of avoiding relegation after shooting hosts Cropredy out for just 66 before posting a seven-wicket win.

Kasim Nawaz took 4-14 and Richard Musk 4-46 as Oxford ripped through the Cropredy order inside 23 overs.

Oxford then eased to 69-3 in the 19th over to secure a convincing win.

l Cropredy 3, Oxford 2nd 25

George Trewby claimed a brilliant 7-59 to help Challow & Childrey to a 55-run victory against visitors Wolverton Town, whose relegation was confirmed.

Batting first, Challow declared on 203-5 in 38 overs, Robert Jones-Walters top-scoring with 70.

Wolverton then slumped to 148 all out as Trewby returned his magnificent seven wicket haul.

l Challow 25, Wolverton Tn 4

Sandford St Martin fell to a 37-run defeat at Buckingham Town 2nd.

Steve Brunning (95) and Brandon Lee (60) helped Buckingham to 226-7 in 48 overs, Phil Nicholas taking 5-42.

The visitors were all out for 189 in reply, despite 52 from Chris Thompson and 51 from Henry Portman, Dominic Pritchard taking 5-56.

l Buckingham Tn 2nd 25,

Sandford St Martin 6

DIVISION 3

LEADERS Didcot closed in on the title after a crushing eight-wicket win at Great Brickhill 2nd.

Batting first, the home side were restricted to 183-9, Lawrence Armstrong top-scoring with 81 and Aiden Kammel taking 3-32.

Didcot eased home at 185-2 as Ian Demain hit 69 and Elliot Mathews 64 not out.

Great Brickhill 2nd 5pts, Didcot 25

Banbury 3rd condemned Tiddington 2nd to bottom spot after running out six-wicket victors.

Only John Mackie (38) got going for the hosts as they were all out for 154, before Imran Mohammed hit 55 to steer Banbury home at 156-4.

Tiddington 2nd 6, Banbury 3rd 25

Wes Bartlett fell four runs short of a century as Oxford Downs 2nd picked up useful points in a draw at home to high-flying Horley.

Bartlett’s 96, plus 48 from Frankie Crouch took Downs to 231-5 in their 51 overs in a rain-affected match.

Adam Webb (55) and Dave Clark (53no) shone in Horley’s reply, but they lost regular wickets to close on 182-8, Jonny Meardon claiming 3-42.

Oxford Downs 2nd 19, Horley 5

Shipton-under-Wychwood 2nd dropped into the relegation zone as they had to cling on for a draw at home to Cublington.

Pip Webb hammered 107 and Will Rodnight 53 as Cublington posted 254 all out, Tom Swann taking 4-67.

Shipton were never in the hunt, closing on 155-8 as Rodnight took 4-47.

Shipton 2nd 7, Cublington 19

Blewbury & Wallingford drew with Bledlow Village.

Warren Ainsworth (48), James Barrett (45) and Alan Bowman (31) helped Wallingford post 212 in 43.1 overs.

Bledlow were 196-4 off 35.2 overs when the rain came.

Blewbury & W 11, Bledlow Vill 12

DIVISION 4

WITNEY Mills and Bicester & North Oxford must wait for the result of a league disciplinary inquiry after their match was abandoned after an incident.

Reply to leaders Bicester’s total of 261-8, Mills were struggling at 107-6, when a Witney batsman collided with the Bicester bowler when going for a run.

The incident that followed was described by official Mick Belcher as the”worst I’ve seen in 50 years of cricket umpiring” and left Mills members in a reported state on anger and shock.

Westbury thrashed visitors Dinton 2nd by eight wickets to keep up their title challenge.

George Markham took 6-54 as Westbury dismissed Dinton for 134, Manoj Parmar top-scoring with 46.

Ben Rae (68) and Olly Tice (52no) then steered Westbury to a crushing win in just 18.1 overs.

Westbury 25pts, Dinton 4

East Oxford wasted little time in cruising to an eight-wicket at home to Bletchley Town.

Atif Ali took 3-25 as Bletchley were shot out for 76 in the 32nd over, and then Johannes Jacobus hit 49 to lead East Oxford to 78-2 in just 12.2 overs.

East Oxford 25pts, Bletchley Tn 2

Oxford 3rd fell to an eight-wicket defeat at home to Stokenchurch.

They had posted a competitive 213-2 in 47 overs, Miles Picknett hitting 75 and Julian Lawton-Smith 71.

Stokenchurch cruised home inside 26 overs at 215-2 as Arshad Latif hit 76 and Paul Maddock 59.

Oxford 3rd 6pts, Stokenchurch 25

Brackley cruised to a nine-wicket win at home to Kimble.

Rob Cartwright took 4-2 and Doug Smith 3-21 as Kimble were shot out for 78, and then Brackley cruised to 81-1, Eric Carpenter hitting 43 not out.

Brackley 25pts, Kimble 1

DIVISION 5

THAME Town 2nd cruised to a nine-wicket victory at Banbury 4th as they closed in on the title.

Chris Penny took 4-38 for Thame as the home side were all out for 134, before Richard Carr slammed 81 not out to lead Thame to 135-1 in 22.1 overs.

Banbury 4th 3pts,

Thame Tn 2nd 25

Cumnor 2nd’s Carl Thompson took six wickets to inspire his team to a seven-wicket victory at home to Leighton Buzzard Town 2nd.

Thompson returned figures of 6-38 as Buzzard were restricted to 135-9 in 32 overs in a rain-affected match.

James Lee then hit 76 for Cumnor as the home side cruised to 136-3 in just 15 overs of their reply.

Cumnor 2nd 25,

Leighton Buzzard Tn 2nd 5

Horspath 3rd had the better of a draw in another rain-affected match at Chearsley.

Graham Beer top-scored with 65 as Horspath posted an impressive 201-7 in 39 overs.

Despite 67 from Tom Whitelaw and 50 from Marc Hignell, Chearsley batted out for a draw at 130-5.

Chearsley 5,

Horspath 3rd 15

Kingston Bagpuize held on for a draw at home to Bledlow Ridge.

Mark Dakin hit 88 in Bledlow’s 197-8, Ben Fisher taking 3-36.

In reply, James Boon struck 89 for Kingston, but they closed on 180-7, Matthew Brightwell taking 4-45.

Kingston Bagpuize 8,

Bledlow Ridge 15

A century from Tim Chilvers,helped Abingdon Vale 2nd see off hosts Didcot 2nd by four wickets in their local derby.

Didcot scored 210 of 44 overs, Karl Johnston top-scoring with 93.

Chilvers (104no) then led Vale to 213-6 in the 49th over.

Didcot 2nd 10,

Abingdon Vale 2nd 25

DIVISIONS 6-9

TANVEER Alam’s outstanding haul of 7-29 inspired East Oxford 2nd to a 43-run victory at Aston Rowant 3rd in Division 6.

East Oxford had been shot out for just 117 as Leigh Lewis took 5-56 and Tim Foster 3-23.

But Alam had the last laugh, his seven wickets skittling Rowant out for 74.

In Division 7, Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts 2nd closed in on the title after seeing off hosts Horspath 4th by eight wickets.

Idris Mohammed took 4-39 and Rustam Rabani 3-39 as Horspath were shot out for 110, and then Alam Mohammed hit a quickfire 73 not out to lead Nondies home at 114-2.

A spell of 5-28 by Steve Conway enabled Bicester & North Oxford 2nd to bowl out Shipton-under-Wychwood 3rd for 131, setting up a seven-wicket win for his side.

Westbury 2nd continued their charge to the Division 8 title with a three-wicket win at Abingdon Vale 3rd.

Charlie Oakey (3-23) and Tom Boardman (3-28) combined to restrict the home side to 141-9 in their 45 overs.

Boardman then hit 62 in Westbury’s reply as they reached 142-7.

In Division 9 South, 13-year-old Freddie Smith top-scored with 49 to help Oxford Downs 3rd to a 79-run win at Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts 3rd.