CHERWELL LEAGUE

Match of the Day

BANBURY 2nd never recovered from being 5-3 and 22-5 as Horspath romped to a six-wicket win that was every bit as easy as the scoreline suggests.

Will Eason made the most of some bowler-friendly conditions to rip through the Banbury top order in the Division 1 match.

The moist atmosphere, dampish pitch and prevailing breeze all helped Eason generate enough swing to leave the visitors reeling.

A partnership of 30 between Ed Phillips and Ben Stafford, a close-season capture from Buckingham Town, took Banbury to 80-6 and briefly gave them hope of posting a competitive total.

But only 15 more runs were added by the last three wickets and their final score of 95 was never going to challenge the home side's powerful batting line-up, which got off to a flying start.

Seamer Olly Wright then intervened to reduce Horspath to 51-4, and Banbury sniffed an upset.

But Adam Krol and Steve Green kept calm and the hosts cemented their position as favourites for the title by sealing victory with more than 30 overs to spare.

Horspath 25pts, Banbury 2nd 4