Oxfordshire Colts had a day of toil in the field as Hertfordshire reached 282-5 on the first day of their ECB Under 19 game at Long Marson yesterday.

Oxon skipper Robbie Eason decided to field first on winning the toss, but although Ben France got an early breakthough, the batsmen rarely looked in trouble.

Sam Fran and Tom Cranston each worked their way to centuries, but were made to work hard by spinners Kevin Crawford and Ian Evans.

Evans's brother Phil was also economical, while Ben Thompson also played his part some steady medium pace bowling.

Hertfordshire had just 14 overs available today to reach a defendable score against the powerful Oxon batting line-up.

Scorecard:

HERTFORDSHIRE

First Innings

S Fran b Evans109

L Molyneux c Bingham b France8

T Cranston c Crawford b Thompson101

D Horton b France34

T Bull retired hurt2

L Humphrey c & b Thompson1

J Costello not out6

Extras21

Total (5 wkts)282

Bowling: Rana 9-4-29-0, P Evans 15-3-31-0, Thompson 18-5-41-2, France 14.4-2-31-2, Pike 4-0-14-0, Crawford 23-7-51-0, I Evans 24-2-73-1.