OXFORD'S season of disappointment in the Minor Counties Championship continued with a lame draw against Wiltshire at Salisbury yesterday.

In a one-innings per side game - Sunday's play was washed out without a ball being bowled - Oxon were set 273 to win from a minimum of 52 overs.

But a middle order collapse in the face of some very ordinary spin bowling saw them subside from 58-0 to 74-4.

With all hope of victory gone, they ended on 180-6, wicket-keeper Ian Hawtin top scoring with a tidy 57.

Oxon have yet to win a Western Division game in the current campaign, and they never really looked like doing it yesterday.

Ragged in the field and uninspired with the ball, they looked nothing like the confident team who won their group in the MCC Trophy earlier in the season.

They will somehow need to rediscover their swagger and sharpness before Sunday's clash with Norfolk at Challow in the quarter-final of that competition.

Oxon had made a solid start to their run chase, but they fell away after Bruce Ellison - fresh from his maiden county ton against Cornwall last week - was caught brilliantly at slip.

Rob Williams top edged a full toss and Luke List then prodded firmly to silly mid on, before Mike Bellhouse made it five ducks in six Championship innings - an astonishingly poor record for a fine player.

Rupert Evans's men looked like they would be swept away, but Hawtin and Graham Savin put on 52 for the fifth wicket to frustrate the home side.

Earlier, Wiltshire had lost the toss and crawled to 118-2 at lunch. But Jimmy Taylor and Rob Wade immediately set about the bowling after the interval.

Former Hampshire batsman Taylor, whose controversial one-off appearance for Thame in the last game of the 1995 season brought about player registration in the Adkin Cherwell League, was out lbw to Shahbaz Ali for 91.

It was a frustrating match for Wiltshire seamer David Moore.

The Birmingham University student, who lives in Shrivenham and will make his debut for Challow in Division 3 of the Cherwell League on Saturday, did not get a bat or a bowl. WILTSHIRE

J Glasson c Arnold b JonesM-I13KR Draper c List b SavinM-I23KR Wade c Ali b EvansM-I81KJ Taylor lbw b AliM-I91KR Bates c Savin b EvansM-I21KS Perrin st Hawtin b JonesM-I25KR Sillence not outM-I12KN Shardlow not outM-I0K ExtrasM-I6K Total (6 wkts 64.3 ovs)...272KFall: 1-34, 2-36, 3-183, 4-239, 5-239, 6-262.

Bowling: Arnold 12-3-30-0, Savin 12-3-29-1, Jones 18-2-54-2, Curtis 5-1-26-0, Evans 13.3-0-87-2, Ali 4-0-40-1.

I Hawtin c Small b SillenceM-I57KB Ellison c Perrin b SmallM-I32KR Williams c Shardlow b SmallM-I1KL List c Wade b DraperM-I1KM Bellhouse c Shardlow b BatesM-I0KG Savin not outM-I48KS Ali lbw b SillenceM-I7KR Evans not outM-I9K ExtrasM-I25K Total (6 wkts)...180KFall: 1-58, 2-60, 3-73, 4-74, 5-126, 6-144.

Bowling: B Taylor 13-0-52-0, Sillence 11-4-25-2, Small 7-0-30-2, Bates 17-5-42-1, Draper 9-4-24-1, Perrin 1-1-0-0.

Wiltshire 5pts, Oxon 5pts

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