REIGNING champions Bicester and North Oxford will be aiming to retain their title under new captain Darryl Woods.

He takes over from David Wise, who has stepped aside after last year's triumphant season.

Left-arm seamer Ali Shah joins from Cowley and should inject some variety into the Bicester attack, which should see pacemen Richard Whitton and David Slade also vying for places.

Batsman Adrian Smart comes to Bicester via Weston-super-Mare, and Gary Palmer and Dave Taylor should be back to help out.

Bicester open the season with a big clash at home to last year's runners-up Banbury.

They have much the same squad which helped them to the second spot last season.

Jason de la Pena returns to Banbury after playing for Kent 2nds, and skipper Martin Thomas will be hoping for a better season from batsman Andrew Sabin.

Oxford's return to the top flight coincides with the club's ambitious plans to move to new facilities at Marston, which it is hoped will attract new talent.

The loss of Stuart Waterton is a blow to skipper Pat Jobson, but he will be able to call on newcomers John Roycroft and Alex Pike to help out with bat and ball respectively while the club seek a temporary 1st XI home. Rover Cowley welcome bowler Ali Sawal and opening bat James France to Roman Way this season.

However, Chris Thomas and Murray Cox are unlikely to be playing regularly as they have moved away, and David Hale's golf is making greater demands on his leisure time.

But for losing points as the result of a registration oversight, the club would have finished in the top half of the 1997 table, and will no doubt be looking to prove a point this year.

Thame have lost the formidable bowling skills of Tim Scriven this season, but pacemen Gary Porter and Ian McStay will continue to pose a threat and they should be assisted by the all-round talent of John Talbot and young Ed Barnett.

Marcel Khan joins as wicket- keeper/batsman, and skipper Rob Brooks will no doubt be aiming to make another substantial contribution with the bat.

Shipton-under-Wychwood's new captain Stuart Gillett will be hoping that the club's successes in local and national cricket continue this season.

Jon Hartley's move north means that he will not be available for weekend matches. In addition, Jason Constable is nursing a broken finger, and work commitments in faraway places will limit Sam Mendes's appearances for the club.

In happier vein, vice captain Shaun Miller will be licking his fingers in anticipation of some drier pitches, and Paul Hemming's recruitment from Kingston will be a formidable addition to Shipton's batting line-up. Steve Partington continues at the helm for Banbury Twenty, and will be welcoming Dave Clarke, a middle order batsman who played for the county colts last year, to the fold.

The loss of several senior players last year set the club back somewhat, but should give Partington the chance to groom some of Twenty's budding youngsters for stardom.

Leighton Buzzard skipper Steve Lines is looking forward to putting the talents of all-rounder Matthew Mardell from Dunstable Town and Aussie opening bowler Paul Johnson to work, and in the longer term the club's flourishing youth section should ensure a regular supply of promising material.

The recent loss of Aylesbury skipper Martin O'Brien to golf has left the club to make some eleventh hour appointments for the season.

No decision has yet been made on who will take over the reins, and responsibility and expectations will fall on the heads of the club's senior players.

Martin's likely successor is all-rounder James Gear, who will appreciate assistance from players including returning former Aylesburians Simon Cooley and Mike Beaumont.

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