Aston Rowant have been accused of “pricing themselves out of the market” after Oxfordshire’s Minor Counties Championship match against Herefordshire in August was moved to Banbury.

Five county youth games – including the ECB Under 17 Cup matches against Bucks on July 21 and against Huntingdonshire on August 11 – will also now be played at other venues.

It comes after the Oxfordshire Cricket Board baulked at paying £150 a day to hire the ground.

OCB secretary Peter O’Neill said: “It is very sad really.

“We like to play at as many venues as we can, but the money we get doesn’t increase and we have got to do the best we can with it.

“If clubs want to price themselves out of the market that is entirely up to them.”

O’Neill added: “Basically it started off when they wanted to charge £150 for ground hire and £4 a head for an under 11 girls game, and we said no way we would we expect to pay that.

“They asked to host these games, and then it is just from an economical point of view we cannot afford that sort of money.

“No-one else charges that sort of money at all.

“Under 11s would only have two sandwiches each and a mug of squash and they wanted £4.”

Rowant hosted the pre-season one-day friendly between Oxon and Bucks in April.

And O’Neill added: “They charged us ground hire which we split and I said to the Bucks guy this is a bit heavy, but because it was £75 each we paid it.

"To pay that sort of figure – especially for an under 11 game – is just out of the question really.”

Rowant will still host the match between Oxfordshire Under 16s and the England Learning Disability team on Sunday, June 16 – a game the England and Wales Cricket Board will pay for.

The Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup and Wilf Bennett Trophy finals – run by the OCB – are due to take place at Rowant in September.

No-one at Rowant was available to comment.