Captain Max Mannering was the star of the show for Oxfordshire Under 14s as they edged a low-scoring ECB Under 14 Cup clash against Northamptonshire by four wickets at Kettering.

The victory moved Oxon up to fourth in their group, and with five matches still to play, their fate is in their own hands.

Northants won the toss and opted to bat first.

And they lost an early wicket when Patrick McDuell was bowled by seamer Tom Costley for nine.

Drew Brierley, Northants’ other opener, batted with great maturity on a pitch which offered variable, and often very low bounce, and he ground his way to 40 before falling to a caught and bowled chance from left-arm spinner Sam Haselgrove.

But it was the introduction of Mannering himself that really turned the screw.

In nine accurate and probing overs, the off-spinner returned superb figures of 5-8 to reduce the home side to 86-9.

A spirited last-wicket stand of 24 between Jack Bolsover and Tom Young saw Northants to 110 all out with three overs left.

Oxon’s reply started in identical fashion to the home side as opener Nick Lancaster fell for nine.

But, led by Costley, who scored a patient 40, Oxon always had their noses in front of the required rate.

A brief wobble saw Oxon fall to 67-5 as spinner Jack Keeping claimed 3-10 in a seven-over spell.

However, unlike the home side, Oxon’s lower middle order dug deep.

Callum Russell and Hugo Campbell Harris finished unbeaten to see Oxon to victory in the 44th over.

They are next in action against Herefordshire tomorrow at Banbury, when victory could move them into the top two.