Oxfordshire County Cricket Club
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Oxfordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties Championship in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Oxfordshire.
The club is based at (details needed) and also plays matches around the county at (details needed).
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class game. At present, Oxfordshire competes in the Western Division of the Minor Counties Championship.
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[edit] Honours
- Minor Counties Championship (4) - 1929, 1974, 1982, 1989; shared (0) -
- MCCA Knockout Trophy (0) -
[edit] Earliest cricket
Cricket probably reached Oxfordshire by the end of the 16th century. Although "not cricket", a 1523 reference to stoolball has been found (see Rowland Bowen's history) re a designated field in Oxfordshire.
Dr Samuel Johnson stated that he played cricket during his time at Oxford University and he was there in 1729 for one year only. This is the earliest date for cricket being played in the county.
One of the earliest references to cricket in Oxfordshire was in the Reading Mercury on Monday 4 October 1779: "On Tues. Oct 5 at Henley, the County of Berks v the County of Oxford, for £25 a side". This is the first time we read of an Oxfordshire county team. Berkshire was rated first-class at the time but this was a minor match.
[edit] Origin of club
There was a county organisation in 1787 according to Wisden. The present Oxfordshire CCC was founded on 14 December 1921.
[edit] Club history
Oxfordshire has won the Minor Counties Championship four times. It won the title outright in 1929, 1974, 1982 and 1989.
Oxfordshire has never won the MCCA Knockout Trophy since its inception in 1983.
[edit] Famous players
The following Oxfordshire cricketers also made an impact on the first-class game:
- Buck Divecha
- Charles Williams (cricketer), later Lord Williams of Elvel, sometime UK government minister
- John Arnold
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians - various publications
- Cricket: History of its Growth and Development by Rowland Bowen
- Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket by G B Buckley
- Hamlyn A-Z of Cricket Records by Peter Wynne-Thomas
- Playfair Cricket Annual : various issues
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack (annual): various issues
| Minor counties of English cricket |
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Western Division: Berkshire | Cheshire | Cornwall | Devon | Dorset | Herefordshire | Oxfordshire | Shropshire | Wales Minor Counties | Wiltshire |
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Eastern Division: Bedfordshire | Buckinghamshire | Cambridgeshire | Cumberland | Hertfordshire | Lincolnshire | Norfolk | Northumberland | Staffordshire | Suffolk |
