Date: Sunday 15 July 2012

Venue: Bicester & North Oxford CC (Away)

Toss: Oxfordshire won the toss and elected to bowl

Result: Oxfordshire won by 8 wickets

With the team having not played together for six weeks, the match against Oxfordshire was always going to prove to be a difficult one for a generally inexperienced eleven players.

Despite the boost of Lisa Keightley's return to the side, the team picked was not as strong as those selected for the previous 2012 fixtures.  The late call up of Elizabeth Bools and Katherine Mills from the late cancelled Under 13's game, meant that the senior side were grateful to have eleven players on the field.  Despite an inexperienced side, the visiting team performed well against a strong Oxfordshire side.

Having lost the toss, Wiltshire were soon two wickets down with only the addition of 14 runs to the score.  Both batters might consider themselves unlucky, Becky Yeo saw the Oxfordshire slip cling on to a difficult catch in the second over, while Cath Amore was surprised to be given caught behind off a ball that bounced more than expected.  The Oxfordshire side perhaps sensed a collapse, however experienced Keightley and Hannah Morgan steadied the nerves and got the innings back on track.  On a pitch that seemed difficult to score freely on, the two players added 42 runs for the third wicket in 15 overs before Morgan was dragged forward by the spin bowling of Porter and was decided to be out of her crease when wicket keeper Currie took off the bails.

With still over half the innings to be bowled, Wiltshire sought to steady the ship once more with Jemma Beetham coming in to make her senior debut.  The team had no need to worry as Beetham settled in to support Keightley past her 50 and on towards the team century.  The pair had added 29 run in 10 overs before Beetham was unfortunately dedided to be hit in front of the stumps from the bowling of the other Porter in the Oxfordshire side.  Previously Keightley had taken her score past 50 with three runs through extra cover, one of a number of attacking shots through the off side.

With the innings in the final third, Keightley decided to take the attack to the home side and was severe on anything short and wide.  However her attacking nature finally got the better of her, with her score on 59, as she became the second of Currie's two stumping victims.  Vickie Hathway tried to take the attack to the Oxfordshire bowling, hitting the ball strongly in front of square on both sides of the wicket.  However with the fall of her wicket and the teams sixth wicket for 110, the chances of posting a competitive score appeared to have diminshed.

Despite the best efforts of the lower order, the batting powerplay brought with it the final four wickets of the innings and Porter and Norton swept up the tail to leave Wiltshire on 121.

Credit goes to the Oxfordshire bowlers who bowled a good line and length and put pressure on the Wiltshire side.  Opening bowler Wood bowled exceptionally tightly conceeding less that a run an over from her ten.  Her second spell of four overs realised four maidens and one wicket as runs dried up following the loss of Keightley.

The second innings looked similar to the first as Emily Rae squirted a ball under the bat of the Oxfordshire captain Muttitt with the score on only 8.  Despite the quick acceleration from the bat of wicketkeeper Currie, who was exceptionally harsh on anything short or wide of the wicket, the impossible seemed suddenly possible when Rae encouraged opener Todd to slash at a ball outside off stump.  The looping edge carried to the waiting hands of Mills at backward point, and she made a difficult catch look extremely simple.

The pressure was temporarily back on the home side and the next ten overs were going to prove the difference between the two sides.  Instead of folding under the pressure, Currie and Porter batted with great confidence scoring ones and two as they came to them and putting the bad ball away.  Currie used her feet well, especially against the bowling of Keightley, and created scoring opportunites for herself.  The pair ran between the wickets well and, with the exception of a very close LBW decision going with them, accumulated the remaining 77 runs in a chanceless partnership of 18 overs.

Despite the emphatic nature of the result, in a summer ravaged by rain and cancelled games, it was good to have the 1st XI out on the field of play and getting some well needed match practice.  With the T20 competition looming at the end of the month, it was a good opportunity for the side to blow away the cobwebs prior to attempting to defend their twenty overs crown.