Horspath Cricket Club News story

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Horspath 4th lift Steve Dixon Memorial Cup in style

22 Aug 2023

CAPTAIN Craig Wharton and Tom Smith hammered unbeaten half-centuries as Horspath 4th lifted the Steve Dixon Memorial Cup with a dominant ten-wicket win over holders Bledlow Ridge 2nd in the final at Fringford.
Horspath took charge of the competition's decider for Cherwell League Tier 6 sides from the moment Wharton won the toss and put Ridge in on a slow-paced pitch.
His bowlers maintained a tight rein to hold Ridge to 131-8 off 40 overs. Their total looked well short of par as Wharton and Smith showed by each making 63 not out as Horspath raced to victory at 132-0 with 15.1 overs to spare.
With Fringford's ground providing a good setting for the contest, Stuart Berry got Horspath off to the perfect start with his first delivery of the second over swinging in to bowl Ridge captain Jovan Sahota and make it 1-1.
Berry struck again when Freddie Grimmit edged into Wharton's gloves to leave Ridge 12-2 and Horspath were firmly in control.
Opener Charlie Carter and John Gardiner set about repairing the damage against the experienced duo of Adrian Manger and Robin Pykett, who held Ridge to 47-2 at the halfway point with the Bucks club finding fours had to come by with big boundaries square of the wicket.
The pair had put on 71 for the third wicket when Azlan Sharif ended their stand with Gardiner well caught by Paul Hicks at long off for 47.
The Horspath off-spinner then accepted a sharp return catch down to his left-hand side to remove Carter for a patient 39 before bowling Simon Lloyd two balls later to make it 100-5 in the 33rd over.
James Crosby returned to the attack and got among the wickets when Hicks pouched his second catch at long off to dismiss Stu Podmore.
Sharif switched ends before claiming his fourth victim when Ben Hiliary lobbed back a simple caught and bowled chance, before Crosby bowled Ben Frost to make it 117-8.
Mo Amin (16no) played some nice shots to take Ridge, who were wearing shirts made specially for the occasion with the fixture embroidered upon them, to their final total. But Horspath were able to come off at the end of the innings feeling more than satisfied with their work.
Sharif returned excellent figures of 4-33 with Berry (2-15) and Crosby (2-19) the other wicket-takers, while Manger and Pykett conceded 30 and 34 runs respectively from their eight overs apiece.
Wharton set the tone for Horspath's reply by whipping the third delivery through mid-wicket for four, reaching the milestone of 500 league and cup runs for the season in the process.
With the captain employing his trademark square cut to good effect and also scoring well through the covers, while Smith drove powerfully down the ground, the pair took the score to 40-0 off 10 overs.
Wharton was the first to reach fifty with two runs down to third man in the 18th over as the duo ran well between the wickets, before a four brought up the century partnership two overs later.
Horspath were racing towards their target by now and Smith completed a fine half-century with a single out to the mid-wicket boundary.
With victory in sight, the game ended in slightly curious fashion after Smith was caught at mid-on off an above waist-height full toss from Hiliary.
The umpires eventually deemed it to be a no ball and a free hit, which the Horspath opener duly dispatched over long on for six to clinch the cup in style.
Wharton's runs came off 77 balls and included nine fours, while Smith faced 74 deliveries and hit seven fours and a six.
Wharton was named man of the match for his innings and leadership with league chairman Brian Standish making the presentations.
With the cup in the bag, Horspath will now look to complete a double as they chase the Division 6A title.