Oxfordshire sent out a strong message to the rest of the Unicorns Knockout Trophy teams by clinching a 10-wicket win over Herefordshire in Sunday’s round of fixtures.
Herefordshire, who had beaten Berkshire in the previous round, batted first at Wormsley having lost the toss, and were bowled out for a paltry 103.
Only opener Liam Gwynne had provided some resistance, scoring 44, while four wickets each from Chad Keegan and Luke Ryan meant Oxfordshire were in the field for just 36 overs.
Oxfordshire openers Hugo Darby and Joe White ensured the chase would last nine fewer overs, with scores of 55 and 38 respectively seeing them home comfortably in their tournament opener.
Berkshire made up for their previous loss in Group 4 by beating Buckinghamshire by 25 runs, after opener Michael Roberts scored 101 in their total of 238 for six.
A collective bowling effort from Berkshire then saw their opponents restricted to 213 for seven in the end, this despite Hamza Riazuddin and Dan Hampton notching half-centuries of their own for Buckinghamshire.
Group 3 was seeing big wins on Sunday as well, with Northumberland and Cheshire easily seeing off Lincolnshire and Shropshire respectively.
Jack Burnham’s 86 took Northumberland to 261 for eight, before G Brinton’s 4-33 ensured a 103-run victory with Lincolnshire bowled out inside 44 overs.
Cheshire too batted first, and racked up 329 for six, with Richard Moore hitting an incredible 10 fours and four sixes for his 130.
Shropshire managed a couple of half-century partnerships in the run-chase but were all out eventually on 234 thanks to Daniel Berry’s 4-66.
Wales Minor Counties could not build on their opening win, with Devon easing through by four wickets at Instow. Devon’s Craig Overton top-scored with 71 as they chased down 223 with 4.2 overs left.
In the other Group 1 game, Wiltshire picked up a three-wicket win after initially bowling Dorset out for 217, Ashur Morrison scoring 44 not out in the successful run-chase.
It was another successful chase over in Group 2 where Hertfordshire came through by four wickets against Bedfordshire, whose 204 was scaled in 43 overs by the winners.
Suffolk and Norfolk were forced into a share of the points in their Group 2 match, which had to be abandoned.