Oxfordshire suffered agonising defeats in their final two games against Berkshire and Hertfordshire in the Four Counties Under 23 Tourna- ment.

After opening up with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Bucks, Oxon went down by three runs to Berkshire at Hertford CC with a ball to spare.

And in another absorbing encounter, played at the same venue, they suffered a two-wicket defeat at the hands of hosts Hertfordshire, who won all three of their games to lift the Tom Orford Trophy.

In the match against Berks, Oxon bowled the opposition out for 190.

Shahbaz Ali (4-41) was the most successful bowler, but there were excellent spells from off-spinners Adam Cook (1-18) and Jimmy Phillips (1-21).

In reply, Oxon lost wickets at regular intervals as they inched towards their target.

Opener Robbie Eason top-scored with 37, but Oxon were finally bowled out for 187.

Against Herts, brothers Shahbaz (48) and Nawaz Ali (33) led the way as Oxon made 203-8 off their 55 overs.

Herts were always well in front of the run rate in reply, but good spells from Phillips and belatedly Cook, who both took 3-32, gave them a scare before they clinched victory at 206-8.

**Berkshire U23s bt Oxfordshire U23s by 3 runs

BERKSHIRE U23

T Rose lbw Shahbaz Ali:0

T Fray b Lachlan:44

K Appiah b Launder:5

N Rider run out:23

J Bloodworth c Mohsin Rana b Cook:7

S Bloyce c Cook b Shahbaz Ali:14

J Kingstone b Lachlan:17

N Denning b Phillips:9

M Thomas not out:13

M Glynn c T Smith b Ali:0

J Theunissen b Ali:31

Extras:27

Total (all out, 51.3 ov):190

Fall: 1-0, 2-9, 3-79, 4-101, 5-101, 6-128, 7-145, 8-145, 9-145.

Bowling: Shahbaz Ali 9.4-1-41-4, Launder 11-1-47-1, Mohsin Rana 2-0-13-0, Cook 11-2-18-1, Lachlan 11-0-47-2, Phillips 7-2-21-1.

OXFORDSHIRE U23

R Eason c Kingstone b Theunissen:37

Shahbaz Ali lbw Denning:8

C Smith c Kingstone b Bloyce:9

A Cook b Thomas:25

Nawaz Ali c & b Thomas:7

T Smith run out:22

A Hemming c Appiah b Thomas:9

S Lachlan b Glynn:4

Mohsin Rana c Kingstone b Theunissen:12

S Launder run out:6

J Phillips not out:0

Extras:48

Total (all out, 54.5 ov):187

Fall: 1-22, 2-67, 3-107, 4-112, 5-131, 6-150, 7-161, 8-162, 9-185.

Bowling: Denning 11-0-36-1, Theunissen 10.5-0-44-2, Bloyce 11-0-44-1, Glynn 11-1-22-1, Thomas 11-0-34-3.

**Hertfordshire U23s bt Oxfordshire U23s by 3 wkts

OXFORDSHIRE U23

R Eason lbw b McCrow:26

Shahbaz Ali c Walls b Frazer:48

Nawaz Ali b McCrow:33

A Cook st Pearman b Gurney:26

T Smith c Lowe b McCrow:6

S Lachlan run out:27

P Evans c McCrow b Fan:8

Mohsin Rana b McCrow:6

A Hemming not out:0

S Launder not out:2

Extras:21

Total (8 wkts, 55 ov):203

Fall: 1-76, 2-79, 3-139, 4-153, 5-166, 6-191, 7-201, 8-2-1.

Bowling: Cooper 11-2-41-0, Walls 11-2-42-0, McCrow 11-0-30-4, Frazer 11-2-28-1, Rixson 1-0-3-0, Gurney 9-0-39-1, Fan 9-0-39-1.

HERTFORDSHIRE U23

B Frazer lbw Phillips:56

S Fan c T Smith b Mohsin Rana:12

S Lowe b Phillips:40

D Lowe b Phillips:12

J Rixson b Cook:6

L Molyneux c Shahbaz Ali b Lachlan:21

L Cooper b Cook:13

S McCrow not out:5

T Pearman b Cook:2

K Walls not out:4

Extras:35

Total (8 wkts, 39.1ov):206

Bowling: P Evans 5-0-32-0, Launder 3-1-5-0, Shahbaz Ali 2-0-15-0, Lachlan 5.1-0-33-1, Mohsin Rana 5-0-45-1, Phillips 11-0-32-3, Cook 8-0-32-0.