Cricket: Sloppy Oxfordshire slip to third successive defeat

The defeat made it three losses in three competitive games this season, following reverses to Huntingdonshire in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy and Shropshire in their opening Minor Counties Championship match.

Such is their moderate form that it is difficult to see where a win is coming from.

Their next assignment in this competition is away to what should be a very powerful Surrey Board side on Thursday. If they field as poorly and bat as unintelligently at the Met Police's Imber Court ground as they did yesterday, then they will be in for an almighty hiding.

Set 220 to win, Oxon finished well short on 146-8 from their 50 overs.

Stewart Laudat top-scored for the home side with 53, but the Rover Cowley man's innings was not one of his best.

Laudat has always scored his runs extremely quickly in two-day championship cricket and he will doubtless continue to do so now it is played over three days.

But in the limited-over game, where the opposition put men on the boundary to block big shots and the onus is on working the ball around to keep the scoreboard ticking over, Laudat is less effective.

Yesterday was a prime example, although he was by no means the only culprit.

Against an attack of spin and medium pace which was ideally suited to keeping the runs down on a slow pitch, the early Oxon batsmen did not look for nearly enough singles.

They put little pressure on the fielders with their running between the wickets, and when they belatedly did so, the target was out of reach.

The result was a foregone conclusion from a long way out.

Earlier, the home side had kept the Kent top order batsmen tied down early on, but they cast off the shackles in the later overs with some occasionally fortuitous hitting and aggressive running.

Oxfordshire, however, did not help their own cause with a number of misfields.

The campaign started so brightly, with victory over Oxford University CCE in a friendly in The Parks, but it now looks like being a very long season indeed.

KENT BOARD XI

J Bowden b Laudat...8

J Tredwell c Hawtin b Adams...5

P Lazenbury run out...72

J Hodgson b Peddy...29

S Iqbal run out...44

L Jenkins c & b Laudat...8

M Alexander not out...6

J Lincoln not out...6

Extras...41

Total (6 wkts, 50 ovs)...219

Fall: 1-23, 2-23, 3-99, 4-192, 5-201, 6-213.

Bowling: Adams 8-1-21-1, Laudat 10-1-44-2, List 10-2-30-0, Jeacock 8-3-18-0, Bellhouse 9-0-58-0, Peddy 5-1-32-1.

OXFORDSHIRE

K Mustow st Alexander b Tredwell...16

A Cook run out...5

S Laudat c Iqbal b Stanford...53

C Knightley c Iqbal b Lazenbury...8

R Williams run out...21

M Bellhouse st Alexander b Stanford...18

L List c Masters b Tredwell...4

I Hawtin not out...4

G Peddy lbw Lazenbury...0

P Jeacock not out...0

Extras...17

Total (8 wkts, 50 ovs)...146

Fall: 1-32, 2-33, 3-64, 4-106, 5-126, 6-138, 7-143, 8-146.

Bowling: Masters 8-1-19-0, Tutt 7-1-13-0, Stanford 10-2-19-2, Tredwell 10-2-37-2, Lazenbury 8-0-28-2, Hodgson 7-0-25-0. TAKE THAT: Kent Board XI's top scorer Paul Lazenbury drives powerfully during his innings of 72 against Oxfordshire QUICK WORK: Oxon wicketkeeper Ian Hawtin sets off to prevent Jamie Hodgson pinching a quick single Pictures: Kevin Harvey Simon sparkles with

stunning record 171 RECORD-BREAKER: Simon Hole, who hit 171 for Oxon Under 17s Picture: Andy Cooper By Russell Smith FREELAND teenager Simon Hole hit what is believed to be a record score for Oxfordshire Under 17s with a brilliant 171 against Bucks at Challow & Childrey.

The 17-year-old's sparkling innings included two sixes and 22 fours and dominated Oxon's total of 258 all out.

Opener Simon made his runs off 212 balls, spending 238 minutes at the crease before being the last man out.

He flayed the bowling to all parts of the ground, while his teammates succumbed at the other end, with only two other batsmen, his 15-year-old brother Stuart, and Danny Harding, reaching double figures.

Simon's tremendous effort finally came to an end when he was caught at extra cover, having previously given just one chance - a sharp return catch to the bowler - when he was on 79.

Oxfordshire Under 17s coach Rupert Evans was glowing in his praise of Simon's superb effort.

"It was a fantastic innings," he said. "It was as good an innings as I have seen in youth cricket. He played really, really well."

Simon's innings came on the first day of Oxon's opening warm-up match against Bucks - and it ultimately proved decisive as they recorded a six-run victory on first innings scores.

Bucks were in trouble at 37-3 at the end of day one and quickly found themselves 46-4 early the next morning.

But they recovered to reach 163-5 before finally being dismissed for 252 off a marathon 123.4 overs, with the last two wickets being run outs.

Stuart Hole, who is on a three-year schoolboy scholarship with Wycombe Wanderers, was the chief wicket-taker with 3-44.

Fellow seamers Jonathon Ponsford (2-60) and Lawrence Houghton (2-24) also performed well with the latter returning 15 maidens in his 26.4 overs.

Oxon Under 17s will take on Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Wiltshire in the ECB County Championship this summer, with the first game against Gloucs at Banbury on July 12 and 13.

OXFORDSHIRE UNDER 17

J Cook b Taj...0

Si Hole c Waugh b Russel...171

C Wynd b Taj...7

A Hemming c Aktar b Hughes...6

D Harding c Hardy b Taj...11

St Hole lbw Russel...22

L Houghton c Aktar b Russel...5

A Wynd lbw Russel...0

B Cook run out...4

J Ponsford lbw Waugh...4

N Ryland not out...0

Extras...28

Total (all out, 68.4 ovs)...258

Fall: 1-7, 2-43, 3-79, 4-114, 5-150, 6-181, 7-183, 8-206, 9-228.

Bowling: Anderson 8-1-40-0, Taj 11-1-48-3, White 14-1-49-0, Hughes 10-3-15-1, Waugh 11-3-33-1, Russel 14.4-1-61-4.

BUCKS UNDER 17

R Aktar b St Hole...0

B Langley c Si Hole b Houghton...42

J Hughes lbw Ponsford...11

E Waugh b J Cook...2

A Russel c St Hole b Ponsford...14

S Hardy c Harding b St Hole...86

J Anderson c & b Houghton...0

A Marlow c Harding b St Hole...3

G White run out...27

R Taj run out...29

G Gallop not out...2

Extras...36

Total (all out, 123.4 ovs)...252

Fall: 1-0, 2-15, 3-22, 4-46, 5-163, 6-163, 7-166, 8-183, 9-241.

Bowling: St Hole 24-9-44-3, Ponsford 24-5-60-2, J Cook 11-6-14-1, Houghton 26.4-15-24-2, B Cook 15-8-32-0, Ryland 2-1-2-0, C Wynd 15-7-42-0, St Hole 6-1-21-0.