HORSPATH captain Will Eason felt his side had thrived as slight underdogs in the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup final.

Eason said Horspath failed to hit top form when they lost to Tiddington in the county final of the Village Cup in June, but excelled in the Twenty20 competition. “We have had a pretty tough run, having to beat Aston Rowant, Banbury and then Tew,” said Eason, who led the side in the absence of Adam Krol.

“That has helped us to be honest. We often put ourselves under a lot of pressure, but in these three games we have been able to relax and just play.”

He added: “It was a bit of a punt putting Mark Skelton in to bat at No 3.

“We know that he can play aggressively. If he was in there doing that, he could get us ahead of the rate.

“He took his chance and got us over the line.

“I thought their spinners bowled really well. It may have been a tight game if they had had a third one.”

Tew skipper Andy Harris said: “We made a below par score.

“We started off pretty well, but then lost a few wickets in clusters, which put us behind the eight-ball.

“With our bowling attack I still backed us to defend 140.

“They had one player who got lucky. On another day, he could have been out first ball, but that’s how it goes in cup finals.”