Nick Barnett’s dream of re-establishing Bicester as a leading force in Oxfordshire has taken a massive step forward after the club were acccepted into the Oxfordshire Winter league, writes Nick Farrant.

And this week Bicester send out a warning to their rivals after hammering Harwell 2nd 5-0 in their opening match in Division 5.

Matt Symonds, Marc Nelson, Nick Watkins, John Child and Barnett all won in an impressive victory.

“About ten years ago Bicester were a potent force in squash, but that kind of dissolved,” said Barnett, 41, who captains the side.

“I thought ‘It’s time to change that’. I want to build it up to where it was before.

“I would like to grow the talent in the Bicester area. We are trying to get to the point where we have too many good players.

“The fact that we have been placed in Division 5, rather than starting at the bottom in Division 8, is a testament to the players we have got here.

“I think we will do pretty well.”

Barnett, who runs his own IT software company, said: “If we can get people playing competitively then we can start to climb the leagues. I think we are more than capable of being a decent team.”

The squad practise every Sunday at the Bicester & Ploughley Sports Centre, and anyone interested in playing should email Barnett at squash@celsiussoftware.com