Mike Munday (pictured) claimed his best ever Varsity Match figures as Oxford closed day one in a strong position at The Parks.
The right-arm spinner took 6-77 on what looked a fairly good batting track to help dismiss Cambridge for a below par 313.
Oxford openers Ollie Sadler and Peter Dunbar looked in good nick as they began their reply in positive fashion.
Munday said: "This is my fourth Varsity Match and my previous best was five wickets in my first year at Fenners.
"The key was that I started well. I took two wickets in my first two overs.
"It is a good pitch, so it was a case of not trying too much and not being impatient.
"I was rewarded when I got one skied to mid-off.
"I didn't bowl any magic balls, it was just bowling consistently with a few vari- ations."
Munday added: "We would have looked to bat if we won the toss, but to get them out for 313 we would have taken that before the start of the day.
"We still need to bat well. We will look to bat once and put 500 plus on the board, but that's a long way away."
Cambridge could have been in real trouble had it not been for a 133-run sixth-wicket partnership between James Chervak and captain Tom Savill.
Some tight bowling from Munday, Nick Woods and Ed Morse reduced the visitors to 122-5 at one stage.
But Chervak's 89 off 148 balls and Savill's 52 steadied the ship.
However, Cambridge lost their last five wickets for just 58 runs as Munday completed his haul.
Savill's men will need to bowl well today to stop a run that has seen Oxfored win the last three encounters by an innings.
The skipper looked lively in his five overs yesterday, but Sadler and Dunbart had little trouble despatching Robin Kemp to the boundary.
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