OXFORDSHIRE Under 17s were denied the ECB County Championship Division 3B title by a stubborn Buckingham-shire side in their final league match of the season at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes.

The result means Oxon go into next week’s play-off match against Wiltshire in second place, but their efforts deserved far more against a negative Buckinghamshire side, who made no attempt to go for victory in a rain-affected game.

Oxon lost the toss on the first day and were put in to bat, and made steady progress to reach 111-1 just after lunch before the wet weather brought an early end to the day.

On day two, Oxon knew they had 87 overs to bat, and set about creating a target for Bucks to chase.

They finished on 246-8 dec, with Harry Smith showing great patience to score 103 as Bucks packed the boundary with fielders to prevent quick run-scoring.

With Oxon needing ten points to secure the divisional crown, leaving Bucks a generous target of 247 from 65 overs seemed to be the right thing to do.

But despite that, the home side quickly made their intentions known that they would block for a draw.

They crawled along to 181-5 from the 65 overs, despite Oxon’s attacking fields, making for a very dull day’s cricket and a disappointing draw.

It meant Oxon finished just two points adrift of divisional winners Hertfordshire.

They will look to end their season on a high with a second-place play-off match against Wiltshire next week at Great & Little Tew.