OXFORDSHIRE’S long-standing Bernard Tollett and Wilf Bennett competitions are being revamped into a T20 format played on a league basis.

The changes, made by the Oxon Cricket Board, will give each team a minimum of seven games, as opposed to the previous knock-out format Clubs will be encouraged to make each of their games a spectacle, with coloured clothing and boundary music.

There are two groups of eight teams split north and south, playing each other once with a minimum of three home games.

The winners of the groups will face each other for the Bernard Tollett Cup on finals day, with the runners-up battling it out for the Wilf Bennett Trophy.

Paul Humphreys, Oxfordshire’s director for club development, said: “We’ve had a great response to the new format.

“The previous knockout format meant that most clubs played very little competitive T20 cricket, despite it being such an important format in the game.”

The competition starts on June 21 with finals day on August 27.

North group: Banbury, Bicester & North Oxford, Cropredy, Great & Little Tew, Sandford St Martin, Shipton-u Wychwood, Witney Mills, Witney Swifts.

South group: Aston Rowant, Cumnor, Didcot, Horspath, Oxford, Oxford Downs, Thame, Tiddington.