Under 17 boys

OXFORDSHIRE Under 17s produced a superb display to beat Berkshire on first innings at Radley College and move a step closer to the ECB County Championship Division 3 title.

Chasing down a daunting total of 283, Oxon got over the line by two wickets to move further clear at the top.

The visitors won the toss on a scorching hot first day and batted first.

But Oxfordshire bowled and fielded well, chipping away at Berkshire and bowling them out for 283 in 85.4 overs.

Firoz Beg top-scored with a fluent 58, but Miles Hammond’s 3-58 from 24 probing overs kept Berkshire in check.

Joe Butcher and Josh Megson also bowled well with two wickets apiece.

With 17 overs left to bat, Oxfordshire lost two wickets early on, sending in Jason Cardy as night watchman, and he negotiated five tricky overs.

On day two, Cardy fell early on, but Hammond and Curtly Slatter set about the run chase in positive fashion.

When Hammond fell though, followed by captain Adam Muttitt and Slatter for a fine 89 just after lunch, Oxon were still nearly 100 runs adrift with only four wickets left.

Henry Sensecall quickly followed, but an eighth-wicket stand of 75 between Angus Spittles and Megson got Oxon within eight runs of victory.

Megson finished unbeaten on 51 and Sasha Barras 18 as Oxon passed the target, declaring on 303-8 after securing maximum batting points.

In search of extra bonus points, Oxon took three wickets in Berkshire’s second innings, which closed on 157-3, Hammond claiming 3-30.

SCORE SUMMARY

BERKSHIRE

First Innings: 283 (F Beg 58, D Aktar 32, D Marles 32, C Green 32, M Hammond 3-58).

OXFORDSHIRE

First Innings: 303-8 (C Slatter 89, J Megson 51no, A Spittles 38, O’Dell 3-71, Kazmi 3-66).

BERKSHIRE

Second Innings: 157-3 (D Aktar 56, F Beg 52no).

Oxfordshire 19pts, Berkshire 8