LIVE FROM LORD’S CRICKET GROUND: Oxford victorious despite Dalgleish’s endeavour

Oxford win both matches.

THE TAB’S VERDICT:

Cambridge will feel very disappointed with that batting effort. They bowled and fielded well to restrict Oxford to 192. All the bowlers took wickets but Emerton (3-50) and Dalgleish (2-25) were the stand out bowlers. Oxford responded with some excellent quick bowling; Jones and Marsden both claimed 3 wickets. Crucially their medium pacers and spinners tied Cambridge down in the middle overs and so when it was time to force the issue, wickets tumbled. Dalgleish played excellently for his 77 but received little support. Congratulations to Oxford who have now won all four cricket matches against Cambridge this year. Their women completed an emphatic victory on the Nursery ground earlier in the afternoon. The teams resume battle on the 16th July with the 4-day Varsity Match at the University Parks in Oxford.

LIVE BLOG:

18.24 WICKET! Dalgleish lbw b Jones for 77. OXFORD WIN. That’s it the game is up. Dalgleish, who played brilliantly all day, is finally beaten. Cambridge all out for 140.

18.23 Izhan Khan comes out to bat.

18.22 WICKET! Waghorn b Marsden for 1. The writing’s on the wall for Cambridge. They are now 9 wickets down after Waghorn’s defences are breached. Another wicket for Marsden. Cambridge 140-9.

18.17 WICKET! Emerton c Westaway b Marsden for 1. Another edge that is safely pouched by the ‘keeper. Cambridge in real trouble now at 137/8 with 47 more needed off 23.

18.16 The sun has emerged once again

18.12 Dalgleish may be stranded before he can complete his century. He’s on 75* currently.

18.11 WICKET! Tice b Jones for 5. Olly Jones, the other opening bowler, has returned and bowls a great yorker to bowl Tice around his legs. Emerton skips to the crease.

18.08 As the shadows begin to lengthen so too do Cambridge’s odds of winning. But this over has gone for 11. Tice with a desperate dive to return for a second run on the last ball of the over. 50 off 30 needed.

18.05 After those two wickets the score is 123-6 after 31 overs. Cambridge need 61 off 36 to stop Oxford repeating last year’s triumph.

18.02 WICKET! Patel st Westaway b Gnodde for 0. Avish Patel advances slightly to try and put Gnodde off his length but misses the ball. Westaway completes a good stumping. Dalgleish is still there for Cambridge but it running out of partners.

17.59 WICKET! Bardiola b Marsden for 8. Marsden has his first wicket of the day as Bardiola misses a straight one. Cambridge had been accelerating. All the pressure on Dalgleish now to see his side home.  117-5. 67 needed off 43 balls.

17.54 A good over for Cambridge as Bardiola guides a four down to third man and Dalgleish hits a 6 into the middle tier. 75 off 48 now. needed. Cambridge are 109-4.

17.51 50 for Dalgleish. The Cambridge number three has a half-century to go with his wickets earlier in the day. The opening bowler Marsden’s comeback over goes for 8 as Cambridge try to step it up. 95-4. 89 needed off 54.

17.44 WICKET! Webster c Westaway b Gnodde. Webster’s stay is eventful but short. He edges one through to the keeper attempting a cut. That concludes the 27th over. Cambridge are 89-4.

17.41  Cambridge beginning to take the initiative. Dalgliesh hits a crunching drive for four and they run plenty of singles. 9 from the over. 85-3 after 26 overs.

17.36 Webster has clearly been promoted to try and increase the run rate. He hits two big shots but can’t find the boundary. 77-3 after 25 overs. 109 runs off 72 deliveries.

17.34 WICKET! Hearne b Hughes for 9. Another bowling change and another wicket. Hearne tries to force the issue through the legside and the ball sneaks through. Chris Webster is the new man in. 72-3 after 24 overs.

17.30 More tight bowling from Oxford so Cambridge continue to crawl along. 702 after 23. 14 overs left and still 114 more runs required for victory.

17.27 We’re through 22 overs with Cambridge on 68-2. Acceleration is desperately needed as the required run rate is starting to climb.

17.25 More tidy bowling from Gnodde. 65-2. 118 off 96 needed.

17.23 Cambridge start to take the initiave as Dalgliesh hits a four through extra cover. 62-2. 121 off 102 required.

17.20 Oxford bring on Gnodde a left arm spinner. His first over is very tidy and so the pressure grows on Cambridge. 55-2 (19 overs). 128 runs needed off 108 balls.

17.16 Oxford are continuing with the same two bowlers: Claughton, the offspinner, and Dawes, the medium pacer. Cambridge are 54-2 after 18 overs. They need a further 129 runs of the last 19 overs. It’s doable but an increase in scoring rate is needed.

17.14 Fun times in the JP Morgan Media Centre.

17.10 WICKET! Abbot lbw b Dawes for 19. The drop doesn’t cost much as Abbott plays around a straight one and the umpire raises his finger. That’s the first wicket for the medium pacer Dawes.

17.07 DROP! Abbott is dropped at cover again! Is this part of an Oxford ploy to keep the slow scoring opener in?

17.04 Cambridge crawling along. They’re 37-1 off 15 overs.

17.01 The target has been revised to 184 off 37 overs. It’s still a tough ask for Cambridge though…

16.56 The players are back on. Dalgleish is going nicely with Abbott solid at the other end. We need 20 overs to constitute a game so Oxford may look to hurry through these next 7 overs.

16.50 As the hover cover was being manoeuvred on, one of the groundsmen slipped and was partially swallowed by the cover. He’s back on his feet now.

16.49 Just as the Cambridge batsmen got into their stride, the rain makes a predictable reappearance.

16.45 Some runs, at last. A good over takes the total to 24. Great running between the wickets, as the scorecard shows:

16.40 From our lofty perch in the Media Centre, if the Oxford fielders look like stick insects, the Cambridge batsmen might best be described as snails. Their run rate is excruciating. SCORE SOME RUNS.

16.37 Not going well for Cambridge, having scored a grand total of 17 runs so far.

16.33 Tight fielding from Oxford has resulted in a cripplingly-low Cambridge run rate of 1.9 an over, as we end over 9.

16.23 Crowd roars (as far as a non-major match day Lord’s crowd can roar) as Dalgleish whacks it for four. 13-1.

16.21 End of the over; Cambridge still on a grand total of 9 runs.

16.16 WICKET. Oxford’s Jones bowls Day out. Dalgleish is next (third) in the Cambridge batting order.

16.11 Marsden bowling for Oxford. His run up is enormous – so far to no avail in terms of wickets, but he’s keeping Cambridge’s run rate down. At the end of the fourth over the scoreboard is 9-0.

16.09 The weather is darkening.

16.04 Day and Abbott are opening the batting for Cambridge. Cambridge 4 for 0.

15.59 Nice view from the Media Centre.

15.52 PLAY RESUMES; Cambridge batting.

15.22 END OF INNINGS – Oxford 180-9 off 40 overs. A productive last over for Oxford but they’re still 50 runs shy of par. We’ll back in 30 minutes to bring you the Cambridge chase.

15.18 WICKET! Marsden run out for 6. Never a run there but it still needs some good fielding from Webster and Abbott to run out Marsden at the bowlers end. Oxford 180-9 off 39.2 overs.

15.16 The sun darts behind a cloud much to the ire of Wells. #WellsWeatherReport.

15.08 WICKET! Bishnoi c Khan b Dalgleish for 26. Oxford going hell for leather and Bishnoi strikes one to the long midwicket boundary but it falls short and the catch is taken. Oxford 165-8 off 37 overs.

15.05 When it comes to running between the wickets, there’s room for improvement. Take note, Oxford.

15.01 Wells Weather Update: Lord’s is basking in resplendent sunshine as Wells now complains that it is too hot. “The UV rays are penetrating by blazer”  he remarks.

 

14.55 Oxford’s Bishnoi is going well at one end but he’s not getting much support. Only six overs to go and Oxford are 152-7.

14.50 WICKET! Claughton c Tice b Khan for 0. Another Pembroke wicket! This time Izhan’s left arm spin finds the outside edge and Tice makes no mistake behind the stumps. Oxford reeling now at 144-7.

14.46 WICKET! Gnodde c Abbott b Waghorn for 6. Another great catch from Cambridge. This time from skipper Abbott off a leg side flourish. Alex Waghorn looks delighted with his first wicket off the day. Oxford are really in trouble now. 143-6 with 8 overs left.

14.35 Crowd favourite Alex Waghorn is bowling again.

14.30 WICKET! Jones c Khan b Emerton for 1. The very next ball Jones goes for a hook to the long boundary and is caught by Khan! Oxford in trouble now but they survive the hat-trick ball. 124-5 (28 overs)

14.28 WICKET! Hughes c Hearne b Emerton for 29. A leading edge from Oxford’s no.3 is caught brilliantly by a sprawling mid on.

14.23 Time for a Wells Weather Update: WE HAVE BLUE SKY. REPEAT: BLUE SKY.

14.22 We’re now 26 overs down and Oxford are 112 for 3.

14.17 WICKET! Winter LBW b Emerton for 17. Cambridge have the breakthrough they were looking for as their gun bowler gets Oxford’s gun batsman, Matt Winter. #winterisgoing

14.07 A tight over from Patel keeps Oxford in check. Meanwhile, the Women’s Match has yet to start due to the conditions. They will start their now-30 over match at 14.30.

14.01 Oxford continue to make steady progress. Emerton is back on as Cambridge search for another wicket. Winter top edges a six over the short boundary to brind up the hundred. 102-2 (22 overs)

13.51 Here comes the new batsman…

13.43 WICKET! Heywood c Dalgleish b Patel for 19. The change works immediately as Patel finds a leading edge which is taken well by Dalgleish at cover. Matt Winter, Oxford’s best batsmen, now comes to the crease. 75-2.

13.41 Avish Patel, the leg spinner, is on to bowl from the Nursery End.

13.38 Dalgleish and Khan continue to bowl well but Oxford are still finding the boundary regularly. Patrick Tice, the wicketkeeper, is standing up to both the medium pacer and the spinner.  73-1 (16 overs).

13.27 It’s suddenly got a bit colder which displeases Wells. Hughes hits a lovely straight drive to take the score to 63-1 (13 overs)

13.26 Dalgleish continues to bowl well as Oxford are pegged back slightly. 58-1 (12 overs)

13.16 WICKET! Escott lbw b Dalgleish  for 32. The change works as Dalgleish gets one to straighten on the opener. 57-1. 

13.13 Another bowling change as Tit Hall’s Dalgleish comes on to bowl left arm medium.

13.11 Emerton loses his discipline as he fires a couple balls down the legside. Oxford have picked up the rate now: 54-0 (9 overs).

13.06 The JP Morgan Media Centre: like heaven, it is currently unattainable to your poor Tab journalists, who do not have press passes.

13.02  2 beautiful struck boundaries from Oxford’s Escott takes the score to 35-0 off 6 overs. There’s a bowling change as Pembroke’s Izhan Khan replaces Pembroke’s Waghorn at the Nursery End.

12.56 The Women’s Match is yet to start. It should start at 1.30. Meanwhile, the men’s game has been further reduced to 40 overs. Oxford hit another boundary to take the score to 23-0 (5 overs). A solid start.

12.54 Emerton’s second over is a good one but Oxford still manage a cover drive to the long boundary for two. Oxford 18-0 (4 overs).

12.49 Dropped catch by Cambridge’s captain, Jamie Abbott,at first slip after Oxford’s Escott edges the ball from Waghorn. Two balls later Escott hits a cover drive for four. Eurghh. Oxford 14-0 (3 overs).

12.47 Good over from Emerton. Waggers bowling again now, third over.

12.45 We’re into the second over now and Connor Emerton is bowling.

12.43 A wayward start from Waghorn, as he bowls four wide balls in the first over. Oxford 7-0 (i.e. seven runs, zero wickets).

12.37 Alex Waghorn, of the great Pembroke College, to open the bowling for Cambridge.

12.35 Another local meteorological report from the newly-launched The Tab Lord’s: the sky is brightening and the rain ending. Looks like we might be able to start soon – and, who knows, a ball may even be bowled.

12.29 And, before a ball is bowled, everyone retreats back into the Pavilion. On the plus side, the hovercover has reappeared, hovering across the outfield, coming to a stop on the square, where it will likely be sitting for at least ten minutes until the shower has passed.

12.28 And it’s raining again!

12.27 And we’ve begun!

12.21 The hovercover is lols. It has hovered off the square to reveal a green and patchy looking wicket. We understand that the University Match has been given the worst wicket on the square by the groundsmen, who are rather more concerned about England’s match with Pakistan in a few weeks. On the bright side, the wicket is so far over to one side, that we are in heckling distance.

12.19 Won’t speak too soon, but the hovercover is moving so it looks like we’re about to begin. It’s a 41 overs per side game.

12.11 And the covers are off! It looks like we will start at 12.30. 

11.45 The rain seems to have stopped. No word as to when play might start.

11.41 The rain has intensified further.

11.35 Cambridge are doing some fielding practice.

11.30 The drizzle has now turned into rain. Typical day at the cricket so far.

11.29 While we wait for the drizzle to abate, here are the teams.

CAMBRIDGE

Jamie Abbot – Captain – Magdalene

Tom Day – Girton

Izhan Khan – Pembroke

Alex Waghorn – Pembroke

Avish Patel – Robinson

Angus Dalgleish – Trinity Hall

Connor Emerton – Jesus

Shivaan Bardiola – Clare Hall

Patrick Tice – Wicketkeeper – Fitzwilliam

Alex Hearne – St John’s

Chris Webster – Girton

OXFORD 

Robbie Heywood – Worcester

Dan Escott – Lincoln

Matty Hughes* – Hertford

Matt Winter* – St Anthony’s

Owain Jones* – St Edmund Hall

Bhavya Bishnoi – St Anthony’s

Jamie Gnodde* – Pembroke

Tom Claughton* – Magdalen

Sam Westaway * – Green Templeton

Johny Marsden* (c) – St Hilda’s

Mike Dawes – St Hugh’s

CAMBRIDGE

Sophie Abbott – St. Catharine’s

Frankie Barber – Captain – Trinity

Mercedes Baxter-Chinery – Sidney Sussex

Alisha Cramer – Hughes Hall

Ellie Edlmann – Wolfson

Alice Elgar – Girton

Katie Gibson – Pembroke

Maya Hanspal – Pembroke

Charlotte Kenealy – St. Catharine’s

Clementine Makower – St. John’s

Holly Tasker – Gonville & Caius

12th Man: Christine Viney – St. Catharine’s

OXFORD

Sian Kelly- St Catz

Tina Gough – St Hilda’s

Sarah Attrill – St Catz

Immy Brown – Captain- – Mansfield

Brett Aroseisaroseisa Rosenberg – St John’s

Shona McNab – Corpus

Sam Moore – Worcester 

Rae Bowles – Kellogg 

Anne Kelly – Merton

Helen Baxendale – Hertford

Alycia Jewes – St Hilda’s