What a fantastic win! Oxford won the toss and put a late arriving Cambridge side in, and Harry Browne and Jack Kelleher opened the bowling.
After the first 2 overs there were 14 on the board, but the opening bowlers began to hit thier strides, and began to put the pressure on the 'Tabs. This pressure was rewarded when Browne got OUCC old boy Robin Thompson to snick off to Hirst behind the stumps for 8 - the pressure was beginning to tell. Rhod Hopes then came on and bowled a wonderful spell of 3-11 off 8, picking up the important wickets of Carson, Deshmukh and thier Blue Deasy with one of the best balls you are likely to see this season. Alex Fisken exerted real control with his leggies as well, finishing with 1-24 from 10. Hopes was to pick up one more in his second spell, finishing with 4-15 from his 10. Sachin Mylavarapu made sure the pressure was kept, but in the last 10 Cambridge picked up the rate, scoring 71. Oxford continued to field well, and with Cambridge finishing on 175, on an increasingly flat wicket, Oxford were confident at tea.
Hassaan Mohamed and Joe Moxham opened up, and weathered some good Cambridge bowling, until Mohamed appeared to run himself out. From here Moxham and Alex McDonald kicked on, but McDonald fell for 13 just when he began to look set. The captain James Hooper came to join Moxham, and from here Cambridge never had a chance. After soaking up the initial pressure, they began to knock off the runs at an easy pace, taking a particular liking to Carson's leg spin and Elton's medium-fast. Progress was good, and the strike was rotated effectively, while bad balls were regularly picked off. In the last ball of the 44th over Hooper hooked Elton for the winning 4. Moxham played fantastically for his chanceless 77*(despite his best efforts to run himself out), and Hooper finished on a chanceless 67*. A great start to the Varsity series for the Authentics - they hope to continue their winning streak against the Free Foresters on Sunday at Marston.
CU Crusaders
R Thompson ct Hirst b Browne 8 (34b)
T Deasy ct Hirst b Hopes 34 (46b, 7x4)
M Carson LBW b Hopes 4 (13b)
A Deshmukh ct Mohamed b Hopes 1 (9b)
A Agarwal ct Kelleher b Fisken 2 (9b)
T Maguire * LBW b Mylavarapu 24 (77b, 1x4)
J Joyce + ct Moxham b Hopes 19 (55b, 2x4)
R Bhopal ct Mohamed b Browne 26 (34b, 3x4)
T Swinn Not out 20 (20b 1x4)
T Elton ct Moxham b Kelleher 12 (11b 1x4)
Extras 25, CUCC Crusaders 175-9
Bowling: Browne 10-0-55-2, Kelleher 10-2-47-1, Hopes 10-5-15-4, Fisken 10-2-24-1, Mylavarapu 10-3-28-1
OU Authentics
HH Mohamed Run Out 1 (14b)
JL Moxham Not Out 77 (103b, 6x4)
AR McDonald ct Maguire b Agarwal 13 (40b)
JKE Hooper * Not Out 67 (105b, 9x4)
Extras 21, OUCC Authentics 178-2
Bowling: Swinn 9-0-25-0, Elton 8-0-42-0, Anderson-Elliot 8-1-23-0, Agarwal 4-1-15-1, Carson 3-0-20-0, Thompson 9-0-33-0, Bhopal 4-0-14-0
