Following the return of the squad from the India pre-season tour, the OUCC Blues could not have picked a more picturesque location in which to begin their 2011 campaign than the late Sir Paul Getty's Wormsley cricket ground. In anticipation of very strong opposition in the form of the Unicorns (the ECB's Amateur XI for the domestic 40 over competition), the Blues squad had been reinforced for the day by Sussex CCC's Chris Nash, former Blues Captains Jamie Dalrymple of Middlesex CCC and Paul McMahon of Cambridgeshire, together with Oxfordshire's Wesley Morrick.
OUCC Captain Raj Sharma lost the toss and saw the Unicorns bat first. Knappett and Lett led the charge for the Unicorns, hitting a number of boundaries during the first two powerplays, going at almost nine runs per over. OUCC spinners Pascoe and McMahon pegged the Unicorns back however, taking three wickets apiece (3/47 and 3/35 respectively), including a brilliant boundary-rope balancing catch from Bryan to remove Knappett for a dazzling even 100. Special mention must also go to Westaway for his tidy efforts behind the stumps in his first appearance for the Blues.
Despite the Unicorns' rapid start then, the tumble of wickets towards the end led to a close at 278/8 from the allotted 40 overs, a large but by no means impossible target for the Blues to chase. Unfortunately the Blues pursuit was quickly de-railed by the early loss of the top three batsmen, including imports Dalrymple and Nash, to some probing pace bowling. Captain Sharma played some attractive shots to reach 30 before being lbw to Rashid. With the game seemingly lost at 85/6 after 20 overs Richards and Pascoe threw caution to the wind and combined for an enterprising 100 run partnership, Richards hitting 10 fours to reach a superb 50 in only 33 balls, Pascoe making a more subdued 51 from 46, before being forced to retire hurt. All the Unicorns bowlers, bar Benham, picked up at least a wicket each. Oxford finished their 40 overs at 206/8, and were by no means disgraced in going down to a very strong side by 72 runs.
The Unicorns fixture proved ideal preparation for OUCC's next challenges, which include the Town vs Gown Trophy match against Oxford Cricket Club, and the start of the BUCS championship.
