North Devon 18 August 2025

Captain Frankie Crouch

Won by 106 runs

SOA 254 for 3 dec (Alex Ross 92, Hugo Cobham 56, Sam Hicks 41*)

North Devon 148 all out (Sam Florey 4 for 50)

The afternoon at North Devon carried the weight of cloud from the outset. A sky of muted greys settled over the ground, and though the air never broke into outright storm, the match was punctuated by a passing shower that drew the covers between innings and left the grass slick to the touch.

South Oxfordshire Amateurs, sent in by choice, began with a partnership of assurance. Alex Ross, batting with a crispness that marked his 92 from 65 deliveries, struck fourteen fours and three sixes; alongside him, Hugo Cobham’s 56 from 77 balls, with eight fours, gave ballast to their stand of 167 for the first wicket. When they departed in quick succession, it was left to Will Owens and Samuel Hicks to steady the middle. Owens made an unbeaten 28 in patient fashion, while Hicks, with 41 not out from 41 balls and six boundaries, pressed the score forward. Extras too made their ungainly but vital contribution of 37, and after 38 overs the innings was closed at 254 for three declared.

The rain delay between innings lent the resumption a subdued air. North Devon’s reply never truly found momentum against bowling that was varied and persistent. Navindu Vanderbona struck 34, finding the rope five times, and Connor Robson made 23. Later, James Tyson provided a flicker of resistance with 28 from just 11 balls, clearing the boundary twice, but it was a brief rebellion.

The wickets were shared, but Sam Florey’s nine overs told most: four wickets for 50, aided by sharp catches in the field. Jack North’s four overs yielded two wickets for 19, while Pierre du Plessis and Swapnil Kulkarni each chipped in with a single dismissal. Hicks and Imthiyaz claimed one apiece, both in solitary overs that spoke of bowling riches spread deep. The innings ended at 148 all out in the 34th over, with the Amateurs 106 runs to the good.

So the game concluded in the half-light of an English August day: the visitors triumphant, but the cricket shaped as much by the gathering cloud, the break for rain, and the odd gleam of defiance as by the weight of Ross’s runs and Florey’s wickets.