CRICKET: Shipton will build on success (From Witney Gazette)

CRICKET: Shipton will build on success

2:38pm Wednesday 2nd November 2011 in Cricket

Captain Simon Hole lifted the Division 1 trophy at the Spread Eagle Hotel, Thame to set the seal on Shipton-under-Wychwood’s “great year”, writes Russell Smith.

The west Oxfordshire club won the league championship together with the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup and the Oxfordshire Cricket Board’s District Cup all in the space of an amazing 24 hours in early September.

After receiving the trophy on Friday night from guest speaker Pat Murphy, the BBC Radio 5 Live sports presenter, Hole said: “If we had sat down in April and said we will win Division 1, be runners-up in Division 4 and win Division 10 to go with the Tollett Cup and District Cups, I think we would say that had been a great year.”

Now Shipton are looking forward to playing in the Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League next season for the first time.

And Hole added: “It is something that Steve Brain (chairman) has set as the main objective to play in the Home Counties.

“We have a couple of people lined up to come in and strengthen the squad, but it is also about young people who have been playing in the 2nd XI – Ross Barrett, Liam Hare and Joe Barrett. We will look to them to step up and play next year.

“When we won the league in 2002 and decided to stay in the Cherwell League, we had an old side, but looking at our side now we have a side of mid-20s who want to progress.”

Shipton’s soaraway season wasn’t enough to collect the Peter Baker Memorial Trophy though for the club whose 1st and 2nd XIs posted the most aggregate points.

That went instead to Twyford in their fourth season in the league on the back of the 1st XI finishing runners-up to Oxford Downs 2nd in Division 3 and the 2nd XI winning Division 7.

The 2nd XI bowling trophy went to Oxford Downs 2nd’s Steve Roberts with 72 wickets.