Talent from Oxfordshire represented over a third of the players in the second semi-final of the Vitality T20 Blast Finals Day and over a quarter of the players who contested the Vitality Blast T20 Final on Saturday 14th September 2024. Gloucestershire were crowned Vitality T20 Blast champions for the first time in their club’s history when they defeated Somerset by eight wickets in the final underlights at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Gloucestershire richly deserve the accolades for their achievement, with their winning team containing six players from the County. Gloucestershire had earlier progressed victorious from the second semi-final of the day against our first class partners, Sussex CCC in which eight of the twenty-two players had begun their developmental journey within the Oxfordshire Cricket before transitioning into the professional game with Sussex CCC and Gloucestershire CCC.
Oxfordshire Cricket has a rich history of developing high-potential players who have progressed from its Pathway or Emerging Players Programme (EPP) into First Class County Academy or professional cricket programmes. A total representation of eight players at the 2024 Vitality Blast T20 Finals day evidences that alongside support and opportunities to accelerate development within the talent development systems, talent emerges from National Counties as much as it does from First Class Counties.
Oxfordshire Cricket are delighted to congratulate the following eight players who participated at the 2024 Vitality T20 Blast Finals Day and those from Gloucestershire on their victory.
Jack Taylor (Gloucestershire CCC)
Matt Taylor (Gloucestershire CCC)
Miles Hammond (Gloucestershire CCC)
Ben Charlesworth (Gloucestershire CCC)
Tom Price (Gloucestershire CCC)
Oliver Price (Gloucestershire CCC)
Harrison Ward (Sussex CCC)
James Coles (Sussex CCC)
Two further professional players to emerge from Oxfordshire (Zach Lion-Cachet and Luke Charlesworth) did not feature in either of the match day squads, increasing the total number of professional players currently at Sussex and Gloucestershire from Oxfordshire to ten.