Oxfordshire Girls Under-15s 191 (40 ovs; Aimee Diab 52, Lucy Johnson 44, Milly Russell 5-29, Alice Hann 3-24)

Dorset Girls Under-15s 22 (9.5 ovs; Ellie Simpson 7-5)

Oxfordshire won by 169 runs

Oxfordshire Girls Under-15s returned to winning ways with an emphatic victory over Dorset at Moreton on Wednesday.

Put into bat under cloudy skies, Oxfordshire got off to a bright start. Philippa Dellar (24) latched onto anything remotely short, as the opening partnership blossomed to the tune of 42 runs inside nine overs, before Dellar pushed a length delivery back to the bowler. Sana Kassey (22) joined Lucy Johnson at the crease, and the pair continued to look confident against the seamers in adding 62 for the second wicket. However, the introduction of off-spinning duo Megan Bishop and Milly Russell on a slow track and long outfield soon stemmed the flow of runs, and the partnership was brought to an abrupt halt when Kassey was judged to be caught by the bowler via extra-cover’s right boot. Aimee Diab made her intentions immediately clear by smiting the fourth ball she received over the mid-wicket boundary for six. Johnson departed shortly after the second break for drinks, stunningly held at short mid-wicket for a well-crafted 44; however, Diab shepherded the lower order expertly whilst continuing her assault on the returning seamers, as she raced to 52 from just 40 balls faced, before playing on to the persevering Sophie Donaldson.

Chasing 192 for victory, Dorset were soon in trouble when they lost captain Milly Russell to Ellie Simpson’s second delivery. Bowling an exemplary line to a full length, Simpson burst through the top-order, and picked up the first five wickets to fall inside six overs of the Dorset reply, with the top four all clean bowled. Zara Wyatt (2 for 15) took two wickets in successive deliveries in the seventh over, aided by a full-length dive from Philippa Dellar at extra-cover; but it was left to Simpson to wrap up proceedings inside ten overs, as she picked up the final three wickets, with the help of another outstanding catch from the diving Elodie Brown at mid-on. Simpson finished with the sensational final figures of 4.5 – 2 – 5 – 7, which included a spell of six wickets for no runs from her final 20 deliveries.

Oxfordshire’s 169-run victory moves them up into third place in Group 8 of the ECB Girls U15 County One Day Competition, with games in hand over both Berkshire and Wiltshire who head the table.