Cambridge University v Oxford University - Cambridge wins by 56 runs - Day 3 and 4 Recap
As the rivalry came to a close, it was Cambridge University which triumphed by a margin of 56 runs on the fourth and final day, against Oxford University, in the inter-varsity match played at Fenner’s Ground, Cambridge, on July 8, 2011.
After being set a target of 336 by Cambridge, Oxford University came close but could not manage to negotiate the bowling of Cambridge slow left-armer, Paul Best, as he took 6-86 to guide his side to a memorable victory.
The pick of the Oxford players was Captain Rajiv Sharma, who scored a century off 114 balls; however, he was http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Short-c90107 of support from the other end.
The Oxford side began the fourth day on 157-8, still needing 179 more runs to win. They had high hopes from their skipper, Rajiv Sharma, who was still unbeaten on 74. He was accompanied by wicket-keeper, Sam Westaway, who was yet to open his account.
The Cambridge bowlers were hoping to wrap up the proceedings but the two Oxford batters showed great resilience and did not let the situation affect their approach as they built a solid partnership, which brought Oxford http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Close-c51347 to the target.
However, when Best removed Sharma, thanks to a good catch taken by keeper Gus Kennedy, it remained just a matter of time before the rest of the lineup fell. Rajiv however, brought up his century in the process, playing a superb knock of 114, which included
15 boundaries.
At the start of Day 3, Cambridge resumed their innings at 58-5 with Tom Deasy and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Angus-Robert-Charles-Fraser-c44701 Kennedy occupying the crease. The two played solid cricket and guided their side out of trouble with a crucial partnership of 76.
At the score of 134, Deasy, after playing a good knock of 41, was trapped leg before wicket by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Daniel-Charles-Pascoe-c52244. This left Kennedy with the lower order. He battled hard and brought up a well made half century.
However, when Kennedy got out to Pascoe after making 61, Cambridge were reeling at 161-8, but a timely cameo by Matt Hickey (26), helped Cambridge post 193 in their second innings with an overall lead of 335.
The pick of the Oxford bowlers were Paul Higham and Sam Agarwal, who grabbed three wickets, while there were a couple for Alex Scott as well.
Chasing a formidable target of 336, Oxford’s second innings started exactly as their first, with the top three batsmen falling cheaply.
Cambridge bowler Matt Hickey provided the early breakthrough. He removed opener Sam Agarwal (4) and one down batter, Ben http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Williams-c98034 (5), leaving Oxford at 10-2.
After Hickey, it was slow left-armer, Paul Best, who got another couple of wickets, which included opener Thomas http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bryan-c48753 (20) and middle-order batsman Ben Jeffery(1), which crippled the Oxford side to 64-4.
Skipper Rajiv Sharma and Oliver Richards offered some sort of stability as they rescued the innings. However after a good looking 42, Richard fell to Best, which eventually broke the spirit of the Oxford side.
The next batters failed to occupy the crease and fell in quick succession, leaving the side on the brink of loss at 156-8. Sharma remained the stand out performer with 74 not out.
However, on Day 4, the Oxford side played well to reach 279, though it was not enough in the end as Cambridge came out victorious in the end.
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