Minor Counties Championship Round Up

Long-Serving paceman Keith Arnold bowled Oxfordshire to a nerve-tingling two run victory over Cheshire in a one-innings championship match at Alderley Edge.

Cheshire's hopes of opening their 2000 championship programme on a winning note went down to the wire after they had dismissed Oxfordshire for 123 in 45 overs.

Chris Finegan (four for 42) and Chris Hall (four for 38) did most of the damage, and had it not been for Adam Cook's 35, Oxfordshire might have been bowled out for less than 100 for the third time in four days. Arnold trapped Mark Currie lbw with the second ball of the Cheshire reply, and the home side suffered a serious wobble from 30 for one to 49 for six. A seventh-wicket partnership of 59 between Neil Cross (47) and Steve Bramhall (16) took them to within 16 runs of victory, but then three more wickets fell for just three runs, leaving the last pair requiring 13 to win.

Charlie Lamb scored 10 of them but with Cheshire just one big hit away from victory, Arnold trapped debutant No. 11 Andrew James lbw to win the game for Oxfordshire and finish with figures of five for 46 off 25.4 overs.

The Eastern Division fixture at Jesmond, also reduced to one innings apiece after the loss of Tuesday's play to bad weather, ended in a draw. Newboys Steve Foster (93) and Bradley Parker (59) both made useful contributions in Northumberland's 268 for five off 61 overs, and Hertfordshire finished exactly 100 runs behind on 168 for seven, thanks to a defiant unbeaten 43 from skipper Martin James.

Minor Counties Championship
Alderley Edge: Oxon 123 (CJ Hall 4-38, CC Finegan 4-42) Cheshire 121 (KA Arnold 5-46) Oxfordshire (16) beat Cheshire (5) by 2 runs
Jesmond: Northumberland 268-5 (SF Foster 93, B Parker 59) Herts 168-7 (SJ Lowe 51, C Stanley 4-62) Match Drawn. Points Northumberland 5, Herts 5