Welcome to the 2019 season and the return of the fixture card!
Each year we look forward to the start of the playing season with excitement, as months of confinement within Sports Halls across Oxfordshire build an eagerness for the summer of cricket to finally arrive. Over the autumn and winter months, in excess of 850 hours of coaching have been delivered for our Player Pathway, Emerging Players and Senior squads, in preparation for the season; totalling more than 35 full days of player development opportunity and time spent immersed in practice.
Our Pathway players have progressed through the streaming process, developing their games and earning selection within one of the twenty four County and Development squads that will take the field this season. Approximately three hundred and sixty-five players will represent Oxfordshire Cricket within the Boys and Girls Player Pathway and we should be proud that so many promising young players will have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, by competing in representative cricket.
Providing opportunity for players to represent Oxfordshire Cricket is not exclusive to the Player Pathway, as our Men, Women and Senior players themselves, have also spent the winter months refining their skills, integrating new players and preparing for a summer packed full of competition. We hope that the months of dedication will bear fruit and that the season will bring success on the field for our seven teams.
2019 is a year for progression, as the ECB`s recommended pitch lengths for junior cricket were adopted within the Player Pathway, to enable our players to develop and compete in age and stage appropriate environments. The changes will result in the bowlers and batsman being able to progressively develop their skills, on the appropriate pitch lengths and increase the significance of fielding, by introducing appropriate boundary sizes. With a number a different pitch lengths now in place, we thank our Clubs, Volunteers and Groundsman for their patience and support in implementing these changes, to benefit and inspire the next generation of Oxfordshire cricketers.
The structure of the Boys Under 10 has also been moved forward, with the addition of a third development squad, replacing the traditional County squad. The new system will help us to develop our own players, who will now be able to earn selection for County matches, through current performance and future potential during the season, whilst gaining full benefit from inter competition and middle practice between the development teams; the best of both worlds at the entry point of the player pathway, aiming to develop more than just the chosen few.
In January we also appointed our new Performance Cricket Coordinator, Alex Westbury, who has been hard at work scheduling the Player Pathway fixtures and venues, reaching out to all of our Clubs and Schools for willing hosts. The summer will consist of over 200 days of cricket and 30 middle practice days for our teams, in addition to organised festivals for the Under 14 age groups and below. We thank all of our Clubs and Schools who are hosting matches throughout the season and we look forward to sharing conversation with you around the boundary edge this summer.
The season for our Men, Women and Senior teams include more than 80 days of cricket, within a number of competitions, across three formats and in many parts of the country. The County Men will be hoping to build upon their second place finish in the Championship last year and go one better in 2019, as will the County Women, who narrowly missed out on promotion last season. The Women commence their season with the 50 over competition, moving into the T20 format from early June. We hope that many of you will be out supporting our teams in their pursuit of success.
Each summer we provide a Performance Cricket Programme to a large number of junior and senior players, which can only be achieved through the outstanding and invaluable contribution we receive from our clubs and schools, officials, coaches, stakeholders, partners and sponsors; the list of people is significant. Through your dedication, we are able to provide an enjoyable, challenging and supportive experience for all the players across the Pathway and I take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you wholeheartedly, for the integral part you play in making the summer of cricket happen.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we will be blessed with months of beautiful sunshine this summer, ample cricket and success on the field for all our players and teams, who will be competing with the Oxfordshire logo on their chest.
Good luck and all the very best for the season ahead.
Matthew Barnes
Performance Cricket Manager
Please see the attached PDF to view the Fixture Card