Frogs Leading Performances 2025

Batting:

Pascal 88 vs John Lyon School

Lawrence 85* vs Oxford Downs CC

Parekh 67 vs John Lyon School

Rosnegk 65 vs Stowe Templars

Fitzpatrick 54 vs OU Authentics

Moore 52 vs John Lyon School

Marshall T 50* vs Stowe Templars

Bowling:

Gorton 3-4 vs John Lyon School

McLeod 3-46 vs OU Authentics

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Frogs vs South Oxfordshire Amateurs

Thursday 26th June

Queens College

Frogs win 

Reported by Alex Thomas

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Frogs vs John Lyon School

Monday 23rd June

Sudbury Fields

Frogs win by 181 runs

Reported by Owen Marshall

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Frogs vs Stowe Templars

Sunday 24th June

Stowe School

Frogs win by 8 wickets

Reported by Thierry Pascal

On another glorious June morning, the Frogs arrived at the beautiful surroundings of Stowe School, seeking revenge for last year’s close loss. The Frogs had assembled a strong, balanced team (only 5 spinners available!) supported by debutant Devam Shah and returning Frogs legend, Mark Rosenegk. In spite of it being a “bat first” pitch, the skipper bent to the Templars captain’s request for the Templars to bat first (“sans” toss) and set out on the task of bowling on a now typically slow and low Stowe pitch (not what Duckett would have learnt to play on!)

Our seam twins, Jono Wright and Devam Shah, opened up, but it looked a little ominous when Wright went for 11 in the first over. However, Shah quicky turned things around with a wicket off his fourth ball, bowling the Templars opener with a beautiful little outswinger. Shah took another wicket in his second over, Alex Gorton gobbling up a sharp catch at short extra cover. Wright, not to be outdone by the young debutant, claimed wickets in his third and fourth overs, bowling their number 3, with Joe O’Gorman holding a tidy, sliced, swirling catch over his head at cover point. At 4-35 after 7 overs, it looked like the game may be over by lunch. A fifth wicket followed shortly after once the bowling baton had been passed on to Gorton and John Child; Gorton (1-34 off 8) bowling another youngster thinking they could play him off the back foot! However, the Templars had shuffled their order a little and in their number 5, Rhys Noble, who was on the books for Northampton U-18’s, they had a man to rebuild their innings. Playing skilfully and sensibly, although a little lucky on a close lbw decision and a sharp stumping from Kyle Bradley, (standing up for most of the innings, outstandingly), he helped the Templars to lunch at 120-5. Matt Ogden and Owen Marshall had replaced Gorton and Child before lunch, and they continued post-lunch, with Ogden bowling Tom Young for a hard worked 31, the only other Templars batter apart from Noble to reach double figures. Ogden (2-32) and Marshall (1-25) bowled a 20 over spell, conceding only 57 runs with quality spin bowling, supported by tight fielding. Whilst Noble continued on his pursuit to set the Frogs any realistic target, Marshall and Ogden each picked up a wicket apiece, before Shah (3-28 off 7) and Wright (3-39 off 7) returned to clean up the tail, Bradley finally getting his deserved stumping. Noble, with an outstanding 107, was the last man to fall, caught at deep mid-off by Rosenegk. The Templars finished on 189 all out off 39 overs.

With plenty of time to knock off the runs, Thierry Pascal and Rosenegk, opening together for the first time in 23 years, (the only 90’s reunion that people were really talking about!) set about the task with aplomb. Hitting the bad ball for boundaries, and running between the wickets like in their prime, the Frogs reached tea at 85 without loss after 15 overs, Pascal sweeping and Rosenegk gliding the ball into gaps effortlessly. After tea, the skipper fell for 44, and Tom Marshall joined Rosenegk for a bit of a procession, Marshall looking immediately fluent. They added a further 89 runs in 17 overs, before Rosenegk fell for 65. O’Gorman, playing as a batsman, joined to knock off the remaining runs, allowing Marshall to reach his half-century before the close. A very simple victory by 8 wickets before the final 20 overs had begun, allowing for a trip to the local for a couple of drinks.

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Frogs vs Beaconsfield CC

Sunday 15th June

Beaconsfield CC

Frogs win by 49 runs

Reported by Alex Gorton

On a fine sunny afternoon, the Frogs made the journey to Wilton Park to take on Beaconsfield CC. With a flat wicket and fast outfield, runs were always likely to flow freely with both the Frogs and the hosts boasting deep batting line ups. As is standard for the Frogs, spin was the order of the day with four tweakers being present in the Frogs ranks.

Having agreed the toss the day before over some light refreshment, Swappy Manchanda led the Frogs for the first time whilst Match Manager Gorts led the home side – surely the first time that the opposition captain is writing the Frogs match report – as the hosts took to the field. Thierry and Richard opened the innings for the Frogs, quickly taking a liking to the left arm seam option whilst more circumspect against the new ball spinner. Thierry was the first to fall, yorked for 11, bringing Paddy to the crease to join Ridders. The pair kept the run rate ticking along, punishing the bad ball and running well between the wickets. It was left to the 13 year old ‘Mini-Gorts’ to break the partnership, Paddy falling for 25 after holing out to mid off. Frogs at this point were very much in the driving seat, which was further confirmed as Frogs debutant Johnny Rust strode to the crease. Whereas Richard serenely continued along as usual, Johnny brought some more forceful ball striking to the affair, scoring quickly especially in front of square. Richard had fallen LBW to Gorts with the score on 117 for an excellent 62 by the time Johnny went to a debut 50, whilst Posh (4) and Chalky (17) came and went in the interim. Unfortunately for the hosts, Johnny didn’t take the MM’s advice that running out a Marshall on debut guarantees you a game for the next ten years, as after Johnny fell Tom and Jog added the final flourish before the declaration – 243/6 from 45 overs.

After a strong tea showing (thanks again to mum and dad for making the sarnies) the hosts made their way to the middle to begin their response with the bat. Unfortunately, as has frequently happened for Beaconsfield sides this summer, early wickets fell. Swappy made the first break through to remove the opener, whilst Jello took the second in just the fifth over. At this stage, Beaconsfield’s overseas came to the crease and settled proceedings down, before losing two partners in quick succession to Angus Maloney, who kept the stumps in play the entire time with a probing spell. As the required rate for the hosts increased, with a maximum of 36 overs available to chase, Jog came into the attack. Whilst there was a brief onslaught from Beaconsfield’s lower order, Jog was at the centre of two of the more impressive incidents of the day. Firstly, latching onto a rare loose ball from Angus, the Beaconsfield number 7 launched a high ball towards cow corner where Jog was expectantly waiting to take a catch to end the over. Unfortunately for Jog, the ground at Beaconsfield is currently very hard, so rather than the ball bouncing five yards short of him and going to hand, the ball instead rocketed up over him for a one bounce four and down towards the nets on the other ground. As the assembled players relished in Jog’s misfortune, Miles put the final nail in the coffin by declaring ‘That is over. Literally.’ Unfortunately for the author, Jog quickly put this behind him and responded by taking a sharp one handed caught and bowled to remove Gorts. The young remnants of the Beaconsfield side were unable to see out the remaining overs, and the Frogs ended up deserved winners by 49 runs.

Thank you as always to Miles and Dunc for standing for the day and Swappy for taking on the captaincy on the day – though I fear Jog may need therapy/GT after being asked to bowl from the A40 end resulting in figures of 2/88 from seven overs. All in all, a great day out and some excellent cricket played by both sides.

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Frogs Oxford Mini Tour

Frogs vs Oxford Downs CC

Sunday 8th June

Oxford Downs CC, Standlake

Frogs win by 6 wickets.

Reported by Kieran Grey

The Frogs, having travelled from as far away as Birmingham for this game, all but one arrived just in time for the start of play to hear that we had won the toss and decided to bowl on what looked an interesting deck at Oxford Downs CC. The only person not to arrive on time was the current Oxford Uni Authentics opening bowler. Even so, the Frogs took to the field with 10 men and set about things perfectly, with Jacques Wessels (1-26) picking up a wicket just 3 balls into the game to leave the opposition 0-1 after the first over.

A great second-wicket partnership, however, then took Downs to 91-1 off 20 overs at drinks. As drinks so often does, it brought about a chance to break the partnership—which was taken—and then quickly changed the game in favour of the Frogs, helped also by the arrival of our 11th man, William Marriage. Jack Stanier took 2 in 2 balls to quickly put the Frogs back into the game, as Downs were left at 91-3 after 21 overs.

Once the Downs opener reached 50, he gladly chipped one up off the bowling of Alex Gorton, and the Frogs’ spinners once again began to wreak havoc—reducing Oxford Downs to 134-6 off 32 overs through some excellent bowling by Alex Gorton, Angus Maloney (1-58), and Jack Stanier. Now looking at the Oxford Downs tail, we decided to see if we could get to tea a bit earlier and try and chase on what was not an easy pitch to bat on, with the introduction of William Marriage.

The combination of Marriage (1-15) and Gorton seemed to work very effectively, as the Frogs managed to clean up the remaining batsmen, leaving Downs at 187 all out off 43 overs.

Notable bowling figures: A. Gorton 4-24, J. Stanier 2-30.

In reply with the bat, the Frogs started off very well, reaching 60 for the first wicket at drinks, with T. Pascal being removed at gully for 27. This brought B. Howard to the crease, who—along with R. Lawrence—knocked the ball around without providing a chance for the next 10 overs, putting the Frogs within touching distance of the win. B. Howard was eventually removed for a well-made 35, trying to finish the game with overs to spare, leaving the Frogs 148-3 off 29 overs.

K. Grey (6) and J. Wessels (3) quickly came and went, leaving the Frogs 169-4 with just 19 required off 4 overs. R. Lawrence (86*) and A. Gorton (6*) managed to guide the Frogs comfortably home with an over to spare, culminating in a great chase on a difficult pitch—led by a brilliant knock from R. Lawrence, who batted with great intent after the drinks break.

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Frogs vs Oxford University Authentics

The Parks

Monday/Tuesday 8/9th June

Reported by AI & Tom Marshall

Frogs Lose by 47 runs.

Match Summary:

Innings 1️⃣ – Oxford University Authentics

228/9 dec. (56 overs)

• Fitzpatrick 2-17, Allen 2-14, Hamilton 2-10, Gorton 1-30, McLeod 1-36, O Marshall 1-45. O Marshall 3 slip catches.

Innings 2️⃣ – The Frogs CC

214/9 (50 overs)

• L. Fitzpatrick – 54 (70), T. McLeod – 49 (74), Gorton 48* (63)
• Match stayed even as Frogs battled hard with solid top-order resistance.
• Lead for Oxford: 14 runs

Innings 3️⃣ – Oxford University Authentics

216/7 dec. (40.2 overs)

• McLeod 3-46, Allen 2-52, O Marshall 1-43.
• Oxford accelerated well to set a competitive final-innings target.
• Target set: 231 to win in 40 overs

Innings 4️⃣ – The Frogs CC

183 all out (40 overs)

• T. Marshall – 44 (72), T. Shaw – 33 (51), O Marshall 28 (29), McLeod 24 (34)
• Will Marriage – 5/51 (13 overs)
• Frogs started solidly but collapsed after the top order fell. Marriage tore through the middle and lower order to seal a 47-run win for Oxford.

Oxford University Authentics batted first after The Frogs won the toss and chose to field. The Authentics declared at 228 for 9 after 56 overs. The Frogs replied with 214 for 9 in 50 overs. In Oxford’s second innings, they reached 216 for 7 declared in 40.2 overs, leaving The Frogs needing 231 in 46 overs. The Frogs were eventually dismissed for 183, falling short by 47 runs.

Thanks to AI for the brief summary above. Now the Tour Manager will provide a full briefing below:

Over the winter months Tom McLeod and Kieran Grey were appointed as trainee Tour Managers for the Oxford Tour, or rather Assistants to the Tour Manager (T Marshall). They did a fine job in ensuring everyone had somewhere to stay and making sure nobody strayed out of line during their time in Oxford.

After some liquid refreshments in Oxford town centre during Sunday night, the Frogs convened on the Parks in excitement. TMac won the toss on a fresh wicket and elected to bowl. At his disposal were the following:

McLeod, Grey, Thomas (WK), T Marshall, O Marshall, Fitzpatrick, Allen, Hamilton, Wessels, Noble, Shaw, Gorton, and the vastly experienced Lawrence.

Hamilton and Wessels bowled well during the first hour, with Jimmy grabbing a couple of early wickets. 50s from batters 3 and 4 made the Frogs graft hard, before TMac took a nice caught to break a partnership of close to 150. Wickets then began to tumble, 2 to Allen, Fitzpatrick, 1 to O Marshall and Gorton. The Tics declared an hour before tea with the score 228 on a pretty flat wicket.

Shaw and Hamilton opened the innings for the frogs, both heading back to the pavilion without scoring. McLeod and Fitzpatrick then batted through to the break, with Liam passing 50 for the first time this summer before being removed with the score 100. Jacques then followed without scoring, bringing together the two Assistants to the Tour Manager, who were able to put on 47 before TMac chipped to forward square leg the ball after turning down a 3rd run to bring up his 50. The cricket gods clearly unhappy with his laziness. A brittle lower middle order of Noble and O Marshall departed just before close, with Rich using every ounce of his experience to shepherd the Frogs to close on day 1.

A lively evening followed, with the Frogs dining with some of the Tics at Vincent’s Club in Oxford. A lovely dinner was had, and a couple of the famous Pinkies consumed. The Frogs then went onto the next pub, and the next. With AT and Tour Manager having to undress and put TMac to be due to his inebriated state. The less said about that the better.

Annoying the Frogs were then reduced to 169-9 early on Tuesday morning, with Rich dismissed for 3. Gorts and T Marshall then came together, with some heavy heads from the previous evening’s frivolities. Despite their ailments they were able to take the Frogs from 169-9 to 214-9, muchly thanks to some lusty blows from Gorts. A declaration followed with Gorts not being able to take advantage of 10 dot balls to get him to 50, leaving him on 48*.

Oxford then batted for 40 overs, scoring 216-7. Nothing of any comedic value happened in the field, but TMac took 3 wickets, GT 2, and Owen 1. This left the Frogs a chase of 230 in 46 overs, which didn’t start well after Rich was dismissed for 0 by Marriage. Tom Shaw and Marshall put on 50 for the second wicket before Shaw got a wormburner to hit his off stump. TMac and Marshall T also put on 50 before Marshall chipped to midwicket. From here it was all downhill for the Frogs, who opted for the aggressive route to 230. TMac struggled his way to 24 amid some alcohol poisoning, coupled with some very defensive fields from the Tics. O Marshall got the only other score of note, with a run a ball 28, before reverse scooping onto his own stumps (obviously). Will Marriage’s excellent 5 wicket haul was complete with the Frogs eventually 183 all out, 47 short of their target. A disappointing end to an excellent couple of days in Oxford.

Our thanks go to the Tic’s for hosting us again, Duncan and Chris for umpiring for us, Carol for scoring for us, Vincent’s Club for having us for dinner, and to TMac and (mostly) KG for organising. We look forward to returning next summer.

https://oucc.play-cricket.com/website/results/6866342 

Tour Party: Marshall T, Grey, McLeod, Marshall O, Allen, Thomas,  Fitzpatrick, Gorton, Hamilton, Wessells, Noble, Shaw, Lawrence, Ellis D, Hardy, Quinn.

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