County cricket to be played in Thame for the first time in 20 years

FOR the first time in over 20 years, an Oxfordshire County Cricket match will be hosted at Thame Town Cricket Club.

Cricket at Church Meadow, photo coutesy of Mark Lord

Oxfordshire 1st XI Men’s team will be playing a three-day match against Cheshire, from Sunday, September 1, to Tuesday, September 3. Play will commence at 10:30am each day, with a lunch interval from 12:50pm-1:30pm and a tea interval from 3:50pm – 4:10pm.

Oxfordshire compete in the Western Division of the Minor Counties Cricket Unicorns Championship along with Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Shropshire, Cornwall, Devon, Herefordshire, Cheshire and Wales. They are currently second in this division and aiming for the top spot, to play in a final against the winner of the Eastern Division on September 15. The winner of the final will become Minor County Champion 2019.

Thame specially selected

Thame Town CC was selected by Oxfordshire Cricket Board to host the match following the development of their new pavilion and continued improvements to the playing surface at Church Meadow, located in the centre of the town, next to the 13th century, Grade 1-listed, St Mary’s Church. Thame Town CC have players in the Oxfordshire squad hoping to make the team and play at their home ground.

Matt Swain, Chair of TTCC said: “We are delighted to host this Oxfordshire County match for the first time in over 20 years. During the last five years we have invested a huge amount of time and effort to improve our facilities to a level at which Minor County cricket can be played, and we look forward to welcoming both teams to the club.

Everyone from Thame is invited!

We would like to invite everyone from Thame and the surrounding villages to come and support their County Cricket team and enjoy a drink at “one of Britain’s loveliest Cricket venues” (as reported by The Cricketer magazine, February 2019) The club – and most importantly the bar – will be open to everyone throughout the three-day match, and on the Sunday we will be having a two-course lunch event on the first floor of the new pavilion.  To book a seat for lunch please contact chairman@thamecricket.org.uk as there is limited space available”

Growing membership

Thame Town Cricket Club has over 280 playing members, including 180 juniors from ages 5 to 15. We have five adult teams that compete in the Home Counties Men’s and Women’s leagues, plus the Cherwell Cricket league. The club is a voluntary organisation which has England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) accreditation and 22 ECB-qualified, volunteer coaches. The club is always keen to welcome new volunteers and if you would like to help please contact enquiries@thamecricket.org.uk

LINK HERE for a roundup of Thame Cricket Club’s latest Big Weekend of Wins!