BICESTER & North Oxford rounded off the season in great style when they secured an upset victory over Thame Town in the Wilf Bennett Cup final at Wormsley.

The Cherwell League Division 3 outfit won by a convincing six-wicket margin against their Home Counties Premier League opponents in the climax to Oxfordshire Cricket Board’s new T20 competitions.

The teams qualified for the final by finishing runners-up in their respective groups, but it was Bicester who ruled the roost after putting their Thame in to bat.

Their bowlers put in an inspired performance to restrict their opponents to just 107-6 from their 20 overs.

Dan Savin (1-20) and Danny Clarke (1-14) made early inroads, before Callum Russell (37no) and Michael Beard (30) rebuilt the Thame innings.

But Chris de Kock (0-21) and the excellent Liam Randall (0-15) kept the score in check with tidy four-over spells.

After the first ball dismissal of Olly Ward, whose 199 runs in the competition had gone a long way to seeing them to the final, Stafford Sansome (25) and man-of-the-match Alister Gibbins added 88 to see Bicester to the brink of victory.

After a slight wobble, they clinched victory with five leg-side wides, which contributed to a significent tally of 37 extras.

The Bernard Tollett Cup final between the two group winners saw Banbury beat Horspath by 16 runs to make it three wins in a row.

l Alister Gibbins was chosen as Bicester & North Oxford’s 1st XI player-of-the-year at their presentation evening, for scoring 473 runs at an average of 52.

Olly Ward was named clubman of the year.

AWARD WINNERS

1st XI – player: A Gibbins; batsman: N Moorman; bowler: D Savin; player’s player: D Murphy.

2nd XI – player: L Randall; batsman: B Clark; bowler: L Randall; player’s player: C Doak.

3rd XI – player: M Ibery; batsman: S Jackson; bowler: R McLaughlin; champagne moment: M Adams.

Friendly XI – player: J Conway.

Youth XI – player: L Moore; most improved player: R Mclaughlin.

T20 & clubman of the year: O Ward.