Oxley’s last-ball boundary earns a tie
May 18, 2026FEROZE Khushi said ‘It feels more of a defeat’ after Suffolk Men’s 1st XI tied against Cambridgeshire in their NCCA NV Play One Day Trophy Group One game.
Alex Oxley swept a four off the final ball to tie the match after Suffolk, set 229 to win, had appeared to be cruising to victory at Mildenhall CC on Sunday.
The home needed 22 to win off three overs with seven wickets intact when Darren Ironside, who top-scored with 82 on his home ground, was well held at cover by Cambridgeshire captain Ben Claydon, leaving 18 required off 14 deliveries.
The penultimate over by Jack Loveday only went for four runs to reduce the target to 12 off the last six balls. Skipper Josh Cantrell struck a four first ball, before a dot ball and was then bowled off the third.
Jacob Marston scored a two and a single, leaving Oxley on strike knowing only a last-ball six would win the game, and he swept Mark Sanders behind square leg to tie the scores.
The outcome made little difference to the final standings in Group One, Suffolk finishing third behind Cumbria and Cheshire, who had both already qualified for the quarter-finals.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Cambridgeshire scored steadily throughout their innings, and had reached 179 for 5 when Tom Cullen (61 off 80 balls) was out in the 45th over.
Some powerful hitting from Lee Thomason (57 off 70) and particularly Mildenhall’s Loveday (20 off 5) at the death saw 49 runs added from the final 5.3 overs.
Jack Beaumont was dismissed first ball of Suffolk’s reply and when Ollie Burle was smartly caught at slip, Suffolk were 26 for 2, before Khushi and Ironside added 108 for the third wicket in 25 overs.
After Khushi (70 off 86) was out, Oxley joined Ironside and they shared a fourth-wicket alliance of 77 before Ironside (82 off 119) was dismissed.
Khushi (pictured batting above) said afterwards: “We are all pretty disappointed. It feels more of a defeat, to be honest than anything. We got really close – one run was the difference.
“We played really well throughout the whole game generally and were pretty much in control of the run chase throughout the whole innings, but this is sometimes how it goes.”
Tags: Alex Oxley, Cambridgeshire, Darren Ironside, Feroze Khushi, mildenhall cc, NCCA NV Play One Day Trophy
Categorised in: Suffolk CCC