WRFCCC Clinch Inaugural Aston Eights
A cracking day of cricket down at the Rec ended with Wallingford RFC CC beating a Tirrold side to win the first ever Aston Eights!
On a perfect day for cricket, players for Tirrold, Upthorpe, Wallingford RFC and 'the rest of the world' (mostly Wallingford and Burnley) took part in a great day of cricket down at the Rec.
The tournament started with an astonishing tie between Tirrold and the Rest of the World side. With the Rest of the World side requiring four to win off the last ball, Simon Ianson barely hit the ball of the square, but after multiple misfields, Dave Kilcoyne had nearly completed six runs up and down the wicket, but unfortunately his partner Simon Ianson could only complete a gentleman's three runs, resulting in a tie.
That set the tone for an entertaining days cricket.
With a good crowd from the village down to watch, there were plenty of close matches, with several youngsters from the village, including Fin Sheedy, Oscar Phelps and Rawdie Marks all making significant contributions to some entertaining cricket.
With Wallingford RFC CC securing a place in the final, it came down to 'El Classico' - Upthorpe versus Tirrold, for the remaining place in the final.
After limiting Tirrold to 46 off their 5 overs, Upthorpe fell short in their chase, largely due to some tight bowling from father son duo of Toby and Oscar Phelps.
In the final, WRFC CC's bowlers limited Tirrold to 45 off their 5 overs, despite the best efforts of the in-form Rhys Griffiths (18*), and then messrs Swainston and Smith made light work of the chase, as they clinched victory with 5 balls to spare.
Group Stages
| Tirrold 57 for 2 | RotW 57 for 3 |
| Rhys Griffiths 16* | Dave Kilcoyne 11* |
| Simon Ianson 1-0-4-2 | Steve Smith 1-0-8-2 |
Match Tied
| Upthorpe 17 all out | Wallingford RFC CC 20 for 2 |
| George Marffy 4 | Kris Blaszko 9* |
| Ralph Smith 1-0-2-2 | Gus Brimacombe 1-0-4-1 |
Wallingford RFC CC won by 5 wickets
| RotW 42 for 2 | Upthorpe 43 for 0 |
| Graham Sage 23* | Rawdie Marks 19* |
| Pete Way 1-0-1-1 | George Marffy 15* |
Upthorpe won by 7 wickets
| Wallingford RFC CC 41 for 3 | Tirrold 43 for 0 |
| Ralph Smith 21* | Toby Phelps 15* |
| Toby Phelps 1-0-7-1 | Oscar Phelps 10 |
Tirrold won by 7 wickets
| RotW 58 for 2 | Wallingford RFC CC 60 for 3 |
| Extras 33 | Tom Swainston 23* |
| Dave Baxter 1-0-4-1 | Simon Ianson 1-0-7-1 |
Wallingford RFC CC won by 7 wickets
| Tirrold 46 for 2 | Upthorpe 38 for 2 |
| Andrew Cummine 19* | Pete Way 14 |
| Dan White 1-0-1-1 | Toby Phelps 1-0-3-1 |
Tirrold won by 8 runs
Third Place Play-Off
| RotW 60 for 3 | Upthorpe 55 for 4 |
| Rob Harris 14* | Dean Bayes 21* |
| Dan White 1-0-7-1 | Dave Kilcoyne 1-0-9-2 |
Rest of the World win by 5 runs
Final
| Tirrold 45 for 2 | Wallingford RFC CC 48 for 1 |
| Rhys Griffiths 18* | Tom Swainston 23* |
| Tom Swainston 1-0-8-1 | Steve Smith 1-0-7-1 |
Wallingford RFC CC won by 6 wickets