Captain's Introduction
The Women’s Blues have a very exciting season ahead. Our team comprises of players from both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes, encompassing a diverse range of abilities. We have a mix of club/school players and individuals with experience of county and representative cricket. After a successful winter programme with around 40 members in our squad, strong foundations have been laid for the upcoming season. We are very much looking forward to getting out onto the grass and using all of the skills we have developed indoors.
Our league season involves competing against other universities in the BUCS Midlands Tier 1. This year, I am confident that our team will be strong contenders in this competition, with the potential to challenge for the league title. As part of our full fixture list, we also play friendlies against teams such as the Armed Forces, MCC and Alumni.
The annual Varsity matches (T20 and 50 overs) against Cambridge remain the pinnacle of our season, with a significant rivalry between the two sides. We are very fortunate to play at Lords and Arundel for these games this year. Since attaining ‘full blues’ status in 2015, we have maintained an almost undefeated record in T20 and 50 over varsity matches. We are determined to continue this impressive record and bounce back from our narrow loss at Arundel last season.
Off the pitch, we are working with the whole of OUCC towards putting the women’s names alongside the men’s in the pavilion. This would be a great step towards equality in our sport and we are very thankful to have the full backing of the men’s teams and committee on this matter. We will also be working hard to run some women’s beginners sessions, as well as the first ever women’s ‘Cuppers’ tournament. We are looking forward to getting more women involved and sharing our enthusiasm for the sport with as many people as possible. We are very grateful for the opportunity to host these events, as well as all of our home games, at such a fantastic venue like the Parks. Any support from the wider cricketing community at our matches this year would be greatly appreciated - we always enjoy having spectators and raising the profile of Women’s cricket!
Hannah Davis, OUCC Women’s Blues Captain 2023/24
