St Cross 5th XI produced a strong all-round performance at home, beating Froxfield 2nd XI by 69 runs and moving up to 5th in the league. With the sun shining, Glen won the toss for the first time this season and chose to bat. Alex Fidgen and Ben Leather opened with the assuredness we’ve come to expect from such a talented pair. It was steady early on, but they laid strong foundations and began to accelerate after drinks.

The pair put on an excellent 151-run partnership, with Fidge making 76 from 112 balls and Leather scoring 57 from 75. Froxfield had chances, with Fidge dropped on 58 and Leather on 42, while Leather also survived a close run-out opportunity. Fidge eventually fell to some sharp fielding, before Leather was caught trying to up the rate.

Despite the excellent partnership, St Cross were 135 after 30 overs and needed quick runs. Simon Lambert came in with a clear mission, and was joined by the rampant Ollie Devon, who added real momentum by striking the ball cleanly to the boundary and racing to a half-century from just 25 balls. Alongside Lambert and a quick cameo from Punnett, Ollie’s brilliant 67 from 33 helped push St Cross to a strong total of 246 for 5 — just above par, we’d think.

After tea, St Cross came out into the beaming sun knowing they had a strong total to defend. Harry Stone opened the bowling, while Will Exley made the early breakthrough, with Fidge taking a superb diving catch at second slip. At 90 for 1, wickets were needed, so St Cross turned to the guile of Fin Graham, who bowled a disciplined spell of “teasers” and claimed the key wicket of Froxfield’s set batter, who had reached 52.

Froxfield reached 100 in the 22nd over and tried to put pressure on St Cross, but Graham struck again to leave them 117 for 3 after 25 overs. Adeel Raja finally had his first bowl of the 2026 season and claimed a wicket in his final over, before Ollie Devon produced a wicket-taking spell of slow bowling in his final three overs. Froxfield were beaten and even sent in an 80-year-old to block out the final five overs. Kevin Stone finished things off with a maiden as St Cross secured an excellent 69-run victory.

Next up, St Cross head to the Cradle of Cricket at Broadhalfpenny Down, Hambledon. Another big win could see them nudging the top two.