B&NOCC’s 1st XI will play their cricket in Home Counties Premier League Division 2 next year after sealing the Cherwell League Division 1 title.
We are now on the look out for new players to our strengthen all our sides ahead of the 2024 season.
B&NOCC’s 2023 AGM will take place on Tuesday 05 December 2023 at the ground.
Dates for our 2023 winter nets have now been confirmed.
Nets for senior players and juniors who play senior cricket will begin on Monday 30th January from 8pm to 10pm at Heyford Park Free School, OX25 5HE.
The first session will be open to all senior players and age group players who played senior cricket in 2022.
If you have a child in the age group section who would like to play senior cricket, please contact Mark Townsend and Gary Sansome prior to booking or attending.
After this first session we may tweak things a little to help us manage player numbers and ensure training sessions are suited to those attending – we will use Pitchero to do this. See below for further important details.
Junior nets will begin on Sunday February 5th at the Cooper School, OX26 4RS.
U9s and U11s will train from 9am – 10am, BNOCC B Stars from 10am – 11am, and U13s and U15s from 11am – 12noon.
All players – senior AND junior – must be registered with B&NOCC on Pitchero, and be marked ‘available’ for practice sessions you wish to attend. You can find more information about how to register here.
We welcome players of all ages and abilities to the club, and are keen to expand 1st and 2nd XI squad for 2023
About us
We’re a club that’s heading in the right direction.
Since 2016 our 1st XI has won three promotions, and in 2022 missed out on promotion to the Home Counties Premier League by ‘the barest of margins’, missing out by just a handful of points.
Our 2nd XI won the old Cherwell Division 7 at a canter in 2019, and consolidated that success with a strong 4th place in Division 5B of the new league structure in 2021. That resulted in a surprise promotion for 2022, and despite everyone’s very best efforts they were relegated back to Division 5 for 2023.
Our 3rd XI were promoted to Division 7 in 2022 off the back of some impressive performances from key senior players and a core of District and County age group players, and our 4th XI picked up half a dozen wins to finish 6th in Division 8B after re-entering the league at the start of 2021.
Our goals for 2023 include improving on the 1st XI’s 3rd place finish, and for our 2nd and 3rd XIs to fight at the top of their respective tables. And while we always welcome players of all ages and abilities to the club, we’re particularly keen to increase our pool of 1st and 2nd XI players for 2023 to support these goals.
Why B&NOCC?
BNOCC Offers:
- Four senior sides in Divisions 1, 5, 7 and 8 of the Cherwell Cricket League
- Coaching from an ECB Level 3 and Level 2 qualified coaching team
- Playing opportunities for cricketers of all abilities
- Minor-Counties standard facilities, including two pitches, nets, and a clubhouse with a bar
- An inclusive, family friendly club with a vibrant social scene
Youth Cricket at B&NOCC
Bicester and North Oxford Cricket club boasts a thriving junior section for ages 5 and up.
Our weekly junior Winter practice sessions will start in January. Further details will follow.
When the clocks go forward in Spring, junior training moves outside to our ground in Chesterton.
During the School Summer term, we run the increasingly popular All-Stars, which gives children aged 5-8 a fun-filled introduction to the game.
Our recent successes haven’t come about by accident. They’re the result of a group of players who enjoy practicing and playing together, and celebrating one another’s successes.
Any club worth its salt can offer you the chance to play at a standard suitable for you, but we like to think we go above and beyond that by giving you the chance to improve, progress, and do things you didn’t think you could.
We’re incredibly lucky to have two top quality coaches at the club in the form of ex-B&NOCC players Gary ‘Sam’ Sansome and Paul ‘Mutter’ Jeacock, both of whom played for the Club in our Home Counties Premier League days. They work closely with a number of Level 2 qualified coaches to carefully plan and deliver our weekly training sessions.
Gary is one of just a handful of ECB Level 3 qualified coaches in the County, and Mutter has taken more Cherwell and Home Counties Premier League wickets than he’s had haircuts.
Off the pitch we’ve got a busy social calendar including organised events like Race Nights, quizzes and casino nights, as well as regular, impromptu nights out after games on Saturdays – win or lose, everyone invited.
What next?
Our 2022 Winter nets take place weekly beginning on Monday 7th February and this year we’ll be using the brand new facilities at Whitelands Academy. Then, once the clocks go forward in Spring, training will move to our Akeman Street ground in Chesterton every Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm.
You can also find out the latest goings on at B&NOCC by signing up to receive our regular newsletter, following us on Twitter and Instagram, or joining us on our Facebook page.
If you’d like to know anything about the club that you can’t find here or elsewhere on our website, you can get in touch with any of our Club representatives.
Please use the form here to book your place at winter practices, which will take place at Whitelands Academy from 8pm – 10pm every Monday, beginning on February 7th.
The first two sessions, on Monday February 7th and Monday February 14th, will be open to all players but please make sure you register here to allow our coaching team to plan appropriate activities.
These will followed by specific skills-focussed sessions for 1st and 2nd XI players on February 21st and March 7th, and for 3rd XI and 4th XI players (including juniors who have played senior cricket) on February 28th and March 14th.
We will review this structure and the final two weeks of indoor practice will be determined by the feedback from these middle sessions.
The first two sessions will cost £3 per person, and the smaller group sessions will be £5 per person. New players get their first two weeks free.
Practice sessions for U17s and seniors will start on Monday 7th February at Whitelands Academy, running from 8pm to 10pm for an eight week block.
If you’re new to the club, use the Contact page to reach out and find out more.
Hi everyone
Let’s start planning something to look forward to this summer!!!!
The ECB have launched the 2021 All Stars programme and BNOCC are all up for getting our boys and girls out and playing cricket this season.
The plan is to start on Wednesday 12 May at 6pm at the BNOCC ground in Chesterton and run for 8 weeks. The sessions will obviously be run in line with all government guidelines in place at the time. Hopefully restrictions will have eased by then but we will run in a COVID secure manner and if the programme is not able to be run the ECB will refund money accordingly.
The 8 sessions cost £45 and the kids will receive their All Stars kit prior to the 12 May.
If you would like to register please follow the link below
https://ecb.clubspark.uk/AllStars/BookCourse/5dbae8f9-62f2-44b3-b950-743713b9dff4
If anyone would like to help out as activator this year – we’d love your help. Full training will be given and it is great fun. Let me know if you are interested.
If your young cricketer is too old for All Stars this year, we have a super junior section they can move up to. Training will also be on Wednesday evening at the club. Let us know and we will send you more details.
Please feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think would like to join junior cricket at BNOCC this year.
Best wishes
Jen
PS Fingers crossed for a better pitch and an England win in India next week!!!!
COVID-19 Update
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement this afternoon, we’re really excited about finally being able to plan our own roadmap back on to the cricket pitch, and preparing for the 2021 season.
The Government’s guidance pinpoints March 29th as the date on which organised outdoor sport can resume, and so we will be working towards training for juniors and seniors beginning a soon as possible after that date, within any restrictions laid down by the ECB.
With the Cherwell League season due to start on Saturday May 8th, we’re also looking forward to a full, competitive league season.
Keeping our players, members, supporters and their families safe will continue to be a priority, and as such we take no shame in ensuring we adhere to the spirit of the rules and regulations as well as their letter. We will not be looking for loop-holes to exploit that could risk the health of anyone involved in our Club.
We know you will have lots of questions, and so below are a few of those we expect will be most pressing. If you have any additional questions or comments, you’re welcome to get in touch with any member of the Committee.
<strong>Will the season will start on time?</strong>
Until we hear otherwise from the ECB, OCB or Cherwell League, we are working towards the League season starting as planned on Saturday May 8th.
<strong>Will there be training?</strong>
We want to begin training as soon as possible, and so are working towards the end of March as our target date. Our online booking system will be in place again to manage numbers, depending on the prevailing guidance at the time.
Until then, you are still able to exercise in household groups, support bubbles, or in an outdoor space with one person from another household. We will be sharing some exercise ideas on our Facebook page and website soon.
<strong><strong>What about age-group cricket?</strong></strong>
In addition to regular age-group training, we will also be running an 8-week All Stars programme starting on Wednesday May 12th, which you can register for here.
As per senior training, we will get U9+ training under way as soon as we’re allowed to do so. We have entered teams in the County’s junior competitions, and so fixtures in these will go ahead as determined by the County board.
<strong><strong><strong>What if I’m not comfortable playing just yet?</strong></strong></strong>
The health and well-being of our members is our absolute priority, and we know that some players may not be comfortable returning to playing so soon. If that’s you, then please don’t worry – we’re not going anywhere, and will be here waiting for you when you’re ready to don the whites again. If you want to inform any of the captains or coaches of this, you’re welcome to get in touch with any of them.
<strong><strong><strong><strong>How can I keep in touch and up to date?</strong></strong></strong></strong>
2020 Season Update
Following the recent relaxations of Covid-19 guidelines regarding recreational sport, and the ECB’s on the safe return of the game, we were able to host the first cricket match of 2020 at B&NOCC on Saturday.
Moore’s XI defeated Murphy’s XI by 6 wickets, thanks to Oliver Ward’s 50* from just 28 balls.
But the most important aspect of the game was that it took place at all, and with all players and spectators adhering the appropriate guidelines.
To add to this, following the release of the ECB’s guidelines, the Cherwell League have published an updated fixture list for the remainder of 2020, based on the commitment of 90 teams (out of 102), to fulfill fixtures up to and including September 5th.
B&NOCC have committed to fielding three teams each Saturday until then, in addition to fulfilling all remaining Sunday fixtures.
To ensure we’re able to do this, please make sure you’ve updated your availability for the remainder of the season, here. If your name isn’t included, please just add it.
Following the successful implementation of our fully booked two-person and 1-2-1 training sessions, and in line with the updated ECB guidance issued on Friday, we are thrilled to be able to run two training sessions at a time for up to six senior members each, starting this Tuesday 9th June.
On Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th we can have six people in the fixed net, and a further six in the roll-on net on the second pitch. Initially this will be on the astro-turf pitch, but from Saturday 13th we hope to have a grass wicket available to us.
We are able to offer this expansion with immediate effect because of the hard work put in by some members of the club behind the scenes over the last month. This work has ensured our own plans are not only operable within strict government, ECB and BSA guidelines, but are also easy to scale up. These guidelines will continue to keep us all safe, while at the same time enabling all of us to return to training at the earliest opportunity.
Bookings can be made for either an individual place in a session or on behalf of a group of players. The names of all players who will be attending must be included in the email so we can maintain a record of attendance, as required by the ECB. Where a group booking is made for fewer than six players, spaces may be filled by other players booking individually.
Any two-person sessions confirmed for Saturday 13th will go ahead in the fixed net, but after that we will have six people each in both the fixed net and the roll-on net at each training session. Training session times and durations will stay the same, but will be reviewed dependent on demand.
All other guidelines (below) remain unchanged, including the need for everyone training to have paid a subscription and completed a 2020 membership form.