Bucks Men's 1st XI has qualified for the NCCA Trophy knockout stages following an impressive eight-wicket win against Oxfordshire at Tring Park CC on Sunday.

View the scorecard HERE

After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Tom Weymes got the Men's 1st XI off to the perfect start with the wicket of Dylan Driscoll (1), courtesy of a sublime diving catch by Alexei Kervezee.

Despite a tough start for the visitors at 1/1, Freddie Smith and Hayden Rossouw brought up a 50-run partnership inside 13 overs, before both fell in consecutive overs to the bowling of Max Uttley and Conner Haddow — Smith (25) was trapped LBW by Uttley, and Rossouw (34) was caught by George Harvey after taking on Haddow.

Another rebuild from the travelling side, led by Harrison Ward and Arjun Ramkumar, took them to three figures at the halfway stage — 100/3 after 25 overs.

Once again, Bucks took wickets in back-to-back overs — Weymes had Ramkumar (13) caught on the boundary by Danny Chapman, and Ward fell for a lusty 33 runs to Haddow, who trapped the Oxfordshire captain LBW after an attempted reverse sweep.

Having toiled away with an economy rate of 3.00 prior to his breakthrough, Ed Bragg earned a much-deserved wicket in his eighth over, claiming the third LBW of the innings — George Tait, dismissed for 10.

With 14 overs remaining in the match, Oxfordshire looked to push the tempo of their innings, but to no avail, as Uttley took the wickets of Luke Hayes (13) and Tom Davis (0) in consecutive wicket-maiden overs — Hayes was stumped by Ross Richardson, and Davis was caught by Cam Hemp.

Upon the completion of Haddow's impressive 10-over spell of 2 for 36, Bragg returned to the bowling attack and had Tristan Rossouw (4) caught behind on the first ball of his ninth over.

Cam Parsons wrapped up the innings with his first wicket of the match, dismissing Oliver Avinou (9), who was caught by Haddow — Oxfordshire 160 all out after 46.2 overs.

The chase for 161 was on, and Cam Hemp got Bucks off to a flyer, scoring 16 runs from his first eight deliveries.

Due to the nature of the situation, Bucks needed to boost their run rate to improve their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages, and this came at a cost, as Danny Chapman was bowled by a sharp Tom Davis delivery for just two runs.

Aadi Sharma was next to the crease, making his first Men's 1st XI appearance of the season, and he wasted no time in showing his class, sending one to the ropes after facing just six balls.

Respecting good balls and punishing bad ones is often the foundation of any quality innings, and so it proved for both Hemp and Sharma at Tring Park Cricket Club.

Sharma reached his half-century in 48 balls with a superb six, and Hemp followed suit in the same Henry Welch over, piercing through midwicket for four to bring up his well-crafted 50 from 56 balls.

With the innings nearing the halfway mark, Hemp finished in the same fashion he started, striking 18 runs in the 23rd over before being bowled by Luke Hayes for a run-a-ball 78.

Captain Alexei Kervezee made his way to the middle with his side needing just 18 runs to win, and Sharma (67 not out) looked on as Kervezee sealed the victory in the 27th over with a boundary, keeping Bucks’ hopes of qualifying for the NCCA Trophy knockout stages alive.

As Berkshire won their match against Devon, this means that Bucks Men's 1st XI has finished in second place in the NCCA Trophy Group 3, and have qualified for the knockout stages to face Dorset (A) on Sunday, 1st June.

Men's 1st XI Captain Alexei Kervezee was delighted: As a group, we put in a very clinical display, and the tone was set by the seamers, who hit good areas from the start to create real pressure.

That led into the two spinners bowling really well, with Max [Uttley] being the stand-out. His two wicket maidens on the bounce really showcased how well he bowled and what he is capable of.

Then, with the batting, it was a dominant and clinical display from Cam Hemp and Aadi [Sharma], both showcasing what they are capable of — putting pressure on the bowlers, hitting the bad balls, and being confident in defence.

The team is really happy and excited to have qualified for the knockout stages, and we cannot wait for the 1st of June.

The group has played some really good cricket and showcased what we are capable of as a team over the last four games.