25. May 2026

Heat, Nerves and Memories: Oulton Park’s Big Week Ends in Another Dufty Hundred

Oulton Park CC 1st XI vs Oakmere CC & Christleton CC | 21st & 23rd May 2026

There are some wins that feel routine. And then there are the ones that leave everyone leaning on the balcony afterwards replaying every ball, every edge, every near miss.

This week at Oulton Park Cricket Club had a bit of everything — milestone moments, a ruthless T20 demolition, a scorching Saturday league battle, and a finale that somehow managed to feel both chaotic and completely under control at the same time.

After last weekend’s rain-hit frustration at Upton — where Jonny Litler still managed to reach a landmark 1,000 runs for the 1st XI on literally the final ball possible — Oulton Park returned home looking to make a statement.

And they certainly did.

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Thursday Night Lights: Oakmere Blown Away

First up came the Thursday evening T20 clash against Oakmere Cricket Club.

Skipper Matthew Holland won the toss and stuck Oakmere in under the Little Budworth evening sunshine, but the visitors quickly made early inroads. Avinash Shastri was gone in the third ball of the innings and George Moss followed soon after, leaving Oulton Park searching for momentum.

That momentum arrived in a blur.

Bradley Heginbotham and Nick Ball launched a counterattack that completely flipped the game. Heginbotham cracked 37, Ball blasted 34, and together they smashed 56 runs in just over five overs. Suddenly the home crowd had something to shout about.

Even when Oakmere’s overseas man Sevriano Cupido began ripping through the middle order, Oulton Park kept swinging. Owen Williamson piled on another rapid 37 before Amjad Khan arrived late to provide the fireworks. And what fireworks they were.

Three fours. Two sixes. A frantic unbeaten 31. Exactly the sort of finish T20 cricket was invented for.

By the close, Oulton Park had powered their way to 193/7 — a total that always looked beyond Oakmere. So it proved.

Kevin Douglas and Jonny Litler set the tone with the new ball before Frazer Heginbotham and Andy Dufty tightened the screws. Oakmere never recovered. Wickets kept tumbling, the pressure never eased, and Avinash Shastri wrapped things up with 4.3 overs still unused as the visitors were skittled for just 99.

A 94-run victory. Clinical stuff.

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Saturday: The Heatwave Test

If Thursday was fun, Saturday was survival.

With temperatures soaring on the hottest day of 2026 so far, Christleton Cricket Club arrived at Little Budworth for a league encounter that turned into an absolute grinder.

Christleton opener Max Dunbavand played superbly for his 113, anchoring the innings while wickets gradually fell around him. Jonny Litler struck early, Avinash Shastri removed overseas man Chris Cilemanoff, and Andy Dufty chipped in as Oulton Park kept themselves just about in control.

But the standout spell belonged to James Bell.

The seamer tore through the lower middle order with figures of 4-34, repeatedly killing Christleton momentum just as it threatened to build. When Litler returned to bowl Dunbavand with a beauty in his second spell, the innings effectively ended there.

Christleton closed on 219 all out.

Competitive? Absolutely.

Unchaseable? Not on that pitch.

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Dufty Does It Again

The reply started steadily enough. Danny Leech and Frank Farrington kept the scoreboard ticking before skipper Andy Dufty settled in for one of those innings that now feels almost inevitable.

No panic. No rush. Just accumulation, control and the occasional reminder that bad balls disappear quickly at Little Budworth.

Leech made an important 32. Farrington added 33. Jonny Litler chipped in with 20. But all the while, Dufty remained there, calmly steering the chase toward the finish line.

And then… the chaos arrived.

At 201/4, the game should have been done. Instead, Oulton Park suddenly lost four wickets for just 14 runs. Nick Ball bowled. Owen Williamson LBW. Avinash Shastri trapped in front. Frazer Heginbotham edging behind.

From cruise control to full panic mode in about seven minutes. The dressing room balcony went quiet. The crowd got twitchy. And through all of it, Dufty sat stranded on 98 not out.

With five still needed for victory, Kevin Douglas produced the moment that settled everything — a boundary that edged Oulton Park to the brink before cleverly keeping Dufty on strike for the next over.

Then came the release.

Third ball of the 48th over. Boundary for 4. Match won. Hundred secured by Dufty once again.

Andy Dufty finished unbeaten on 102, raising his bat to a home crowd that probably needed a lie down after those final overs.

It wasn’t perfect. Oulton Park gave away 39 extras and nearly made life much harder than necessary. But it was another 20 points, another skipper’s century, and another reminder that this side never seems short of drama.

More importantly, as several people muttered around the ground afterwards, it brought back memories of 2025 all over again.

Next up for Oulton Park Cricket Club: a final T20 group trip to Haslington on Thursday before the 1st XI head south to Tattenhall on Saturday.