HAC 1st XI 210-7 drew with OU Authentics 232-5d · Armoury House, City Road, London · Sunday 21 June 2026, 12:30

Weather: overcast and humid at the start, increasingly hot and sunny through the afternoon, 30°C. Pitch: dry, slow and low — offering nothing to the bowlers and everything to batters prepared to be patient.

A humid Sunday on City Road, the summer solstice hanging in the air, and some of Oxford's finest students in town. HAC had their work cut out. When the Authentics declared at 232-5, HAC's reply of 210-7 — three wickets intact when time expired — was enough. Honours even.

The Authentics are, by any measure, formidable opposition. Oxford University Cricket Club has a history stretching back to the 18th century, and the Authentics — the university's second XI — play their cricket in the shadow of a club that has produced Douglas Jardine, Imran Khan and the Nawab of Pataudi. On Sunday they batted with the authority of a side that knows exactly what it is doing. Kushann Sainani retired out on 102 from 75 balls — 16 fours and two sixes — and the platform he and Ollie Dunnett (53) constructed gave the declaration its teeth, leaving HAC a target with enough time to make it interesting.

Nishant Mittal and Max Shanahan — making his home debut, having apparently required some persuasion to leave his bed in time — were the pick of the HAC bowlers in what was, in truth, a testing afternoon for the attack on an unresponsive surface. Mittal's seven overs cost 30 at 4.3 an over; Shanahan took his first wicket on home soil. There will be days when the conditions offer more — the boundary not so small on one side, and the fielding sharper on an outfield still recovering from car shows, marquee builds and the driest spring on record.

The batting told a richer story. At 27-3, with the top order gone and the afternoon heat settling in over City Road, survival looked a long way off, let alone anything more ambitious. But Sean Parry and Liam Casey had done this before — three years ago at The Oxford Parks, the same partnership had batted HAC to victory. Could they do it again? For a long while, it seemed entirely possible. A stand of over 100, Parry making 60 from 62 balls, Casey 53 from 69, and a win suddenly within touching distance. When they fell in quick succession the lower order had work to do, and they did it — Alex Hunt and Zeeshan Mahmood, in particular, playing some lovely shots in the process. In the end, 22 runs separated HAC from the win. It was, after all, HAC's first home game of the season — one of the driest springs on record and various other demands on the ground having conspired to delay it — and on a day of searing heat, that proved just enough to keep victory out of reach. Close, but not close enough.

Match drawn.

Photos By Nishant Mittal