Dinton scraped through to the national stages of the Village Cup thanks to a nervy and slender three-wicket victory over Bledlow on Sunday.
Bowling first, Dinton took wickets at regular intervals after a solid opening stand of 43 by Woodward and Moore.
Youngsters Will Fisher and Lawrence Snookes bowled with skill to pick up a wicket each but the real star was Mo Ur-Rehman who turned the game firmly Dinton’s way.
Picking up five quick wickets, including a brilliant hat-trick, his figures of eight overs 5-13 were exceptional and put Dinton in control of the match, although some late hitting from Bloomfield (29) and a top score of 34 by Downes helped Bledlow at least reach a competitive 156 from 40 overs.
In reply, despite the early loss of Brennan Gough, Dinton didn’t look in any trouble at 55-1, only then to lose a number of quick wickets which left the game in the balance. Craker, Moore and Woodward all picked up wickets to leave the visitors struggling on 108-7.
Enter club stalwart Matt Kelloway who calmly guided Dinton home with a well compiled 24 not out, ably assisted by Mo Ur-Rehman (17 not out).
Dinton are rewarded with a home tie which takes place this Sunday against Bentley from Essex in the first National Round of the Village Cup. The game starts at 1pm and all spectators are welcome.
The previous day, Dinton travelled to Horspath in Cherwell League Division One.
Losing the toss on an extremely wet wicket, and without captain Adam Mould and opener Ashley Smith, Dinton were up against it from the off.
Losing Brennan Gough in the first over set the tone for a woeful batting display, albeit on a pitch offering plenty of assistance to the bowlers, as Faruk and Rafix picked up four wickets. The only resistance came from Ryan Champan and Neil Roberts (35) as Dinton were skittled for 87.
Despite some promising bowling by youngsters Will Fisher and Lawrence Snooks, who both picked up wickets, Horspath never look in any real trouble in reply and easily reached the target with ample time to spare, losing just three wickets along the way.
Dinton, who have now dropped to second in Division One, will be hoping to get back to winning ways at home to Tiddington next week.