CHAD Keegan said Oxfordshire were always confident of victory after booking their place in the semi-finals of the Unicorns Counties Championship yesterday, writes ED MEZZETTI.

The 34-year-old shone with a five-wicket haul as Oxon beat Cumberland by 49 runs at Bicester & North Oxford to set up a home clash with Wiltshire next month.

Although setting only 178, Oxfordshire bowled with discipline and penetration as the visitors fell well short of their target.

“We knew that 150 would be defendable, I was confident and the team were confident going out there,” said Keegan.

The seamer grabbed the first three and the last two wickets of Cumberland’s innings, but felt the whole team had excelled to put the pressure on.

“That wicket was hard to score on,” he said. “We just didn’t let anyone settle.”

Keegan added: “As (captain) Luke Ryan said a few games ago, this is an easy team to manage.

“It is just a pleasure to go out there and play with them. We are all loving being part of this team.”