An aggressive innings of 80 by skipper Benji Hector sped Banbury to a convincing eight-wicket victory in their derby clash with Oxford at Rover Cowley on Saturday.
The result puts Oxford back in the relegation zone, which they had escaped following their first win of their league campaign the previous week.
After being asked to bat, Oxford were tied down by some disciplined bowling.
Former England seamer Paul Taylor made the intial breakthrough, before left-arm spinnner Luke Ryan produced the spell that turned the game.
Ryan, broke the burgeoning second-wicket stand of 60 between Pat Jobson and Stewart Laudat, dismissing both and then also accounting for Stuart Hole and Joe Porter in a notable haul.
The hosts had slumped from 79-1 to 102-5, but they were grateful to Jonno Evans and Shami Mendis for breaking the shackles.
Evans made 32, but Mendis was still there at the end on 63 as Oxford reached respectability on 214-7 from their 66 overs.
Ryan finished with the outstanding figures of 4-31 from his 11 overs, while Ollie Murrey’s 15 overs went for just 34 runs.
Banbury adopted an aggressive approach in reply.
Helped by dropped catches, openers Smith and Hector scored freely as they put on 138 for the first wicket, with no bowler able to contain them.
Eventually, Sturt Hole dismissed Smith for 67 and Hector for a domineering 80, while final flourish from Craig Haupt, who hit a rapid 47, saw Banbury home with eight wickets and more than 12 overs to spare.
To add to Oxford’s woes, they were deducted one point for a slow overrate.