[1] Between 1935 and 1939 he played first-class cricket for Lancashire, before the Second World War interrupted and ended a promising start to his Test career.
His performance prompted Neville Cardus, a cricket journalist, to compare Oldfield's strokeplay to that of Johnny Tyldesley.
A few days after the match ended, the Second World War broke out and he did not play first-class cricket until 1948,[2] and curtailing what could have been a long Test career.
[2] After the war ended and first-class cricket resumed, the 35-year-old Oldfield could not agree terms with Lancashire and left.
[2] In the 151 first-class matches he played for Lancashire, Oldfield scored 7,002 runs at an average of 35.72 with 12 centuries.