Archive | 2024

Week 17 review and a quick look forward to the last couple of weeks of the Summer Season

By Roger Nichols on 3rd September 2024 in Newsletter

Well, last Wednesday’s results in the Premier and A sections proved quite conclusive with the 3 horse race narrowing to just 2 teams now fighting for the Champions and Runners up spots. Bystander A by virtue of their 5-1 against the already champions of the A section Red Lion A have gone 2 points clear at the top of the Premier, ahead of AbingdonUtd/Con Club who beat Croft Nomads 4-2 in a very close encounter which featured 2 tied legs before Utd/Con Club won the decisive 3rd leg.

In the Bystander’s winDave Hudson topped the individual scoring in their win. Bystander were playing this “home” fixture at Steventon Sports as they “left” the Bystander a few weeks ago and have been playing their games “away”. Maybe next year they will have to change their name to the “cuckoos” as they look to find a new permanent home for 2025.

In the Ab Utd/Croft tight encounter Croft set 27 in the opening leg and Paul Barrett went to the oche as Utd’s anchor needing 5 dolls for the leg, he fell just short, but his last doll gave Utd the 4 they needed to tie the leg. Utd then set and a score of 23 leaving Croft’s anchorman Barry Townsend needing 4 to win the second leg for the visitors, but like Paul before him he fell just short, but his 3 dolls ensured the second leg was also tied! The deciding leg saw Croft with a couple of players not registering set a total of only 18 which for Utd/Con Club wasn’t too demanding and they hit 21 dolls to ensure a 4-2 win. For Ab Utd/Con Club Dave Dix included a 6 in his 12 doll haul, Bob Duff also hit 12 dolls and Phil Adams with 11 dolls and Scott Humphries with 10 were also major contributors to their aggregate score of 71whilst for the Croft only Barry Townsend was able to reach double figures with his 12 dolls.

The Premier league title will probably not be sorted until next week’s delayed week 10 fixtures when the Bystander will entertain Abingdon Utd/Con Club in their final game of the league season. Not being too hasty though because before then both the top 2 have to travel to the College Oak and the Plum Pudding respectively and those 2 sides can also have a say in where the title goes next week!

Berinsfield A and Steventon Sports A both enjoyed 6-0 victories over opponents Plum Pudding and The Vine. For Berinsfield it was their first win since June! Alex Chamberlain top scoring with 11 dolls for Berinsfield and their leg scores was their best of the season totalling 70. For Steventon Ricky Fletcher top scored with 12 dolls a total matched by Simon Winterbourne for the Plum Pudding on the night.

In the B section Stanford in the Vale FC regained top spot with a 6-0 win against nearest rivals The Bell A in a low scoring game where Colin Morton and Darren Bungay shared top spot with 7 dolls each for the football club and the 3 legs were won with scores of 11, 14 and 11! 7 was also the highest individual score on the night for another winning total with John Corcoran hitting 7 for the Fleur de Leys A

Also in the B section Abingdon United extended their long unbeaten run with a 5-1 win over Abingdon RBL and Jono Worrall top scored for the United with his first double figure haul of the season. Fleur de Leys also had a win in a low scoring game, winning 4-2 at the Fox and Harwellian B had a sixer in Gary Dalzvieira who hit 9 dolls and was denied a double figure haul only when he failed to register a score with his last 6 sticks! Andy Shipman did hit 10 dolls, his first double figures of the season after a string of individual 9’s in recent weeks for the winning side as they beat The Croft 5-1.

In the C section there were wins for The Bell B, The Grapes A, the Royal Oak and the Waggon & Horses who overcame league leaders Abingdon Con Club.

In the D section it was wins for Harwellian A with Ian Cooksley leading the way with 10 dolls and his individual score was matched by opponent Alfie Thorpe. The E section Rob Bartholomew’s 10 dolls were not enough to stop Bystander B securing a 4-2 win with skipper Steve Fernback hitting 11 dolls for the Bystander B for whom the win was a welcome “home” as they have reverted to playing their games at their former home The Fox, Boars Hill which has recently re-opened.

The F section saw wins for WADS bar, at the expense of rivals and fellow newcomers this season Fleur de Leys B who were on the receiving end of that 4-2 result. Also winners in this section were

Well with just 2 weeks to go some of the titles have already been decided. Red Lion A in the A section cannot be caught and neither can Abingdon Con Club in the C section so both will be league section winners at the close of the season whatever their last 1 or 2 results.

Stanford in the Vale FC with their win over The Bell A lead the B section by 4 points, in the C section it’s a fight to the finish for the runners up spot with the Bell B and the Boundary House as contenders. The D section is between The Midget and Harwellian A with the Midget suffering after looking to be clear favourites just a couple of weeks ago. The E section is a close fought contest between the North Star A and the Wheatsheaf with 2 games left to play and the F section is a straight contest between the WADS bar and the Fleur B with WADS seemingly favourites after last week’s win.

Also in this section last week North Star B and Sutton Courtney FC both won their encounters and the Horse & Jockey B and the Bystander C shared the points.

Just a final point after much chasing and encouraging we now have enough entries for the 3’s and 4’s competitions which will be played at The Croft next TUESDAY 10th SEPTEMBER with a 7.30 start. We are delighted that we can compete for these long established team competitions and thank those late entries who have enabled these to continue when the lack of entries had made that seem very unlikely until a few days ago!

As the Summer league season draws towards it’s close just a few reminders the last league games will be played next week. This is the week 10 fixture held over from early July as a result of England’s qualification for the latter stages of the Euro Championships. Wednesday September 18th the Finals Night will be held and will feature the Team 8’s final, the team 4′ and team 3’s together with the final of the Captains and Secretaries competitions. These will take place at Abingdon United Fc.

The Annual Presentation night will take place on Friday October 4th and this year will be held at the Croft Bar, Peachcroft, Abingdon. The semi finals and finals of both the Singles and Pairs competitions will take place (outside!!) and will be followed by the presentation of all of the league and competition trophies for all of the winners, runners up, leading doll scorers for each section. A raffle will take place on the night. . It is an important night for us as it enables us to recognise and thank all of the people, the players (over 600) this season , the landlords and stewards of our pubs and clubs, and the secretaries and captains of all of our teams. In short generally we thank everyone who helps in any way enabling us to maintain the long established tradition of playing Aunt Sally in our pubs and clubs in all of our towns and villages in the area!

Finally we have one Competition still to organise the Founders Trophy this is an open competition to all registered players aged 50+ who can just turn up on the night and play. Details of when and where this will take place (probably on a Thursday and maybe September 19th) in the next couple of days so watch this space!

Summer 2024 Week 17 Results

By Paul Stone on 3rd September 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon Utd@ConClub 4 – Croft Nomads 2; Legs (27-27, 23-23, 21-18)

P/A – Bystander A 5 – Red Lion Drayton 1; Legs (23-23, 25-21, 27-21)

P/A – Plum Pudding 0 – Steventon Sports SC A 6; Legs (19-27, 23-28, 23-26)

P/A – The Vine Cumnor 0 – Berinsfield SC A 6; Legs (18-26, 19-21, 15-23)

B – Abingdon United C 5 – Abingdon RBL 1; Legs (13-13, 14-8, 14-11)

B – Stanford in the Vale FC 6 – The Bell A Grove 0; Legs (11-9, 14-7, 11-10)

B – The Croft Bar 1 – Harwellian B 5; Legs (14-14, 9-18, 15-16)

B – The Fox Denchworth 2 – Fleur de Lys A, Hagbourne 4; Legs (10-9, 10-14, 14-18)

B – The Grapes B 4 – The Plough Long Wittenham 2; Legs (10-15, 17-9, 14-12)

C – Eight Bells Eaton 2 – The Bear and Ragged Staff Cumnor 4; Legs (9-15, 7-11, 14-11)

C – The Bell B Grove 6 – Boundary House 0; Legs (15-12, 13-10, 14-9)

C – The Oak Didcot 2 – The Grapes A 4; Legs (5-7, 15-10, 11-15)

C – The Waggon and Horses Southmoor 4 – Abingdon Con Club 2; Legs (9-10, 18-14, 8-6)

D – Berinsfield SC B 4 – The Plough Hanney 2; Legs (4-11, 11-8, 13-8)

D – Brewery Tap 4 – The Queens Arms 2; Legs (12-5, 10-12, 15-14)

D – Harwellian A 4 – The Chequers Charney 2; Legs (15-12, 8-16, 14-11)

D – Red Lion B Drayton 4 – College Oak B 2; Legs (8-4, 11-12, 14-9)

D – The Lamb A Wantage 4 – The Midget 2; Legs (10-11, 15-14, 17-15)

E – Bystander B 4 – The Lamb B Wantage 2; Legs (10-9, 9-12, 14-10)

E – Hanney RBL 4 – RAL SC 2; Legs (9-8, 5-11, 11-10)

E – Marcham Centre A 0 – The Wheatsheaf Didcot 6; Legs (8-12, 8-11, 9-12)

E – North Star A Steventon 6 – Horse & Jockey A 0; Legs (11-1, 9-7, 10-3)

F – Fleur de Lys B Hagbourne 2 – WADS Bar 4; Legs (12-15, 11-8, 8-14)

F – Grove RFC 0 – North Star B Steventon 6; Legs (3-5, 6-9, 2-9)

F – Horse and Jockey B Stanford i-t-V 3 – Bystander C 3; Legs (13-11, 5-10, 11-11)

F – Sutton Courtenay FC 4 – Marcham Centre B 2; Legs (10-9, 6-11, 9-6)

Blobbers

Barry Sutton (Hanney RBL), Chris Dennis (Sutton Courtenay FC), Colin Kilpin (The Bell A Grove), Duncan Nicholls (Grove RFC), Greg Coombs (Horse & Jockey A), Jess Bailey (North Star B Steventon), Jorge Eversion (Grove RFC), Nigel Jones (Bystander B), Robbie Cook (Grove RFC), Russell Gurney (Bystander B), Scott Gardner (Horse & Jockey A), Trevor Cox (Sutton Courtenay FC).

Sixers

David Dix (Abingdon Utd@ConClub), Gary Daluzvieira (Harwellian B).

Fivers

Alex Chamberlain 5-3-3 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 17

Barry Townsend 4-3-5 (Croft Nomads) – Week 17

Bob Duff 5-4-3 (Abingdon Utd@ConClub) – Week 17

Dave Hudson 3-4-5 (Bystander A) – Week 17

Dean Costa 0-1-5 (The Grapes A) – Week 17

Jack Wrigglesworth 0-5-2 (The Bell B Grove) – Week 17

Ken Fisher 1-5-2 (Abingdon Utd@ConClub) – Week 17

Phil Adams 4-2-5 (Abingdon Utd@ConClub) – Week 17

Richard Farmer 5-1-2 (The Bell B Grove) – Week 17

Rick Fletcher 5-4-3 (Steventon Sports SC A) – Week 17

Rob Bartholomew 2-5-3 (The Lamb B Wantage) – Week 17

Steve Enock 4-5-0 (Croft Nomads) – Week 17

Steve Fernback 2-5-4 (Bystander B) – Week 17

Week 16 an with just 3 weeks of the league season left there’s still a lot to play for!

By Roger Nichols on 28th August 2024 in Newsletter

Well, last week saw the race for the Premier section title take shape with Bystander A looking to be the major challenger to Abingdon Utd/Con Club’s recent years dominance of the title ! Bystander A made it 6 wins on the bounce as they saw off close rivals Croft Nomads 4-2 to take a one point lead over both the Croft and Abingdon United/Con Club who themselves were 5-1 winners over Berinsfield at the top of the table levelling their points total with that of the Croft who visit them this Wednesday. Both remain a point adrift of the Bystander with both Abingdon United and The Bystander having a game in hand so this week’s fixture between the two “chasers” and the final game of the season next month when Abingdon Utd/Con Club and Bystander meet will almost certainly determine where the Premier section title goes!!

Last week Bystander’s all round performance was enough to see off the Nomads with Dave Hudson, Jason Bowler and Andrew Morton all hitting 9 dolls apiece and skipper Steve Martin and Duncan Taylor both contributed 8 dolls of their own to see the Bystander to victory. This despite the best efforts of Dave Butler and Alan Bell who both hit 10 dolls and they were well supported by Martin Robinson, Barry Townsend and Steve Enock who all hit 9 dolls for the Croft.

Foe Abingdon Utd/Con Club Dave Dix top scored with 14 dolls, Phil, Adams hit 12 and Paul Barrett included the only 6 doll leg in his 11 as they overcame Berinsfield A 5-1 and for Berinsfield this represented their 6th straight defeat which is both surprising and really unusual! Their leg scores of 24, 16 and 12 probably illustrates how inconsistent they have been this season!

Phil Adams 12 dolls on the night makes him the second player with a doll average in excess of 4 per leg. Phil is now only headed in terms of average, of course, by Dave Dix who has played a game less so Phil atually leads on dolls scored!

Elsewhere in the Premier/A section there were wins for The Red Lion Drayton who beat College Oak 4-2 bringing an end to the Oak’s run of 4 straight wins. Dean Bowler’s recent return to his usual good form saw him hit 11 dolls whilst Phil Soden top scored with 9 dolls for the College. The Vine had cause to celebrate last week with their first win since week 5 in beating Steventon Sports A 4-2 . Danny Hamilton again led the way for the Vine with 10 dolls and in a disappointing night for Steventon no-one player was able to manage more than 6 dolls on the night!

The B section saw Abingdon Utd extend their unbeaten run to 8 games with Trevor Harrhy for United and Andrew Wilson for the Plough both hitting 10 dolls each as the teams shared the points 3 apiece. League leaders Stanford in the Vale FC had a really disappointing night and lost the top spot after a 5-1 defeat at Abingdon Legion and they only managed to score 27 dolls over the 3 legs! Both the Bell Grove teams in the B and C sections enjoyed a maximum 6 points against The Croft Bar and the Prince of Wales respectively. Also in the B section there were wins for the Fleur de Leys A and in the C section there were wins for leaders Abingdon Con Club and for The Bear and Ragged Staff for whom Rick Bailey top scored with 11 dolls as they beat the Royal Oak 4-2.

The D section produced wins for The Lamb Wantage A, The Chequers and the Wheatsheaf Didcot and the best individual doll haul in this section was from Cam King for the Brewery Tap but his 10 dolls weren’t enough to prevent the Tap going down 4-2. The E section saw RAL gain their third successive win overcoming Hanney RBL 4-2 and in the F section league WADS Bar registered their 4th successive win as Gareth Brown led the way with 10 dolls as they beat Sutton Courtney FC 6-0.

So how has last week’s results affected the League tables? Well I have already mentioned the Premier race which still features 3 teams still with a chance, but Croft having played a game more are probably the outsiders in a 3 team race to the title. Red Lion look favourites for the A section as they head second placed Plum Pudding and although Plum have a game in hand they trail the Lion by 14 points so with the Lion still having just 2 games to play they require only 4 more points to secure the title.

In the B section the defeat last week’s defeat of Stanford FC has let The Bell A take over at the top with just 3 games remaining for both including a head to head this week! The C section still has Abingdon Con Club well clear with just 2 to play, the D section looks to be a race between The Midget and Harwellian A who are separated by just 5 points. The E section and the F sections are both all still to play for as only a couple of points sit between the North Star A and Wheatsheaf teams in the E section and similarly there is little between the current leaders WADs Bar and Fleur de Leys B in the F section.

Summer 2024 Week 16 Results

By Paul Stone on 28th August 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Match Results

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 1 – Abingdon Utd@ConClub 5; Legs (24-24, 16-23, 12-24)

P/A – Croft Nomads 2 – Bystander A 4; Legs (22-26, 23-30, 27-20)

P/A – Steventon Sports SC A 2 – The Vine Cumnor 4; Legs (25-22, 16-23, 10-21)

P/A – Red Lion Drayton 4 – College Oak A 2; Legs (18-20, 25-21, 22-21)

B – Abingdon RBL 5 – Stanford in the Vale FC 1; Legs (14-3, 14-14, 11-10)

B – Fleur de Lys A, Hagbourne 5 – The Grapes B 1; Legs (11-11, 12-11, 11-10)

B – Harwellian B 4 – The Fox Denchworth 2; Legs (11-14, 13-9, 17-11)

B – The Bell A Grove 6 – The Croft Bar 0; Legs (12-10, 8-6, 12-9)

C – Abingdon Con Club 4 – Eight Bells Eaton 2; Legs (8-11, 19-10, 13-9)

C – Boundary House 4 – The Waggon and Horses Southmoor 2; Legs (12-11, 12-13, 16-5)

C – The Bear and Ragged Staff Cumnor 6 – The Oak Didcot 0; Legs (16-9, 14-10, 15-9)

C – The Prince of Wales Shippon 0 – The Bell B Grove 6; Legs (8-10, 14-17, 8-13)

D – College Oak B 3 – Harwellian A 3; Legs (9-8, 10-10, 9-16)

D – The Chequers Charney 4 – Brewery Tap 2; Legs (11-12, 13-8, 11-5)

D – The Midget 2 – Red Lion B Drayton 4; Legs (12-11, 8-9, 7-10)

D – The Plough Hanney 0 – The Lamb A Wantage 6; Legs (3-7, 10-14, 7-8)

D – The Queens Arms 4 – Berinsfield SC B 2; Legs (12-13, 11-10, 8-6)

E – Horse & Jockey A 0 – Hanney RBL 6; Legs (2-12, 4-6, 3-11)

E – RAL SC 4 – Marcham Centre A 2; Legs (6-16, 11-7, 11-8)

E – The Lamb B Wantage 2 – Steventon Sports SC B 4; Legs (10-11, 13-12, 8-15)

E – The Wheatsheaf Didcot 4 – Bystander B 2; Legs (15-9, 13-11, 12-13)

F – Bystander C 4 – The Plough Appleton 2; Legs (12-8, 8-9, 8-5)

F – North Star B Steventon 2 – Horse and Jockey B Stanford i-t-V 4; Legs (10-11, 9-4, 8-10)

F – WADS Bar 6 – Sutton Courtenay FC 0; Legs (15-8, 13-6, 14-3)

Blobbers

Andy Latimer (North Star B Steventon), Ben Newman (Bystander C), Greg Coombs (Horse & Jockey A), Kevin Higgs (The Waggon and Horses Southmoor), Lloyd Woodington (Berinsfield SC B), Nathan Thornhill (Stanford in the Vale FC), Rhys Lewis (The Plough Appleton), Terry Doughty (Harwellian A), Trevor Cox (Sutton Courtenay FC).

Sixers

Paul Barrett (Abingdon Utd@ConClub).

Fivers

Darren Bennett 4-5-0 (The Wheatsheaf Didcot) – Week 16

Dave Hudson 2-5-2 (Bystander A) – Week 16

David Dix 4-5-5 (Abingdon Utd@ConClub) – Week 16

Jason Bowler 5-3-1 (Bystander A) – Week 16

Liam Brooks 1-5-3 (The Bell B Grove) – Week 16

Martin Robinson 1-3-5 (Croft Nomads) – Week 16

Phil Adams 5-2-5 (Abingdon Utd@ConClub) – Week 16

Phil Soden 2-2-5 (College Oak A) – Week 16

Rick Bailey 3-5-3 (The Bear and Ragged Staff Cumnor) – Week 16

Summer 2024 Week 15 Results

By Paul Stone on 20th August 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon Utd@ConClub 0 – Steventon Sports SC A 6; Legs (13-23, 19-21, 19-20)

P/A – Bystander A 6 – Berinsfield SC A 0; Legs (22-18, 27-12, 28-19)

P/A – Croft Nomads 4 – Red Lion Drayton 2; Legs (18-21, 25-23, 20-18)

P/A – Plum Pudding 2 – College Oak A 4; Legs (23-27, 28-21, 24-25)

B – Abingdon RBL 1 – The Bell A Grove 5; Legs (9-11, 8-16, 11-11)

B – Abingdon United C 3 – Fleur de Lys A, Hagbourne 3; Legs (10-10, 13-15, 11-9)

B – Stanford in the Vale FC 5 – The Plough Long Wittenham 1; Legs (14-9, 10-10, 18-15)

B – The Fox Denchworth 2 – The Croft Bar 4; Legs (16-13, 12-14, 5-20)

B – The Grapes B 2 – Harwellian B 4; Legs (12-11, 13-14, 8-15)

C – Boundary House 1 – Abingdon Con Club 5; Legs (7-19, 10-11, 10-10)

C – The Bell B Grove 0 – The Grapes A 6; Legs (12-14, 14-17, 8-10)

C – The Oak Didcot 4 – Eight Bells Eaton 2; Legs (13-7, 17-9, 6-9)

C – The Waggon and Horses Southmoor 4 – The Prince of Wales Shippon 2; Legs (14-12, 11-15, 15-14)

D – Berinsfield SC B 3 – Brewery Tap 3; Legs (12-9, 9-11, 14-14)

D – College Oak B 3 – The Chequers Charney 3; Legs (10-5, 10-10, 10-11)

D – Harwellian A 4 – The Midget 2; Legs (13-15, 17-9, 12-8)

D – The Lamb A Wantage 4 – The Queens Arms 2; Legs (14-5, 6-8, 12-10)

E – Bystander B 4 – Marcham Centre A 2; Legs (9-5, 8-9, 10-8)

E – Horse & Jockey A 0 – RAL SC 6; Legs (4-8, 6-8, 5-6)

E – North Star A Steventon 6 – The Lamb B Wantage 0; Legs (10-7, 9-8, 11-8)

E – Steventon Sports SC B 4 – The Wheatsheaf Didcot 2; Legs (11-20, 17-11, 12-8)

F – Fleur de Lys B Hagbourne 4 – Bystander C 2; Legs (17-8, 13-8, 8-11)

F – Grove RFC 0 – WADS Bar 6; Legs (10-14, 5-16, 8-13)

F – Marcham Centre B 5 – North Star B Steventon 1; Legs (9-9, 11-4, 11-10)

Blobbers

Abigail Ray (Horse & Jockey A), Chris Wilding (North Star B Steventon), David Norton (North Star A Steventon), Duncan Nicholls (Grove RFC), Harry Belcher (The Prince of Wales Shippon), Lisa Pulleyn (North Star B Steventon), Mark Jaggard (The Oak Didcot), Nigel Jones (Bystander B), Nigel Tait (Abingdon RBL), Paul Matthews (Marcham Centre A), Ross Weston (Bystander C), Tom Doman (The Chequers Charney).

Sixers

David Warrell (College Oak A), Derrick Brown (WADS Bar), Michael Neal (Abingdon Con Club).

Fivers

Alan Bell 3-4-5 (Croft Nomads) – Week 15

Alan Rolls 5-0-1 (The Fox Denchworth) – Week 15

Brian Hudson 2-3-5 (The Croft Bar) – Week 15

David Dix 4-4-5 (Abingdon Utd@ConClub) – Week 15

Dean Bowler 4-5-2 (Red Lion Drayton) – Week 15

Ian Cooksley 0-5-2 (Harwellian A) – Week 15

Jason Bowler 5-4-2 (Bystander A) – Week 15

Lee Brown 5-4-1 (The Grapes B) – Week 15

Michael Samways 3-2-5 (Plum Pudding) – Week 15

Neil Campbell 0-1-5 (Harwellian B) – Week 15

Roy Taylor 2-3-5 (Bystander A) – Week 15

Ryan Cload 1-5-0 (Harwellian B) – Week 15

Week 15 highlights and a look at the league tables with just 4 weeks to go

By Roger Nichols on 20th August 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Well certainly the highlight of last week was a cracking 14 dolls including a 6, one of only 3 last week, for Derrick Brown who plays for the WADS bar in the F section. His doll hall, the highest individual score of the week also took Derrick past 100 dolls for the season so far, the first player outside of the Premier/A sections to become a centurian this season. Congratulations Derrick!

The Premier league continues to be a tightly fought contest with the Bystander A side recording their sixth successive victory with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Berinsfield SCA. Jason Bowler with 11 dolls and Roy Taylor on one of his rare appearances weighed in with 10 of his own.

Elsewhere within the Premier there were 4-2 wins for both Abingdon Utd and Croft Nomads against Steventon Sports and Red Lion so it continues to be a 3 horse race in the Premier with Ab Utd and Berinsfield both having a game in hand over the Croft. Dave Dix and Phil Adams jointly top scored with 13 dolls apiece for Utd and Alan Bell with 11 dolls was ably assisted by Dave Butler with his first double figures of the season for the Croft. For the Red Lion Dean Bowler continued his good run of form with 11 dolls.

Elsewhere within the Premier/A Section College Oak made it 4 successive wins with a 4-2 victory over the Plum Pudding for whom Dave (Foxy) Worrall hit an opening leg 6 only to follow that with a second leg blob! For Plum Pudding missing the holidaying Terry Downes, Mick Samways and Simon Reeve both hit 10 dolls.

The B section highlight was Abingdon United making it 6 games unbeaten when they drew 3 each with The Bell A.

Stanford in the Vale FC maybe viewing the prospect of a return to the A section in 2025 had Darren Kitchen top scoring with 10 dolls in a 5-1 win over The Plough. Harwellian B with 2 legs featuring both 5 dolls and blob legs from Ryan Cload and Neil Campbell beat the Grapes, for whom Lee Brown top scored with another 10 doll haul, 4-2.

Brian Hudson top scored for the Croft Bar when they returned from the Fox, Denchworth with a 4-2 win.

The C section saw Abingdon Con Club victorious 5-1 over the Boundary House. Like one of the other “sixers” on the night Con Club’s skipper Mickey Neal promptly followed his magnificent first leg with a third leg “blob” which probably led to the “chicken” being brought out by his team mates!

I promised a look at the league tables and the race towards the individual top doll counts for each of the sections as we approach the last month of the league season.

As already mentioned it’s a 3 horse race in the premier with Bystander’s recent run of 6 straight wins probably making them slight favourites at the moment, but the top 3 all still have to play each other so it could go right to the last game of the season, the match postponed from week 10 between them and Ab Utd/Con Club on the 14th September.

The A section sees Red Lion A 10 points clear with just 3 to play and it could still be tight as their last week of the season is a bye so they will be hoping to remain at least 6 points clear by then!

The B section seems to be a fight between Stanford in the Vale FC and the Bell A who are separated by just 2 points and the Croft Bar are 5 points behind but these top 3 all still have to play each other.

The C section is Abingdon Con Club’s to lose as they have a very healthy 15 point lead with only 3 games to play and the D section looks to be between the Midget and Harwellian A who are 5 points adrift.

The E section is led by North Star A with a 6 point lead, but that could be narrowed when second placed The Wheatsheaf play their game in hand this week.

The F section looks to be a straight contest between two newcomers – WADS Bar and the Fleur de Leys and they meet next week so that game may prove to be decisive come mid September!

Looking at the top dolls for each of the sections there’s still lots to play for! In the Premier teammates Dave Dix with 135 and Phil Adams with 132 are well clear of the rest, in the A section Dean Bowler, Paul Leach and Danny Hamilton are all within 3 dolls of each other, the B section is equally as close with just 7 dolls between the top 4 who are Paul Ealey and Dave Sapey from Abingdon RBL, Lee Brown of the Grapes and Andy Shipman of Harwellian B and they are all likely to reach their 2024 centuries when they next play as is Tom Lach of Abingdon Con Club who just needs 6 dolls to reach his “ton”.

In the D section the race to top doll scorer is led by Roly Bunce from the Chequers followed by Ian Cooksley of the Harwellian and in the E section Darren Bennett from the Wheatsheaf leads the way just ahead of Jim Lister from the North Star. In the F section Derrick Browns’ magnificent 14 dolls last week took him to 102 dolls for the season which not only puts him well in the lead to become the F section’s top “doller” it puts him into the top 10 doll scorers for all of the combined sections including the Premier probably time Derrick to appoint an agent!!

Summer 2024 Week 14 Results

By Paul Stone on 13th August 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Match Results

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 2 – Croft Nomads 4; Legs (20-22, 24-23, 23-25)

P/A – Bystander A 4 – Steventon Sports SC A 2; Legs (22-23, 25-20, 29-22)

P/A – College Oak A 6 – The Vine Cumnor 0; Legs (23-17, 24-21, 23-16)

P/A – Red Lion Drayton 5 – Plum Pudding 1; Legs (22-18, 22-22, 22-20)

B – Fleur de Lys A, Hagbourne 4 – Stanford in the Vale FC 2; Legs (13-12, 13-8, 10-16)

B – Harwellian B 1 – Abingdon United C 5; Legs (10-10, 9-12, 11-18)

B – The Bell A Grove 4 – The Fox Denchworth 2; Legs (15-10, 13-14, 13-10)

B – The Croft Bar 6 – The Grapes B 0; Legs (13-12, 11-9, 11-9)

B – The Plough Long Wittenham 0 – Abingdon RBL 6; Legs (13-19, 10-17, 15-16)

C – Abingdon Con Club 4 – The Oak Didcot 2; Legs (10-12, 18-17, 18-12)

C – The Bear and Ragged Staff Cumnor 2 – The Bell B Grove 4; Legs (14-12, 7-13, 14-16)

C – The Grapes A 0 – The Waggon and Horses Southmoor 6; Legs (12-18, 13-14, 12-15)

C – The Prince of Wales Shippon 4 – Boundary House 2; Legs (7-8, 10-9, 14-11)

D – Brewery Tap 3 – The Lamb A Wantage 3; Legs (10-10, 4-4, 11-11)

D – Red Lion B Drayton 2 – The Queens Arms 4; Legs (6-13, 7-8, 14-11)

D – The Chequers Charney 6 – Berinsfield SC B 0; Legs (12-4, 13-7, 14-6)

D – The Midget 2 – College Oak B 4; Legs (12-9, 10-14, 7-11)

D – The Plough Hanney 2 – Harwellian A 4; Legs (12-8, 10-12, 11-12)

E – Marcham Centre A 6 – Steventon Sports SC B 0; Legs (12-7, 16-8, 14-10)

E – RAL SC 4 – Bystander B 2; Legs (8-12, 12-7, 14-6)

E – The Lamb B Wantage 3 – Hanney RBL 3; Legs (9-9, 7-8, 11-8)

E – The Wheatsheaf Didcot 2 – North Star A Steventon 4; Legs (15-16, 13-14, 13-11)

F – Bystander C 4 – Sutton Courtenay FC 2; Legs (10-11, 14-7, 11-8)

F – Horse and Jockey B Stanford i-t-V 1 – Fleur de Lys B Hagbourne 5; Legs (10-11, 12-12, 8-13)

F – WADS Bar 4 – Marcham Centre B 2; Legs (11-15, 13-11, 11-8)

Blobbers

Alana Watson-Harrison (The Lamb B Wantage), Alistair Brewis (The Chequers Charney), Anthony Humphreys (Boundary House), Carey Lewis (Harwellian B), Charlie Harrison (WADS Bar), Dan Smith (Berinsfield SC B), Michael Harvey (The Vine Cumnor), Paul Hackwood (Steventon Sports SC B).

Sixers

Barry Townsend (Croft Nomads).

Fivers

Andy Phelps 4-5-3 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 14

Danny Hamilton 5-2-3 (The Vine Cumnor) – Week 14

David Bartlett 1-2-5 (Fleur de Lys B Hagbourne) – Week 14

David Sapey 4-5-1 (Abingdon RBL) – Week 14

Kevin Higgs 3-5-1 (The Waggon and Horses Southmoor) – Week 14

Mark Austin 5-1-2 (The Bear and Ragged Staff Cumnor) – Week 14

Martin Manion 0-5-1 (The Vine Cumnor) – Week 14

Martin Robinson 5-3-3 (Croft Nomads) – Week 14

Matty Belcher 3-3-5 (College Oak A) – Week 14

Max Winterbourne 1-5-4 (The Oak Didcot) – Week 14

Mckenzie Godfrey 1-5-1 (Horse and Jockey B Stanford i-t-V) – Week 14

Paul Ealey 5-3-5 (Abingdon RBL) – Week 14

Rick Fletcher 5-1-0 (Steventon Sports SC A) – Week 14

Tom Baptie 5-2-1 (Fleur de Lys B Hagbourne) – Week 14

Tom Lach 2-5-3 (Abingdon Con Club) – Week 14

Week 14 Review

By Roger Nichols on 13th August 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Week 14 is now behind us so the close season is only a matter of a few weeks to go and with that the prospect of the end of summer, and certainly the Wednesdays seem to simply fly by!

So last week’s round up. With Abingdon Utd/Con Club having a Wednesday bye their nearest challengers Bystander A and Croft Nomads both took the opportunity to record 4-2 victories with the Bystander’s having a 4th successive win at Steventon Sports with Steve Martin leading the way with 11 dolls and Jason Bowler contributing a further 10 for the Bystander. For the Sports Derek Fletcher top scored with 10 dolls.

Meanwhile at Berinsfield a very tight encounter with only 3 dolls separating the teams over the 3 legs. Croft Nomads just edged the win thanks largely to Barry Townsend who included a second leg 6 (the only one of the week) in his 11 dolls, shame as anchor man he needed 7 to level the leg, Martin Robinson with 11 and Ian Brook contributed 10. For Berinsfield Shaggy Phelps top scored with the highest individual tally of 12.

Elsewhere in the A section College Oak secured their 3rd straight win 6-0 over The Vine and Dave “Foxy” Worrell and Mattie Belcher top scored with 10 and 11 dolls retrospectively and Danny Hamilton also hit 10 dolls in reply for the Vine and the Red Lion beat the Plum Pudding 5-1 with the reliable Dean Bowler top scoring with 11 dolls for the Lion.

The B section Abingdon United made it 6 straight wins when returning with a 5-1 result when visiting Harwellian B, Abingdon RBL also were victorious beating the Plough, Wittenham 6-0 and skipper Paul Ealey hit the best score of the night with his 13 dolls ably aided by his the team secretary, Dave Sapey who added 10 dolls of his own! There were also wins for The Bell A and for the Croft Bar against The Fox, Denchworth and the Grapes B respectively.

In Section C League leaders Abingdon Con Club were winners on the night beating visitors Royal Oak 4-2 with 10 doll contributions for Tom Lach for the home side and Max Winterbourne for the Oak.

Also winners on the night in the C section were The Waggon and Horses, Prince of Wales and the Bell B, in the D section winners were Queens Arms , College Oak B, Harwellian A, and The Chequers, Charney in the E section Marcham Centre A, RAL SC, and North Star and in the F section Bystander C, Fleur de Leys B for whom Tom Baptie and David Bartlett both hit one leg of a 5 leg each in their 8 doll haul and the WADS Bar were all winners in that section.

A maybe interesting (to some!) facts of the night were that there were only two 3-3 results last week and they features both the Lamb Wantage sides and a less welcome fact (again to some!) was the two Grapes sides were both on the wrong end of 6-0 defeats, for the first time this season and maybe for the first time ever!

That’s all folks about last week (still 1 result outstanding!). Next week we will have a closer look at the league tables and the individual leading doll scorers as we reach the last quarter of our Summer season.

2024 Competition Sunday Results

By Paul Stone on 13th August 2024 in Competition News, Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Competition Sunday this year at Abingdon United FC was a hot one and kicked off with registration at 1pm and draws following. Played in the order below the Competitions were:-

Captains – 8 entrants

Secretaries – 8 entrants

Pairs – 12 entrants

Singles – 24 entrants

At the AGM we adopted the ‘Winter’ rules on Competitions so best of 3 legs and if drawn over those 3 then 3 sticks/1 stick/6 sticks with the same order after tossing for 3 sticks.

Final singles games (some hard fought) ended around 6.30pm.

Teams taking part were The Bell @Grove, Croft Nomads, Abingdon Utd@Con Club, Abingdon Con Club, Berinsfield SSC, The Plum Pudding, Abingdon Utd C.

Those still standing at the end ….

Captains Finalists – D.Sapey & S.Fernback

Secretaries Finalists – B.Duff & G.Lee

Pairs Semi-Finalists – K.Fisher & P.Adams, B.Duff & P.Barrett, S.Enock & I.Brook, P.Leach & D.Bradshaw

Singles Semi-Finalists – P.Stone, B.Duff, L.Clapton, G.Lee

Captains and Secretaries to be played on Finals Night.

Pairs and Singles Semis/Final on Presentation Night.

Many thanks for Roger Nichols for collating the entries, Claire Foster, Roy Taylor and Alan Foster for draws, recording and scoring. Also to Brian Clapton (and team) for getting the pitch sorted and the bar staff, without which it would definitely been too dry. To those who did their share of sticking up/calling in what became a free sauna in the shed – thank you!

NOTE from Roger….

I would just like to add my thanks to all who turned up and played Sunday for the Pairs, Singles, Captains and Secretaries Competitions and congratulate all the successful semi finalists in both the Pairs and Singles who will contest the remainder of their competitions on Presentation Night. Congratulations also the the finalists in both the Captains and Secretaries Competitions who will meet on Finals Night at Abingdon United on September 18th.

After a lot of soul searching over the future of the Competitions, and when to hold them, together with lots of chasing to make sure we had sufficient entries, which in one or two cases needed individuals to be gently persuaded we have been able to maintain our long held tradition of staging these Summer league competitions and that’s great for our game.

I do need to apologise to a couple of players, Mick Greenaway of Berinsfield and Dave Taylor from The Bell Grove who due to a bit of confusion on my part were initially omitted from the Singles competition. Luckily we were able to accomodate Mick thanks to Roy Taylor giving up his place in the draw, but Dave missed out altogether and for that I sincerely apologise Dave.

The confusion was caused by changes caused by both no shows of entrants on the day and late entries which we accepted on the day to boost the number of entries for each of the Comps and a bit of incompetence on my part!

It was a long and a hot afternoon with some excellent throwing and quite a few surprises. No 6’s on the day, but a few 5’s and lots of dolls spread around all of the entrants. So well done to all and I should give a special mention to Steve Fernback secretary of the Bystander B previously (and soon to be again) The Fox Boars Hill team in Section E on reaching the final of the Secretaries comp.

Thanks to everyone for their entry, their patience and for their commitment which enabled us to stage 5 of our traditional 8 Summer Competitions. We now need to move on in the next few weeks to see if we can stage the remaining 3 Competitions involving teams of 3’s, 4’s and 5’s so you can all expect some reminders, some cajoling and hopefully that will ensure that we reach our minimum number of entries to enable these to be held before the end of the season!

Finally, it was great to see our President and playing legend John Simmons with us for most of the afternoon, it’s always a pleasure to see and talk to John and to appreciate what a great attribute he, and his father before him have been to our game.

Scoreboard photos below – sorry I was too slow to get the Secretaries scores (or Roger was too keen to get the Pairs going!).

Click for full screen view – draws in the left column, results in the right.

Captains & Secretaries