Author Archive | Roger Nichols

Well, with the end of the summer season fast approaching last week was a busy one with some results determining league winners, some bringing some very tight finishes in prospect. Also the two 8’s semi finals being held with Abingdon Conservative Club overcoming Abingdon RBL and Croft Nomads defeating Steventon Sports SC A. The final will take place at Abingdon United on September 10th together with all of the other “open” competition finals.

We also held our very first pairs competitions for players from sections D, E and F. We had a great turnout with 22 pairs entering and turning up on a very pleasant Thursday evening at the Harwellian Club who hosted us. This competition progressed to the semi final stage with 2 pairs from the Fox, Boars Hill, one from the host side Harwellian and another from Long Wittenham AC. A great evening with the individual highlight a cracking 6 doll leg by the Bystander’s international star from Canada Rene Laporte! Due to unavailability of individuals, which we had hoped to include the semi finals and final on Finals Night, will need to be arranged on dates that suit those players who secured their semi final places, so watch this space!

In the league once again it is Abingdon Conservative Club who lead the way in the Premier section. Another excellent performance saw them winning 5-1 against the Plum Pudding and that win included yet another plus 30 doll leg for the Con Club! It was Dave Dix’s night again on an individual basis hitting 17 amazing dolls taking him beyond 200 for the season and so, so close to that elusive 18 stick maximum which hasn’t been being achieved in our league since Doug Califano playing for Abingdon United back in 1979! Dave was aided and abetted on the night by Phil Adams who also hit a 6 doll maximum in his 13 dolls, Alex Chamberlain also with 13, Leigh Clapton with 11 and Paul Barrett and Ken Fisher with 10 a piece, so 6 players all in double figures on the night! Dave Dix’s doll average for the season so far is a remarkable 4.54 and the Con Club only need 1 point from the remaining 12 on offer to secure the title for another year. Paul Longford top scored for the Plum with 11 dolls in reply.

In the A section Berinsfield SC A also managed a 30 doll leg in their 6-0 victory against a depleted College Oak A side and like the Con Club Berinsfield only need 1 more point to secure the A section title. Andy Phelps was another “sixer” on the night for Berinsfield and Richard Jones and Stuart Wilson both hit a dozen dolls for Berinsfield. There was a good number of double figure doll scorers last week including Andy Morton (11), Steve Martin (12), Jason Bowler (10) and Steve Martin (10) for Abingdon United A. Barry Townsend (11) and Alan Bell (10) for Croft Nomads.

Elsewhere Gareth Brown managed 12 dolls for the WADS Bar whose 6-0 win felled the Royal Oak from the top of the B section and Dave Sapey’s 11 dolls for Abingdon RBL helped them to moved to top spot in that B section, I think for the first time this season, but only 1 point separates 4 teams so doll count may well come into play at the end of the season. In the F section Adam Connelly led the way for league leaders Grove RFC with 10 dolls which helped his side to a 6-0 win against close rivals Ladygrove and opened up a 3 point gap at the top of the F section.

So looking at the league tables as previously mentioned only 1 point each is required by AbingdonCon Club and Berinsfied to secure the Premier and A section titles, section B is still all to play for. The C section just requires 1 more point for the Wheatsheaf. The D section the Black Horse have a 7 point lead.

The E section is very tight with The Bystander and Marcham Centre A level on 63 points each, but Marcham Centre have a significant doll advantage, but Waggon & Horses are still lurking should there be any slip ups as they are just 1 point adrift. The F section looks like a race for the finish with Grove RFC holding a 3 point advantage from North Star B who are now 6 points clear of third placed Ladygrove.

Once again pride of place goes to Abingdon Conservative Club who are proving unstoppable despite every other team in the Premier and A section having to concede dolls to them with the handicap system. In their 6-0 victory over Stanford FC they amassed a total of 79 dolls including a first leg of 33 dolls, the second time in recent weeks they have reached this – an average of over 4 dolls from each of their 8 players. Strength in depth is the key to their success and last Wednesday Paul Barrett was the only “sixer” of the night, but 5 of out of their 8 hit double figures – Dave Dix 14, Phil Adams, 13 Paul Barrett 12, Alex Chamberlain with 11 and Nick Baldwin’s 10 and the other 3 players weren’t too shabby either scoring 19 between them. In fairness to the Vale FC they almost made it in the 3rd leg losing that by only the one doll 22-21.

The Plum Pudding closed the gap on second placed Croft with a 4-2 win against Steventon Sports. Paul Longford top scoring with another 10 dolls for the Plum. For Steventon it was a mixed evening losing the first 2 legs and the normally reliable ‘Rod’ Fletcher recorded blobs in both, but he struck back with a big 5 in the 3rd to help the Sports secure 2 points.

Interestingly 17 players last week all had at least one 5 doll leg on the night, but 6 of those also failed to record a doll in at least one of the other legs!

At the Croft the night started badly and got worse! Before the match started the iron broke at the base and had to be propped up with paving slabs and bricks before both sides agreed to go ahead with the match. Thanks to Abingdon United for agreeing to throw at a doll in a shed which looked as if a body had been buried there! It didn’t seem to deter United who went on to win for only the second time this season beating the Nomads 4-2. Skipper Steve Martin top scored for United with 10 dolls, and Bert Newman and Simon Kinnaird were both solid contributors for United. Whilst for the Croft only Alan Bell seemed to be on song for the Croft hitting another 13 dolls but United clinched the first leg 24-22, Croft hit back to win the second, but set 22 in the deciding leg they had 5 players who only managed 1 doll each, leaving them well short of the target!

In the A section Berinsfield SC A lead the way entertaining and opening up a nice gap over their nearest rivals and visitors on the night Red Lion A with a 6-0 win. Leg scores were 23-22, 25-18 and 25-24 so it was a close run thing with 2 legs could have gone either way with just the 1 doll separating the sides. For Berinsfield Jack Hawkins with 11 dolls top scored and Dean Bowler hit 10 for the Lion.

Other double figures scores on the night in the Premier/A section were recorded by Robert Glen for Stanford FC and Steve Peedell for the Vine, but their scores alone weren’t enough to gain their side any points on the night although the Vine’s 6-0 defeat by College Oak A also saw 2 of those legs won by just the 1 doll!

It’s tight at the top of the B section with Royal Oak and Cr0ft Bar level on points with 3 to play! Both were 4-2 winners on the night. There were also welcome wins for the Bear & Ragged Staff and for The Bell A in this section. Steve Browning top scored with 10 dolls as the Bell A beat Fleur de Lys 5-1. WAD’s Bar fell to a somewhat surprising 6-0 defeat at home to Abingdon Legion.

Highlights in the C section saw the Wheatsheaf consolidate their top spot with a 5-1 win against the Red Lion B and Eight Bells record only their second victory of the Summer against the Brewery Tap. The Fox Denchworth enjoyed a good night with a 6-0 win over the Bell B. Steve Taylor led the way with 12 dolls and Charlie East chipped in with 11 dolls (wot no VAR referral Charlie!) The Midget beat the Earl B 5-1 in a South Abingdon derby. Boundary House were 4-2 victors against the North Star A and in another South Abingdon derby in this section Brewery Tap defeated the Earl of Abingdon B 5-1.

The Plough Long Wittenham maintained their long unbeaten run (last defeat week 6) in the D section with a 4-2 return against College Oak B, The other Plough side from West Hanney enjoyed their trip to Shippon where they took all 6 points from their hosts, the Prince of Wales. Steventon Sports B and Harwellian shared the points and due to players holidays etc the Lamb A conceded their fixture at the Fox.

In the E section the competition remains fierce as we approach the last 3 weeks of the summer season with the Bystander winning 5-1 against one of the chasing pack the Waggon and Horses and Marcham Centre A securing 4 points against Berinsfield SC B. Despite registering 11 blobs on the night Queens Arms still managed a 4-2 win against The Crown A.

There was some good leg scores in the F section with a very commendable 45 dolls being scored by the Horse & Jockey in their 6-0 victory over the Crown B, their 4th win on the bounce. There was a setback for league leaders Grove RFC as they went down 4-2 to the North Star B and wins were secured also by the Ladygrove 6-0 against the Plough Appleton, Tyrone McGill with 10 dolls and Long Wittenham AC.

Overall in the F section there were 15 legs recorded with double figure (highest 17) scores good enough to have secured points in many games in higher sections!

As far as league positions go it seems improbable that Abingdon Conservative Club will be caught in the Premier, the chase seems to be all for runners up but both second placed Croft and third placed Plum Pudding both have to face the league leaders in the next couple of weeks so their results against the league leaders could prove to determine the final league placings. The A section shows that Berinsfield SC A have opened up a comfortable gap over the Red Lion A after last week’s results.

In the B section Royal Oak and The Croft Bar share the lead with the Oak ahead on doll count with a 14 doll advantage. The C section sees The Wheatsheaf 11 points clear from second placed Bell B. The Plough West Hanney are 10 points ahead of the Fleur de Lys B and it is the E and F sections which are proving to be the tightest sections of all this year. The E section sees Bystander just 2 points ahead of Marcham Centre A and both the Waggon and Horses and Challow CC just 1 point further behind so all to play for! The F section is getting tight as well. Long term leaders Grove RFC are now only 1 point ahead of North Star B and Ladygrove are also still in the hunt only another 2 points adrift and they meet Grove this Wednesday!

DEF Pairs Competition

Just a reminder to all of those teams in sections D, E and F that the Pairs Competitions for these sections will take place at the Harwellian Club on Thursday 21st August. I am asking all teams to confirm their entries by close of play this coming Wednesday when entries will be closed. Thank you to all who have already done that.

This is the first occasion we have held this tournament and at stake are cash prizes for both the winner and runner up so we are really hoping for a good entry level and a full turnout on the night!

Week 14 Review

Another fine Wednesday night last week and without wanting to be over optmistic with 13 of our 18 week season already completed is this the best summer’s weather we have had for a long time! 

Certainly the fine weather last week produced some very good performances and there were 4 “sixers” on the night and delightfully one of those was scored by the league’s president, John Simmons playing for Abingdon United A although his efforts, together with 11 dolls from his skipper Steve Martin was not enough to prevent United from going down at home 4-2 to the Plum Pudding.

Abingdon Conservative Club were again in fine form with a 6-0 victory at Steventon Sports A. Dave Dix once again leading the way with another massive 16 dolls including yet another 6, his 4th of the season so far. The all round strength of the Con Club was evident with Paul Barrett and Nick Baldwin both hitting 12 dolls and Bob Duff and Scott Humphries contributing 11 each and for Scott, surprisingly, his first double digit score of the season! Luckily for Stevie both Phil Adams and Alex Chamberlain had, by their own standards, slightly off nights!

The race behind the league leaders for second place saw Croft Nomads edge a little further ahead of the Plum Pudding after a 6-0 win over a slightly depleted College Oak A side. Chris Jenkins led the way for the Croft with 13 dolls ably supported by his teammates including the ever consistent Alan Bell who hit another 10 dolls. Matty Belcher top scored for the College with 10 dolls.

The Red Lion won 4-2 against the Vine for whom Danny Hamilton top scored with 11 dolls, but Kevin Billington’s 6 was the highlight of the night and he, together with Kevin Regan and Glen Woolley all contributed 10 dolls apiece for the Lion. Berinsfied SC A 4-2 winners at Stanford in the Vale FC retain the leadership of the A section with just 4 weeks left.

There were lots of other good individual performances last week including a 6 doll leg from Simon Skelley playing for the Fleur de Leys A in the B section against Abingdon Utd C who were still winners on the night, their 5th successive win.

For the WADS bar it was a night for the Browns with both Derrick and Gareth leading the way with 10 dolls each in their 4-2 win at the Bear & Ragged Staff and the B section ‘fudgie” franchises were also winners when the Earl of Abingdon A beat Abingdon RBL 4-2, Craig Rogers top scoring for the Earl with 10 and despite an excellent 12 dolls  from Paul Ealey the Legion still went down 4-2 on the night.

The C section also saw some fine individual performances with Colin Cherrill ‘rolling back the years’ hitting 13 dolls for The Fox, Denchworth but the spoils were shared in a 3-3 draw against the Earl of Abingdon B side. Liam Brooks’s 10 dolls helped the Bell B side to a 5-1 win over the Red Lion B and the Wheatsheaf maintain their position at the top of the C section claiming all 6 points in their match with the Eight Bells, Charley Guillan with 11 and Darren Bennett with 10 topping the scoring for the league leaders.

The D section looked to be The Plough, West Hanney’s title to lose even with 5 matches to go, but last week they suffered a 6-0 defeat at the Harwellian which means they still have a healthy 8 point gap at the top of the section, but with 4 games still to play maybe there is still some hope for their section rivals!

Down in the E section skipper Brian Bosley’s 10 dolls were not enough to avoid a defeat for Marcham Centre A who went down 5-1 to the Waggon & Horses for whom Dennis Forbes-Smith also scored 10 dolls. This is the most competitive of all the sections at this stage of the season with only 2 points separating the top 4 teams and this week’s game between the Bystander and the Waggon & Horses could play a part in determining the league positions at the end of the season although no doubt both 2025 newcomers Challow & Childrey CC with 6 wins on the trot and Marcham Centre A who lost pole position after their defeat last week will both have a big part to play in the final table!

Finally, this week time to have a look at the leading doll scorers in each of the sections. In the Premier clearly Dave Dix is once again leading the pack with 174 dolls. Remarkably this means that of the 234 sticks Dave has thrown he has missed with only 60 and that means really that for every 4 sticks thrown 3 have been dolls! In the A section Danny Hamilton leads the way with 122 dolls, just 2 ahead of Richard Jones. The B section is led by Derrick Brown who has amassed 123 dolls so far. The C section Steve Taylor, from the Fox Denchworth last week hit his 100th doll of the season and leads that section.

In the D section no one player has yet reached three figures yet, but there are only 9 dolls separating 7 players in the chase for top doll scorer for this section. At the top it’s between the Collett boys, Dave and Billy, but their teammate Andrew Wilson is right on their tail and then there are 3 more who can easily catch and overtake those top 3 with 4 games to go. The E section Brian Bosley, skipper of Marcham Centre A, leads the way with 105 dolls and James Fletcher playing for North Star B tops the dolls table with 101 to date.

Week 12

Starting with the belated week 12’s results pride of place must go to Premier section leaders Abingdon Conservative Club and in particular Phil Adams who fell just 1 doll short of the magic maximum 18 dolls, a feat not achieved in the league for many, many years. Phil’s 17 dolls aided and abetted by Dave Dix’s 12 dolls including a 6 of his own and 10 from Bob Duff all led to a convincing 5-1 win for the Con Club at Berinsfield and a total of 84 dolls scored including a 33 doll leg! (Highest ever leg score was set at 37 in 1992).

I should mention another “sixer” Derrick Brown for the WADS Bar and there were also double figure hauls for Roger Clarke of the North Star’s A team who hit 14 dolls, Barry Townsend’s 12 for Croft Nomads and 11’s for Geoff Lee and Dean Bowler.  

There were a few surprises in the league with Challow & Childrey CC beating the Bystander 6-0 in the E section and the Lamb B securing a 4-2 win over higher placed Ladygrove in the F Section.

In the 2 local Marcham derbies the Community Centre edged the spoils with the A side winning 4-2 at the Crown and in the battle of the B sides at the Community Centre the points were shared 3-3.

Week 13

Moving on to last week, there were no sixes recorded, but lots of good individual scoring. Chris Jenkins led the way with 14 dolls for Croft Nomads as they defeated Red Lion A 6-0 denting the visitors hopes of closing the gap on Section A league leaders Berinsfield SC A who themselves were defeated 4-2 at the Vine. The win for the Croft enabled them to edge into second place ahead of the Plum Pudding who were 4-2 winners against the College Oak. The most entertaining match in the Premier looked to be the one which saw Abingdon Conservative Club held to a 3-3 draw against Abingdon United A. 3 players hit 12 dolls each in this match Dave Dix and Phil Adams for the Con Club and Jumbo Mott for United. The share of the points was secured for the Premier would be champions with a 26-22 third leg win after the first leg was drawn 27 apiece and United won the second by the narrowest of margins 24-23.

In other sections the Royal Oak slipped to a 4-2 home defeat against the Croft Bar in the B section, The Plough West Hanney scored well in the first 2 legs against Steventon Sports B with 19 and 20 dolls, but their visitors hit back scoring 20 themselves to secure the leg and 2 points.

The Fox, Boars Hill also had a good night winning 6-0 against Harwellian A putting together 3 good legs and a total of 48 dolls. The Plough Long Wittenham also won 4-2 against the RAL SC an that included a 20 doll leg.

Other worthy mentions from last week go to the other “double digit” scorers who were Danny Hamilton of the Vine, Mick Greenaway, Berinsfield SC A, Derrick Brown, WADS Bar, Wayne Robbins, The Plough West Hanney all with 12 dolls. 

Bob Faulkner, Bear & Ragged Staff, Colin Brind, Steventon Sports A, Paul Longford, Plum Pudding and Paul Ealey, Abingdon RBL all recorded individual totals of 11 dolls on the night.

Well another fine and warm Wednesday evening saw some fine, warm and hot performances! Pride of place must go to Abingdon Conservative Club, their 4-2 victory over the Red Lion doesn’t really tell the story of the night. Firstly 4 of their side hit double figures with Dave Dix leading the way with 14 dolls, Phil Adams was only just pipped to “pinchers” with 13 dolls and then Leigh Clapton and Alex Chamberlain scored 11 and 10 as well. The Con Club also recorded the highest leg of the season when chasing a very challenging 28 in the third leg they hit 30 dolls and remember that is with no handicap advantage! Anchor man Phil Adams secured the leg with a magnificent 6 after Dave Dix had also hit his maximum in the same leg!

There were also wins in the Premier/A section for Plum Pudding 4-2 victors over Berinsfield SC A. For the Plum Paul Leach top scored with 12 dolls ably assisted by Paul Longford with 11 and Dave Bradshaw with 10 dolls. The win takes Plum level on points with Croft Nomads who were held to a 3-3 draw by the Vine whose third leg tally of 28 dolls proved out of reach of the Croft and secured a share of the points for the Vine.

Stanford in the Vale had a welcome win at Abingdon United winning 4-2 with Robert Glen leading the way with 12 dolls. For United “Jumbo” Mott hit 10 dolls. Steventon Sports A beat the College Oak by the same score with Colin Brind hitting 13 dolls.

Lots of other notable performances last week in all sections and Ian Cooksley deserves a special mention with a 6 for Harwellian A in the D secti0n against the Fleur de Lys B and his clubmates Andy Shipman and Richard Vincent both hit 10’s for the Harwellian A side in the B section, but they still went down 4-2 to the Brewery Tap.

Other results in the B section saw WADs Bar fall to a surprisingly heavy defeat 6-0 against Abingdon United C fior whom Ronnie Pepperell making a rare appearance was in fine form with 11 dolls a score matched by Micky Neal for the Earl of Abingdon who beat The Bell A 5-1.

In the C section The Wheatsheaf suffered their first defeat of the season and in doing so failed ro secure any point as the Boundary House inflicted a 6-0 defeat on the league leaders and Donald Southey hit his first double figure score of the season with 10 dolls.

There were double figures scored on the night in all sections with Joe Moxon’s 10 for the RAL in D section, Tom Ricketts and Dan Rolls in the E section for Marcham Centre A and the Queens Arms and Andy Stoter for Grove RFC in the F section.

The league positions are starting to look very interesting. Abingdon Con Club have a very healthy lead in the Premier and some way behind are the Plum Pudding and Croft Nomads who are separated only by dolls scored. Berinsfield are topping the A section and in the B section Royal Oak and The Croft Bar are sharing the lead both on 40 points. In the C section the Bell and the Wheatsheaf are sharing top spot both on 49 points. The D section is led by and the E section is also a deadlock at the top with 3 sides The Bystander, Marcham Centre A and the Waggon and Horses all level on 42 points and the E section it’s the Plough, Hanney leading the way and in the F section Grove RFC have established a healthy advantage, but the second place is being tightly contested between The Ladygrove and Long Wittenham AC.

All still to play for!

Finally a quick apology to The Fox, Boars Hill who I inadvertantly  relegated from the D section to the F section in my summary last week!!

The first week in July marks the end of the first half of our summer 2025 season and I think for most it’s been an enjoyable season with good Wednesday evening weather, good competition, some successes and some disappointments for both teams and individuals. One of the highlights for us is the very welcome addition of the new entrants all of whom have acquitted themselves well, particularly as most of their players are new to our “game”.

Not surprisingly it’s the well established teams that get most attention and particularly those in the top sections and that’s largely because it’s those teams and individuals who capture the headlines.  Whilst it’s important that we recognise this,  it is equally important that those who who have just joined the league or their teams in the last couple of years are also recognised because without new additions we would be significantly weaker as a league and our 46 pubs and clubs who represent our 60 teams would not have the “pleasure” of over 500 people visiting their local every week or every other week to play our game!

Well, back to a review of last week’s matches.  There was some outstanding  scoring and individual performances and the top billing must go to Abingdon Conservative Club in the Premier who extended their lead at the top of the section with a 4-2 victory against Croft Nomads. Phil Adams led the way with an overall score of 14 dolls including a maximum, but his contribution with 4 dolls from anchor  in the first leg saw the home side hit 26 dolls chasing a set of 25 by the Nomads. Nomads set again in the second leg and a set of 27 was just too much for the Con Club to level the tie, but setting again in leg 3 Croft tailed away setting only 17 dolls which was easily overtaken by the Con Club to secure the victory.

Also  a very close encounter in the top section featured  both sides sharing  the points when only 1 doll seperated Abingdon United A and Berinsfield SC A over the 3 legs with combined scores of 71 for United and 70 for Berinsfield so 3-3 looked to be a very fair reflection of the game!

In the B section there were also some close legs amongst them a fine 3rd leg between Harwellian B and WADS Bar which saw WADs Bar rescue 2 points when they overcame a Harwellian leg of 19 dolls with 20 of their own to deny Harwellian  maximum points.

Lots of notable individual scores last week and the  2 sixers the aforementioned Phil Adams (who was also a semi finalist in the  hot and windy Charlbury World Championship last Saturday) and the other was hit by our league sponsor John Pownceby playing for the Vine who have had a tough first half of the season  so a very welcome tonic for John  and his team although they  still went down 4-2 on the night. Lot’s of double figures recorded last week as well, Phil’s 14 led the way and John also hit his best of the season with 12 dolls matched by Terry Downes for the Plum Pudding, Dave Dix for the Con Club (looks like Dave will be first to treble doll figures this season and probably hit that milestone  this week as he only needs 8 more dolls!), Scott Tabor’s 11 for the Red Lion A was his best of the season (good job someone in the family line can throw!) and there was a host of 10 scores including Chris Jenkins and Alan Bell for Croft Nomads, Simon Winterbourne (Plum Pudding), Steve Martin and Jason Bowler (Ab Utd A), Alex Chamberlain (Ab Con Club), Richard Jones (Berinsfield SC A), Dean Bowler (Red Lion A), Andy Shipman (Harwellian B), and F section’s Michael Rainbow (Long Wittenham AC). Well done to all double digit scorers!

There were also some very good scoring throughout the sections with several leg scores of 16, 17 and 18 dolls in the lower sections with the best being 19 dolls from league leaders The Wheatsheaf in the C section.

I think though the stand out score of the lot, and for all the wrong reasons, was the first leg of the match between the Plough Appleton and the Lamb B in section F.

Overall the match resulted in a 6-0 victory for the Lamb B. The first leg  saw 12 “blobs” recorded  (a league record?), but  the Lamb edged home 3-2 thanks to a leg winning  2 dolls from captain, Simon Hamlet!!  I am sure both sides will be looking for something better in terms of scores  this week, but every credit to the players from both sides and  remember it’s the taking part that counts and everyone can have an off night whatever the level!!

The league tables remain largely unchanged after last week’s results with the only unbeaten side still the Wheatsheaf who top Section C and the good news at this stage is that there is no team in the league who has yet to record a win.

Don’t forget as we are approaching the peak holiday season you can still register additional players (if you can find them!) simply by email, text to either myself or through team support.  

This Sunday sees the annual singles, pairs, captains and secretaries competitions take place at Abingdon United FC. There are plenty of entries for the Singles and Pairs and the Competition will get underway from 1 for registration and games from 1.30. The bar will be open all afternoon.  So why not  come along,  bring the family and enjoy an afternoon  of very good  and probably some not so good Aunt Sally hopefully in the sunshine!