Author Archive | Roger Nichols

The season starts in earnest next week, but while the sun is shining many teams have been preparing for their season with practice sessions and many friendlies. The enthusiasm seems to be high this year and although we fell just short of our target of 60 teams entered (we actually have 59, a 4 team improvement from 2024) a host of new and some returning teams are most welcome. We hope they all enjoy the next 4+ months of competitive, friendly Aunt Sally and we especially welcome all those players who are looking to play our sport for the very first time!

All the fixture packs etc have now been distributed and left either at venues, or with secretaries or team captains. Many of you have already checked your team lists for name and spelling accuracy so thank you for that, especially those of you who have spotted our not deliberate mistakes!

Tonight our first competition gets underway with the opening round of the Skol Trophy 8’s which this year has attracted 13 entries. All of the remaining competitions take place during the summer months and the closing date for entries is only 6 weeks away and this includes for the 2 new pairs competitions where entries are restricted to team members from Sections B and C or Sections D, E  and F. Competitions are an essential part of our season and we really want as many entries for all of these. Most Competitions have already scheduled dates and venues, details of which are already published on the fixture lists.

Don’t forget you can continue to register additional players throughout the season subject to Committee approval which will, in most cases, be immediate unless the “new” player has significant previous “form” which would either affect the handicap (Section Premier/A) or create a significant inbalance in one of the other sections.

Looking forward to the next 18 weeks and as always enjoy, be good hosts and/or visitors, be grateful to our pubs and clubs who look after us and enable our sport to maintain it’s long tradition of representing Abingdon & District Aunt Sally!

Registration Night at Abingdon Conservative Club – Monday 17th March from 7.30pm

Just a reminder that Registration Night for both the Summer League and Team 8’s Competition will take place next Monday.

Registration fee per team is £45 (up to 15 registered players) and the registration forms should be completed and available on Monday for registration. All teams are advised to keep a copy of the forms for their own records (no photocopying facilities will be available at the venue). If more than 15 players are registered the additional cost is £1 per player.

All registered players will be eligible to play in the 8’s handicap knockout competition for which the entry fee is £8 and as the Competition gets underway before the league season entries need to made and paid for next Monday. The first round of this competition will be scheduled for Wednesday 30th April.

Unfortunately, we cannot process digital payments, so fees need to be paid in cash or by cheque on the night. Cheques should be made payable to Abingdon & District Aunt Sally League. Receipts will be given if required.

On Monday it will also be possible to order equipment including sticks, dolls, swivels and irons which will then be collected and delivered before the start of the season.  Payment, cash or cheque, will need to be made, ideally upon ordering or alternatively on delivery.

KIT PRICES

• Sticks are £55 a set,
• dolls are £15 each,
• irons are £25 each and
• swivels are £15 each.

Arrangements for all other team and individual Competitions entries, complete with entry forms and dates will be included in the team Captains/Secretaries Summer 2025 packs which will be compiled and distributed once the league formations are sorted. The forms will also be available on the website, together with closing dates for entry, fees (where appropriate), dates, times and venues for all competitions.

It is expected that these packs, which will include section formations, fixture lists and match cards will be available and distributed mid April.

The League season will start on Wednesday 7th May.

It is confirmed that Barry’s wake following his funeral on the 28th February will be held at The Earl of Abingdon bar on the corner of Ock Street and Stratton Way Abingdon.

Barry’s funeral will take place on Friday 28th February at 12noon.

The service will be at St Michael & All Angels Church, Park Road,  Abingdon and will be followed by a burial at Spring Road Cemetery, Abingdon.

We are sure that there will many attendees not just from the Aunt Sally Community, but also from Barry’s many friends, and from his golfing and cricketing colleagues, two sports which Barry also demonstrated considerable proficiency and enjoyed much success during his life.

We are sure that Barry will, after much suffering, bravely borne, over a long period, appreciate, as will his family and friends, an appropriate send off in recognition of  both his very life taken tragically too soon and his demonstrably long and successful sporting career.

It is with some real sorrow that we share the news that Barrington known to most, as Barry, sadly lost his long and brave fight against illness and passed away yesterday. Our sincere condolences to Barry’s family and to his many, many friends across the Aunt Sally, Golfing and Cricketing communities.

Barry was a true legend amongst the Aunt Sally community, not just our own Association, but wherever Aunt Sally is played.  His name was known and his superb talent was recognised by so many who have played the game over the many years that Barry represented our game, as one of  the very best Aunt Sally  players to have ever graced the oche! As a solid anchorman he earned the nickname ‘Iceman’ because of his coolness under pressure.

And I mean no disrespect to all of the great players past and present when I suggest that Barry ranks that highly amongst his peers.

Barry Parker 2016 World Aunt Sally Champion

Barry won probably every individual, pairs and team trophies that has ever been played several times and though much of his Aunt Sally career was spent playing for Abingdon United (where he has the shed named after him!) he also helped,  and led several other teams and individuals to titles in both our league and in our Competitions. Barry, of course, most fittingly won the World Championship in 2016 after finishing Runner up in 2014.

Barry’s sporting prowess was not limited just to Aunt Sally, he had many sporting loves. Barry was a long term member of Frilford Golf Club where, not surprisingly, he claimed many trophies and was one of the founder members of the CBF Golf Society. Barry was also a very talented cricketer playing at County  level with Cowley St John, locally with B H Polley’s x1, not forgetting his “one off” appearance for one of the Caribbean Islands. His footballing career was not quite so successful as his Aunt Sally, Golf or Cricket, but he did feature for Osberton Radiators for several seasons in the Oxford Senior League.

We will, in due course, share,  on this site, details of Barry’s funeral arrangements so that we can all take the opportunity, if we can, to show our respect and say an appropriate goodbye to Barry.

We will, I am sure, in conjunction with his team mates past and present  also hold an appropriate competition as a long term memorial serving not only in Barry’s memory, but also revering his Aunt Sally achievements.

Well apart from 1 outstanding Section D game which will be played next week the league season has come to an end on a bitterly cold September evening.

All section winners and runners up have now been decided after 18 weeks of competition and some of the winners and runners up only confirmed their positions as a consequence of last night’s results so the season for some really did go down to the wire!

Here is a list of all of the section winners and runners up, the normal weekly round up will follow in the next couple of days, but first of all let’s congratulate all of those who, in their respective sessions emerged as winners or runners up!

PREMIER

Winners….. Bystander A                                   Runners up….. Abingdon United/Con Club

A SECTION

Champions….. Red Lion A                                Runners up….. Plum Pudding

B SECTION

Champions….. Stanford FC                              Runners up….. The Bell A

C SECTION

Champions…..Abingdon Con Club                 Runners up…..The Bell B

D SECTION

Champions…..The Midget                                  Runners up…..Harwellian A

E SECTION

Champions…..The Wheatsheaf                        Runners up…..North Star A

F SECTION

Champions…..WADS Bar                                   Runners up…..Fleur de Leys B

Well done to, not just the winners and runners up and their players, but to everyone who has taken part throughout the Summer especially those teams and players who have made their Aunt Sally “debuts” in 2024! 

The Final Countdown

(with one more to go)

Well, the end is nigh! That is, to this year’s Summer league programme and there is still much to play for particularly in the lower sections where in the D,E and F sections both the Section champions and the runners up positions are still to be decided – this week’s fixtures will determine just who finishes where in these sections. The D section Harwellian A lead The Midget by just one point and travel to The Red Lion on Wednesday whilst The Midget will entertain Berinsfield SC B so whilst both teams are certain of a top 2 place in which order will only be sorted after their last games!!  The E section is similarly poised with The Wheatsheaf Didcot needing at least 3 points from their visit to RAL SC to pip their nearest rivals North Star A to the title and North Star have a short trip along the Hanney Road to play Hanney RBL in their final match knowing only a win will give them any chance of overhauling the Wheatsheaf. The F section is a straight fight between two newcomers with the WADS Bar at home to The Plough and the Fleur de Leys travelling to face Marcham Centre B. Both new teams to the league have done really well and can look forward to possibly stepping up at least one section in 2025 (subject to the usual averages calculations!).

The other league titles are sorted and although, in the Premier Abingdon United@Con Club can still draw level on points with league leaders Bystander A with a 6-0 victory when the y meet on Wednesday but the newly introduced rule at this years AGM of final positions being determined by total dolls it seems impossible that even a 6-0 result for the Premier league champions for several seasons will enable them to retain their crown for 2024! The A section is already sorted before this week’s game with Red Lion A finishing as Champions and the Plum Pudding runners up. Both sides have done well and with their respective handicaps and performances have managed to influence the outcome of the final league tables having taken points off all of the Premier sides during the season.

Abingdon Con Club have secured the C section as champions but the runners up spot is still to be decided and if The Bell B secure 4 points from their final game at the Waggon & Horses on Wednesday they will ensure they cannot be caught as their nearest rivals are the Boundary House can only watch and wait as their week 10 fixture is a bye and even a 4-2 victory for the Bell should be good enough with only 4 dolls separating the 2 teams! Finally the B section is sorted with Stanford in the Vale FC once again winning the league with the other Bell side finishing runners up.

Week 18 Round-up (but not the last game)

So what about last week’s fixtures and results? Well the most notable result in the Premier was Plum Pudding’s 4-2 win over Abingdon United@Con Club which effectively brought to an end, at least for one season, Abingdon United’s brilliant and long domination of the Premier section having won it for every season since 2014. United, as they have done throughout the season, set themselves very high standards and as usual both Dave Dix and Phil Adams led the way with 14 and 12 dolls and Phil’s 12 included another maximum 6, but a solid team performance from the Plum saw them notch 24 dolls to win the first leg and United then hit 29 dolls to take the second leg before a very narrow third leg saw the Plum edging it 28-27. An overall good performance from the Plum with solid scoring throughout with Terry Downes and “Bert” Chambers both scoring 9 to top the individual scoring for the home side.

Bystander took full advantage with Jason Bowler netting 13 dolls and Dave Hudson another double figure score when they beat the College Oak 6-0 with consistently good leg scores of 25, 28 and 28 and although the Oak also scored well with legs of 22, 21, and 27 it just wasn’t enough to stop the Bystander gaining maximum points and one hand on the Premier trophy! 

Elsewhere Berinsfield made in 10 points from their last 2 games, in what has been a lean season by their standards when they overcame Steventon Sports 4-2 and Richard Jones with 13 dolls top scored which included a maximum 6. Also in the Premier/A section The Vine had a welcome 4-2 victory over the already A section Champions Red Lion A. Roy Harrison top scored for The Vine alongside Danny Hamilton both with 9 dolls, but needing 1 for double figures the normally Mr Consistent Dan with 9 dolls to his name managed to record his first “blob” of the season in the 3rd leg!

In the B section Abingdon United C lost for the first time in 10 weeks going down 5-1 at The Fox despite a 10 doll haul from Matt Ashmall.  Stanford in the Vale FC’s 6-0 victory over the Croft Bar clinched the B section championship for them. William Glen with 12 dolls and Darren Bungay in support with 9 led the way for the football club who are the “boomerang” team of Abingdon Aunt Sally as they seem to spend their seasons with alternate spots in both the A and B sections! For the Croft a really good season is tailing off with them gaining only 1 point from their last 3 games!

The C section saw Boundary House winning 5-1 making a late bid for the runners up spot in their defeat of The Bear & Ragged Staff. The Waggon & Horses beat the Eight bells 4-2 and there were 3-3 draws between The Bell Grove B and the Royal Oak and between the Grapes A and the Prince of Wales.

In the D section a fine 10 dolls from Darren Mace was not good enough to stop Berinsfield B sealing a 5-1 result. Harwellian A won 6-0 at the Brewery Tap and Queens Arms won 4-2 at home to the College Oak B. Steve Dingle was the sections highest individual scorer clanging off 11 dolls for The Plough when they drew 3 apiece and it was a similar result between The Lamb A and The Chequers. 

Bystander B (now playing at their original home at the Fox, Boars Hill) were 5-1 winners against the North Star A in the E section and Marcham Centre A overcame Hanney RBL, Wheatsheaf inflicted another defeat on the Horse & Jockey A side despite Dave Stallard registering the highest individual score of the season for the Jockey with 8 dolls and Kate Dewar also set her personal highest of the season for Steventon Sports B 5-1 who were winners at the RAL Social.

There were 6-0 wins for both the Fleur de Leys B and the Bystander C sides over North Star B and Marcham Centre B. The Plough Appleton and Sutton Courtenay FC shared the points and the Horse & Jockey B were 5-1 victors over Grove Rugby Club in the E section.

Competitions

So it’s the last week of the league, but tomorrow night the much delayed team 3’s and team 4’s competitions will take place at the Croft Bar, next week it’s the turn of Abingdon United to stage the Finals Night when the finals of the 3’s and 4’s will take place together with the team 8’s final and the finals of both the Captain’s and Secretaries Competitions the earlier rounds have already taken place on Competition Sunday and the 8’s in previous weeks. 

The final competition to be held will be the Founders & Legends trophy which is open to all registered players aged 50 plus! This requires no pre-entry just turn up on the night which will be held next week on Thursday 19th (yes the day after Finals night I know, but there aren’t many days of late Summer left!) at Abingdon Conservative Club with a 7.30pm start.

For your diaries the last event of the season is our Annual Presentation Night which includes the semi finals and finals of both the Pairs and Singles Competitions, the semi and finalists all earned the right by qualifying at the Competition Sunday back in early August. This event will, this year, due to the unavailability of Abingdon United, be held at the Croft Bar Abingdon on Friday October 4th. More details to follow.

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!

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.