Author Archive | Roger Nichols

Week 12 review plus a new and unexpected challenge and a final call for Competition entries

By Roger Nichols on 30th July 2024 in Competition News, Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Before I start with a review of last week’s highlights I need to highlight a totally unexpected situation which we experienced last week and one which led to the unfortunate abandonment of a league match in Section E between the Bystander B and Horse & Jockey A teams. It was a situation which previously we, as a league were totally unaware of, but which we need to bring to all of our teams attention. the Horse & Jockey had a number of players unavailable so the young daughter of the team captain was playing. She was a registered player, but is only 14 years old (there is no age restriction for registering players).

If the game had been played at the Horse & Jockey there would have been no problem, but the match was at the Bystander and although there is signage displayed at the pub entrance stating the conditions there is a licensing condition imposed on the Bystander licence which restricts under age children/young adults using the pub after 9pm including the garden where Aunt Sally is played. On this occasion, and at 9pm the 14 year old from Stanford in the Vale was told she had to leave and as she was 14 and no way of getting home alone that caused the match to be postponed midway through the second leg. Quite rightly other members of the team had to ensure she had transport home from Wootton!! All very unfortunate.

We were unaware of this restriction as indeed were the visiting side from the Horse & Jockey before last Wednesday. After questioning this “rule” with the Area Manager from Greene King it appears this is just one of several “special conditions” that can be applied to licensees by the licensing authority. Breaches of this can, if reported, result in fines being levied and potentially the pub licence being revoked.

Whilst on this occasion it was addressed by the licensee and affected one of our players the restriction would also apply to ANY under age child on the premises. So if a player was to take an under age child to the Bystander as a spectator on a warm and balmy Summer’s evening particularly during the school holidays they would/should be asked to leave at 9pm and in most events with games starting 8.15 this would be midway through the match. Fortunately, both sides were mature enough to agree a match outcome, but the evening was spoilt for both sides due to this previously unknown (until last Wednesday) restriction.

A lesson for us is that we need, before registering any team in future years, to understand whether there may be any restrictions limiting the prospect of Aunt Sally being played there or even spectated by children!! Really disappointing at a time when we are trying, and this year succeeding, to “grow” the league again post Covid as well as most importantly, getting people, via the game of Aunt Sally back into pubs spending money on Wednesday evening’s throughout the Summer.

If that was the lowlight of last week let’s now move on to look at last week’s highlights.

In the Premier/A section the two leading teams in the Premier both fell to defeat to sides, who are now the leading 2 teams in the A section. Abingdon Utd/Con Club retained the Premier top position despite their 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Red Lion Drayton whose win made this a league double over Ab Utd/Con Club. This defeat was despite a contribution of 13 dolls from Dave Dix, together with 12 from Leigh Clapton (including a 6) and 11 from Phil Adams for Con Club/Utd. For the Lion Dean Bowler led the way with 11 dolls and Scottie Tabor also returned double figures with 10.

Croft Nomads lost 4-2 at the Plum Pudding and this defeat enabled the Bystander to move into second place following their comprehensive 6-0 victory over The Vine. This was The Bystander’s third win on the bounce and The Vine’s 5th straight defeat. Croft Nomads top scorer was Alan Bell with another 13 doll haul and Barry Townsend also weighed in with 10 dolls, but Paul Leach’s 11 including a second leg 6 was a major contributor for the Plum in a game where over the 3 legs were separated by only 1 doll but crucially 2 points! The Bystander top scores were all 10’s from Dave Hudson, Jason Bowler and Jumbo Mott and the collective team amassed 76 dolls on the night!

Elsewhere in the Premier Alec Chamberlain was another star with a 13 doll haul for Berinsfield SC A but his efforts were in vain as College Oak ended a 3 match losing run with a 4-2 victory.

Elsewhere last week in the B section The Croft Bar got back to winning ways with a 4-2 home win against The Plough Long Wittenham and the Fox Denchworth enjoyed their first win since the opening week of the season beating Abingdon RBL with a maximum 6 points. Notable other individual double digit scorer on the night was Mark Newman for the Prince of Wales Shippon with 10 dolls.

COMPETITIONS

I need now to move to make a last impassioned plea to save our competitions for 2024. At the recent AGM it was agreed that any Competition with less than 8 entries would not be held this summer. We have tried, now on several occasions to enrol more entries by both sending out reminders to Captains and Secretaries as well as on the website.

I am pleased to say that has, in part, been successful and we have now sufficient entries in both the singles and pairs, but we are still short in others. To run the Captains and Secretaries competitions we need 2 more entries for each, so come on, there must be some Captains and Secretaries out there who are prepared to enter and ensure the future of these competitions. Also we need at least 2 more entries for both the team 4’s and the Red Drive team of 3’s to enable those competitions to go ahead. In our last desperate plea we have decided to allow late, late entries and we will accept entries right up until after next week’s league fixtures on Wednesday August 7th.

The singles and pairs competitions will take place at Abingdon United FC on Sunday August 11th with, probably, a 1pm draw and a 1.30 start. If we do get the additional entries we need we will play the Captains and Secretaries Competitions on the same day. The 3’s and 4’s if we do get some late entries will need to be arranged although we could possibly play those on the same day using the second throw. Unfortunately it doesn’t look as we will generate sufficient entries to stage the Tom Simmon’s 5’s trophy this year. That is really unfortunate because our President John Simmons has a vested interest in this Competition having both previously been on the winning side (more than once) and as the Trophy was presented and named in memory of his father.

SO DO TRY TO RUSTLE UP ENOUGH PLAYERS TO MAINTAIN THE LONG ESTABLISHED TRADITION OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM COMPETITIONS TAKING PLACE EACH SEASON AND PROVIDING EVERYONE WITH THE OPPORTUNITY OF COMPETING! WITHOUT THESE COMPETITIONS IT WILL BE LIKE FOOTBALL WITHOUT THE FA CUP AND WE ALL KNOW THAT OFTEN THE UNDEDRDOGS BEAT THE FAVOURITES IN ALL SPORTS!!

The 8’s competition is taking place and has reached the semi final stage with ties to be played before the end of August and there is only one team from the Premier/A section left so that should give us all the hope of causing an upset!! The semi draw is available in a separate post.

Week 11 review

By Roger Nichols on 24th July 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

A very quick resume of last week’s results and individual performances across the sections.

Let me start with the Premier and A section where Phil Adams and Dave Dix both posted maximum 6’s in Abingdon United/Con Clubs 4-2 home win over The Vine to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier. Phil actually posted the top score of the night with 14 dolls and he was well supported by team mates Dave Dix with 11 dolls and both Leigh Clapton and Ken Fisher who hit 10 apiece, so 45 dolls from 4 players on the night illustrates the strength of the league leaders. For the Vine Danny Hamilton hit 10 dolls.

Elsewhere in the Premier the Bystander were also 4-2 winners against the Plum Pudding at the “new” temporary venue for the Bystander who are playing their next 3 home matches at The Vine. David Mott hit his best of the season with 13 dolls ably assisted by Steve Martin and Andrew Morton who both scored double figures with 10 dolls each.

Also hitting 10 dolls were Alan Bell and Richard Berry for Croft Nomads in their narrow 6-0 win at home to College Oak A. Thanks to Phil Soden for reminding me that the closest of last week’s local derbies was this one! Where the College Oak A side didn’t even need to cross the road for their away trip to the Croft!! Perhaps I should have known that!!

10 dolls from Colin Brind wasn’t enough to earn Steventon Sports A anything other than 1 point as they went down 5-1 to The Red Lion for whom Ian Rogers top scored with 11.

In the B section Stanford in the Vale FC secured another 6-0 victory over The Fox Denchworth and the Croft Bar experienced their first 6-0 result of the season, but unfortunately they were on the wrong end of that score line with hosts Abingdon RBL securing the 6 points. The Plough, Long Wittenham with Dave Collett top scoring with 10 dolls were also 6-0 victors against Harwellian B for whom Gary Daluvzvieira following his first 2 leg 1’s with a 5 in the third. In a section of 6-0 wins it was also the same result, a victory for The Bell Grove when they visited the Fleur de Leys at Hagbourne.

The C section individual highlight was John Miles a recent world championship entrant hitting 10 dolls for league leaders Abingdon Con Club as they defeated hosts The Grapes 5-1.

In the D section Harwellian A defeated Berinsfield SC B 5-1 and Marshall Muldoon included a 5 doll leg on the night. The Plough Hanney were also defeated 4-2 by visitors Queens Arms with the Plough only hitting 19 dolls on the night 8 of which were scored by Steve Dingle! Also in the D section there were very credible scores from Ian Northover with 10 dolls in the Tap’s 4-2 win against the College Oak B and Richard Pike scored with 9 dolls for the Lamb A at the Red Lion Drayton.

Other outstanding individual performances to note last week were Chris Judkins who hit the E section’s first maximum leg in his 11 dolls for Hanney RBL against The Bystander B and Gareth Brown’s 12 doll total for the WADs bar as they maintained their chase for the F section championship with a 6-0 win over the Bystander C.

This week the most local of derbies will take place at the Vine Cumnor who welcome their new “lodgers” Bystander A,

Finally the draw for the semi finals will be made this week and decisions taken in the next few days and confirmed online about all of the other Competitions due to take place either on Sunday August 11th, or in the case of the other team competitions on dated to be arranged (subject to sufficient entries being received before next week’s meeting of the Committee).

They think it’s all over, well it is for England but not for Abingdon Aunt Sally, we are only halfway there!

By Roger Nichols on 16th July 2024 in Competition News, Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Well, most of us have been distracted by the Football, some of us by the Tennis at Wimbledon and we also had 3 days of Test Cricket and that’s all in the last week and like most sports there was a mix of good and bad, highs and lows, disappointments and ecstasy depending on who you support. The European Championship Cup Final was a major disappointment, but also a good performance reaching the final of a major championship which France, Germany, Portugal and 19 other countries didn’t!

The tennis saw us have a really good number of English players reach the main competition, but there was never any real expectation of an English player making it through to the final stages of the singles competitions. In cricket we enjoyed a resounding win in the first test against the West Indies, but that was only the first of leg with two still to play!

So after missing last week to enable us to focus on our national sports it’s back to the bread and butter with the focus well and truly back on our own Aunt Sally league. We still have 50% of our games still to play so nothing can be decided or assumed yet! The one thing that is certain is that there will be winners and losers in all of our sections at the end of the season and like all sports we will be either delighted with our individual or team performances or disappointed that we didn’t play as well as we could or should have done! That’s what team sports and games are all about!

Talking of Competitions we have still not received any additional entries for the team 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s nor the Secretaries and Captains competitions and with the closing date only a couple of days away it really does look as if we will be unable to stage these comps this year simply because of a lack of entries which is extremely disappointing when you think we have 56 teams in our league each with a Captain and a Secretary and over 600 registered players! Still not to late though, but the closing date is Thursday and that cannot be extended any further!

So what does this Wednesday look like in terms of fixtures? Well, there are a few local or near local derbys. In the Premier/A section Steventon Sports entertain Red Lion Drayton who are just 3 bus stops down the road, in the B section league leaders host their near neighbours from Denchworth, the Fox, though I doubt there are any buses from Denchworth to Stanford on on a Wednesday evening! The Grapes B make the short trip to Abingdon United. The C section sees Abingdon Con Club make the short trip up Ock Street to play the Grapes A and might pass the Brewery Tap players as they make their way to North Abingdon to take on the College Oak B in section D where the Plough Hanney renew rivalry with near neighbours from the Chequers at neighbouring Charney Bassett. In the E section there’s a battle of the Causeway when the teams from Steventon Sports and the North Star meet at the Star, but the closest of all the near derbys will take place in Wootton where the Bystander C have to cross the road to get to the WAD’s bar!

Have a good week and don’t forget those last minute Competition entries!!

It’s a belated week 9 round up and a halfway review of the league tables

By Roger Nichols on 12th July 2024 in Newsletter

Firstly, apologies for the delayed post. Blame my pre-occupation with the Euro’s and, together with the rest of the Committee, trying to determine how to manage the week 10 programme after England’s progress to the semi final stage which, in the games before last Saturday’s quarter final, seemed pretty unlikely. Last night’s semi final and our progress to Sunday’s final did, I think, justify our decision to postpone all of our scheduled week 10 fixtures which will now all be played on September 11th.

It does mean we will need to re-arrange the team competitions (3’s,4’s and 5’s) which we had scheduled provisionally for that day assuming that in the next few days (closing date next Thursday July 18th) so we do still need more entries to get the minimum numbers for these Competitions. At the moment we are still short of the 8 team entries per competition required.

Well, time to look back at week 9 results and some of the highlights across the sections. In the Premier section Abingdon Utd/Con Club’s 5-1 victory over the Plum Pudding enabled them to go 6 points clear at the top of the table. They were well served by Dave Dix and Leigh Clapton both top scoring with 12 dolls apiece and Phil Adams weighed in with his customary double figures this time with just 11!

Also in the Premier Bystander closed the gap to second placed Croft Nomads to just 1 point when 12 dolls from Jumbo Mott and 10 from Jason Bowler saw them get a maximum 6 points against College Oak. Also Steventon Sports enjoyed a 6-0 return against Berinsfield despite another 12 doll haul from Alec Chamberlain for the home side. For the Sports it was Father and Son Derek and Ricky Fletcher both hitting 11 dolls and Doug Bolton with 10 of his own who helped Steventon to their bets result of the season to date.

The B section saw a game of 2 halves, 2 legions and 2 competitions take place on the same night at Abingdon RBL when the home side entertained the Harwellian side who play at the former Harwell RBL club. The 2 sides played a double header firstly playing their 8′ s quarter final which Abingdon won 2 legs to 1 Then they followed that with their scheduled league fixture, and perhaps the Harwellian side’s concentration and stamina was superior to their hosts because they turned that 8’s defeat into a 6-0 league win with 9 the dolls apiece from Rick Vincent and Andy Shipman leading the way.

There were 2 other 6-o victories in the B section that night when Lee Brown’s 11 dolls helped the Grapes B to a 6-0 win against The Bell and also Karl Ford hit 10 dolls when the Boundary House saw off the Bear & Ragged Staff by the same score line

In the C section Royal Oak beat he Bell Grove A 4-2 despite Liam Brooks 10 doll return for the Bell

Some other notable individual scores on the night were in the E section where Jim Lister’s 11 dolls for North Star A enabled the Star to win their encounter 6-0 against The Bystander B side and again in the E section Nick Moore hit a magnificent last leg 6 for visitors RAL SC who turned over Steventon Sports B on the Green 6-0 to record probably their best result of the season to date.

So, how do the league tables look at the halfway stage of the season. As mentioned earlier Ab Con Club/United lead the Premier by 6 points and the battle for second place is looking tight with only the one point now separating Croft Nomads and The Bystander A. Remarkably in the Premier/A section when you look at the total dolls (including handicaps) 8 of the 9 teams are separated by only 34 dolls! Who says the handicap system doesn’t work!

The B section sees Stanford in the Vale FC still leading after their 4-2 win over the previously unbeaten Croft Bar who in turn drop to 3rd place behind the Grapes who have a superior doll count.

Abingdon Con Club who had their bye in week 9 still lead the way in the C section and in the D section Harwellian are heading the table, one point above The Midget. Newcomers Horse & Jockey A are at the foot of the table and are still looking to register their first points!

The E section is also tight with The Wheatsheaf heading the table by 2 points from second placed North Star A and in the F section it looks like a battle between 2 new entrants with the Fleur de Leys just the one point head from the Fleur de Leys B.

Looking at the top dolls at the midpoint of the season it looks as if Phil Adams will be first to the 100 dolls mark needing just 4 dolls next Wednesday to pip team mate Dave Dix who has played a game less than Phil so has a higher doll average. The Premier top 10 includes 5 of the Ab. Utd/Con Club, 4 from Croft Nomads and skipper Steve Martin of the Bystander. In the A section Paul Leach of the Plum Pudding leads the doll count by just 1 doll from Danny Hamilton from the Vine followed by Terry Downes who is just 1 doll further back.

Tight at the moment in the B section with Andy Shipman of the Harwellian just a couple of dolls ahead of Dave Sapey and in the C section Liam Brooks is being chased by Steve Soden in the doll race, Roly Burns heads Rick Selby having played a game more than Rick at the halfway stage in the D section. The Wheatsheaf’s Darren Bennett comfortably leads the E section’s highest dolls, but in the F section the WAD’s Derrick Brown is shading North Star’s Rob Baker by just the one doll.

So in summary the Competition for both league honour’s and top dolls in each of the sections is, after 9 weeks of competition, being fiercely contested and if the second half of our Summer season stays that way we are in for some tight finishes come September!

My final reminder this week about Competition entries all of which will close next week. The 8’s are approaching the semi final stage, the singles and pairs will take place at Abingdon United on Sunday August 11th with entries still open, but all of the remaining Competitions are still in doubt unless we get more entries this week, that’s the team 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s and the individual Captain’s and Secretaries. We, on the Committee, want all of these Competitions to take, they are a big part of our heritage, but if we don’t get th entries it won’t happen this year! So get those entries in now!

EGM and Competitions

By Roger Nichols on 4th July 2024 in Committee Meetings, Competition News, Newsletter, Summer League Reports

On Tuesday evening the planned EGM to discuss the outstanding 2024 Competitions was held and was reasonably well attended.

The Chairman outlined the purpose of the meeting and why it had been called which was primarily because of the lack of entries received, which in turn, had led to the planned team Competitions that were due to be held in June having to be postponed. The extension of the entry date had marginally increased the number of entries, but at the date (2nd July) the Committee still felt there were insufficient entries to justify holding the Competitions. The cost of trophies for limited numbers was also a consideration, but it has always been recognised that the cost of competitions, an essential part of our Association since it’s conception over 60 years ago are never going to pay their own way.

One of the reasons it was felt necessary to call an EGM was to try and establish the reasons for the lack of entries.

A number of thoughts were put forward by the club representatives which included the problem of holding the Competitions on Sundays (agreed at the 2024 AGM), lack of knowledge of the Competitions by the players, assumed ability to compete with the Premier/A section sides, lack of handicaps to incentivise teams from lower sections and several others.

The number of entries for each competition received to date which, with the exception of the Singles and Pairs was still considered insufficient to run the remaining Competitions this season unless more entries could be generated and a number of teams represented said they would be prepared to enter teams.

After much discussion the following points were discussed and agreed.

No Competition will be held in 2024 unless a minimum of 8 entries are received
The entry date for all Competitions will be extended until July 18th. If less than 8 entries have been received by hat date that Competition will not take place this season.
Wednesday September 10th (week 19 as it were) will be set aside as the revised date for the team 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s competitions. All entries MUST be received by July 18th either via the Team Support link on the website or direct to Roger Nichols (roger.nichols@hotmail.com) together with the entry fees £1 per person per competition. Team members should be named where possible, but it is not essential at the time of entry. Venue and timings will be confirmed after July 18th.
The planned introduction/re-introduction of Competitions for both teams and players from the lower sections needs to be re-launched in 2025 as there has been little or no interest this year.

The Singles and Pairs Competitions will be held, as planned, on Sunday August 11th at Abingdon United FC. The draws will be made on the day. Assuming sufficient entries the Captains and Secretaries Competitions will also take place on that day.

A number of other suggestions received at the meeting will be included for discussion and, if appropriate agreement, at the 2025 AGM. These include the introduction of handicapping the team based competitions, the increase of registration fees to include automatic entry some of the Competitions, and the extension of the Summer season to free up some Wednesday’s for Competitions (this could involve reducing the number of teams in sections).

Well, I think that about summarises the discussions and outcomes from Tuesday’s meeting.

The Committee would like to thank the attendees or their contribution on the night and their commitment to share the outcomes with their team mates to boost the entries in the next couple of weeks. We really want all of these Competitions to take place, but it will only happen if we get he minimum entry numbers by July 18th.

Registration forms are still on the website so please let’s get those entries in and make our Competitions both valued and competitive!!

Look back at week 8 and a reminder about tomorrow’s EGM for all teams

By Roger Nichols on 1st July 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Well last Wednesday was another dry and fine night with generally good scoring across the sections although in the lower sections one or two leg scores did look like close football scores, but thankfully there weren’t any no score draws!!

Last week’s results did however have some impact on the league leadership and Abingdon United@Con Club’s 4-2 victory over previous leaders Croft Nomads saw last year’s Premier section champions take top spot by a single point, but they do have, significantly, a game in hand which will this week give them the opportunity to draw further ahead when they host The Plum Pudding the current A section joint leaders. For Abingdon United@Con Club last week Dave Dix included another maximum 6 as he amassed another 14 dolls. Dave was ably assisted by team mates Phil Adams and Bob Duffy with 12 and 11 dolls respectively. The first 2 legs with the Croft setting were close encounters with just a doll between the teams, but the final leg saw United set 27 which proved too many for the Croft to chase and they fell well short.

Elsewhere in the Premier /A section there were 4-2 wins Berinsfield against The Vine with Alec Chamberlain hitting 10 dolls for Berinsfield and Steve Peedell matching that for The Vine for The Red Lion against The Bystander despite Steve Martin’s 10 doll haul for the Bystander and a 4-2 win for the Plum Pudding for whom Paul Leach hit 12 dolls and Simon Winterbourne hit a maximum 6 in the third leg against College Oak A whose Matty Belcher also grabbed a 10 doll haul.

The B section saw early season leaders fall to their second successive 6-0 defeat this time at the hands of The Bell A who joined Stanford at the top of the table both with 30 points from their 8 games played. Elsewhere in the B section there was a welcome 5-1 win for the Fleur de Leys against The Fox, Denchworth, a first defeat of the season for the Croft Bar who went down 4-2 to Harwellian B and a good win for Abingdon United as they travelled to Abingdon’s west end to inflict a 4-2 defeat on Abingdon RBL.

The C section saw previously unbeaten Abingdon Con Club go down 4-2 to Waggon & Horses despite Mick Neal’s, the Bell Grove B made it a “double” for the pub when like their A team they managed a 4-2 win against the Boundary House and the Royal Oak secured a 4-2 result against The Grapes A.

The D section saw wins for the College Oak B who hosted the Red Lion B. Rick Selby hitting a very credible 10 dolls and Ian Northover of the Brewery Tap matched that with 10 of his own in the Tap’s 4-2 win over Didcot’s Queens Arms.

The E section newcomers Horse & Jockey A are still striving to register their first point after a 6-0 defeat at home by the North Star A and their cause was not helped by only being able to field 7 players on the night. The F section saw a clash between the two teams vying for top position, both teams enjoying their first season in the league and it was the WADS bar who earned the honours with a 4-2 victory.

So after 8 weeks the sections are starting to take shape with Ab Utd@Con Club leading the way and an opportunity to increase their lead this week when nearest rivals Croft Nomads have a “rest day” following 2 successive defeats. Plum Pudding and Red Lion A are disputing the A section both with 30 points and The Bell Grove A have caught Stanford in the Vale FC with The Croft Bar just 1 point adrift and have a trip to Stanford this week.

Despite last week’s setback Abingdon Con Club are still well clear in the C section and The Wheatsheaf Didcot lead the E section whilst in the F section it looks as if the first half of the season if maintained throughout the season will see a close contest between the WADs Bar and the Fleur de Leys B.

Dave Dix is once again leading the doll averages with a quite magnificent average of 4.11 dolls, but will he be the first to 100 dolls this season?

Finally, I just want remind all of us who play the need to recognise that Aunt Sally is a game and one that is based not just on rivalry but on the goodwill and spirit in which it is played. Importantly, that our hosts the landlords and stewards of the pubs and clubs where we play, our team mates and our opponents are all involved because they want to enjoy the game as well as wanting to do their best as players, as teammates and whether they are playing, calling, picking up, chalking or just spectating so it’s important that we all treat each other with respect and courtesy whenever and wherever we play!

EGM

A final reminder about our Extraordinary General Meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 2nd) which is to discuss our scheduled Competitions this year and beyond. It’s important that we have as many attendees as possible to determine a way forward which meets both the needs of the Competitions and which encourages as many individuals and teams to take part.

Clearly at the moment, for whatever reasons, we haven’t got it right based on the number of entries received to date for 2024 including the proposed new competitions for players in the lower sections.

The meeting will take place at The Croft starting at 8pm and we need to hear your views not just the thoughts of one or two clubs.

Last week’s high and low lights

By Roger Nichols on 24th June 2024 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Well, week 7 certainly started to provide some highlights and some low lights across the sections with some excellent scoring (by some!) and some very interesting team scores. pride of place last week must go to Abingdon United/Con Club both in terms of individual scoring and collective team performance. Dave Dix led the way with the first “double six” of the season and an overall tally of 15 dolls for Dixie! He was well supported by his team mates with Ken Fisher and Paul Barrett both hitting 12 dolls , Leigh Clapton and Phil Adams with 11 and 10 respectively both scored double figures as the team hit 30 dolls in the first leg beating that with 31 in their second leg. In reply Berinsfield SC A, whilst not being able to get close to the hosts did manage to salvage 2 points with a 21 to 20 leg win in the third.

Croft Nomads suffered a very disappointing but deserved 5-1 defeat at The Bystander for whom Andrew Morton top scored with 12 dolls including a very tidy 6. Jumbo Mott, Duncan Taylor and Jason all contributed well for the home side who were without regulars Dave Hudson and Steve Martin on the night. The Bystander brought the Nomads who were, leading the table and were without Barry Townsend were brought back to reality with a bump. For Nomads Alan Bell top scored with 10 dolls, Ian Brook and Steve Enock also made good contributions but the other 5 team mates including yours truly could only muster 24 dolls from 90 sticks between them on the night!

Elsewhere in the Premier/A sections Steventon Sports with Rick Fletcher gathering another 12 dolls beat The Vine 4-2 and Matty Belcher’s 10 dolls were not enough for College Oak A who went down 4-2 to The Red Lion for whom both skipper Kevin Regan and Dean Bowler both hit 10 apiece.

In the B section The Croft Bar maintained their unbeaten record with another 4-2 victory against The Bell A, Kevin Luck top scoring for the Croft with a 10 doll haul. That’s four 4-2’s on the bounce for Croft.

Another team to suffer a disappointing night were B section league leaders Stanford in the Vale FC who went down to a 6-0 home defeat at the hands of Abingdon RBL.

Eslewhere in the B section there were wins for The Plough,Long Wittenham and Harwellian B.

In the C section Colin Grimes hit 10 another dolls for the Boundary House as they saw off the challenge of the Waggon & Horses as his team eased home 6-0 and also in the C section Steven J Fisher was another double figure scorer with 10 dolls as the Royal Oak beat the Bear & Ragged Staff 4-2. The team to beat in this section are clearly Abingdon Con Club who reeled off their 7th straight win, this time another six nil on their visit to the Eight Bells.

In the D section Cam King led the scoring with 11 dolls for the Brewery Tap as they overcame the Chequers. Also in the D section Steve Salter’s 10 dolls helped The Lamb A to a 3-3 share of the spoils against The Plough Hanney. Also in this section there were wins for Harwellian A, The Midget and Brewery Tap.

In the E section The Wheatsheaf remain unbeaten, and elsewhere Marcham Centre A and the Horse & Jockey A, with a second successive win, and Steventon Sports B were all winners on the night whilst in the F section the table is tightly contested between two newcomers WADS Bar, for whom Derrick Brown again top scored and the Fleur de Leys Hagbourne B who were without a fixture last week.

It is still early days to take the league tables too much to heart, but in the Premier Abingdon United/Con Club have closed to within 1 point of Croft Nomads with a game in hand so this week’s meeting of the two may lead to a change at the top. In the A section Red Lion A have caught early season leaders Plum Pudding. The B section Stanford in the Vale FC still lead the way from The Croft Bar and in the C section have already built a healthy lead at the top.

It’s Harwellian A leading the way in the D section and it’s nip and tuck in the E section with both The Wheatsheaf and Steventon Sports on 24 points. The F section looks equally tightly contested with two newcomers, WAD Bar and Fleur de Leys competing at the top of the table. Still a long way to go and we are sure that there will be lots of twists and turns and a few surprised over the remaining 12 weeks of the season!

Enjoy the weather this week, it’s been a long time coming and maybe the warmth will help a few more sticks find the doll!

Week 6 Review

By Roger Nichols on 17th June 2024 in Newsletter

Good to see a couple of 6’s in the scores from last week in the Premier/A section with Leigh Clapton including a third leg 6 in his 11 dolls for Abingdon Utd/Con Club for whom Phil Adams top scored with 12 dolls with Paul Barrett weighing in with 10 dolls Steventon Sports despite a 10 doll return from Derek Fletcher were no match for their visitors who recorded a convincing 6-0 victory.

Another “sixer” was Barry Townsend for Croft Nomads in his 12 dolls against Red Lion, Barry also secured a third leg point for the Croft a 5-1 victory for the Croft when as anchorman needing 3 dolls and missing with his first 3 sticks he made no mistake with his next 3 to level the leg. Alan Bell and Richard Berry especially and Ian Brook were al in fine form for the Croft on the Red Lions new throw all hitting double figures. For the Red Lion Dean Bowler hit 9 dolls, his best of the season so far.

Elsewhere in the Premier/A section The Bystander and Berinsfield shared the spoils 3 apiece, for the Bystander Steve Martin and Andrew Morton top scored with 11 dolls apiece and Berinsfield welcomed back Alec Chamberlain who top scored with 12 dolls ably supported by Mick Greenaway with 11 dolls.

College Oak A inflicted the first defeat of the season on fellow A section rivals Plum Pudding with a 4-2 win helped by returns of 9 dolls each from the two Jamie’s… Brown and Knight.

In the B section last week Trevor Harrhy top scored for Abingdon United who recorded a 6-0 win over Hagbourne’s Fleur team who don’t seem to have got into their stride yet this season despite Ian Heapy’s 10 dolls his best of the season to date.

Stanford in the Vale FC though, are flying, with their 3rd 6-0 victory this time over the Plough for whom Billy Collett top scored with 8 dolls. Also in the B section Mick Christopher made a welcome return for The Grapes after missing a number of games and he top scored with 10 dolls against Harwellian for whom the very consistent Andy Shipman returned another 9 dolls.

The Croft Bar remain the only unbeaten side in the D section with a 4-2 win over The Fox, but still trail Stanford in the league table with a third of the season complete.

In the C section Boundary House were well beaten by Abingdon Conservative Club who, like Stanford FC also produced their third 6-0 and remain unbeaten so far this season.

The D section also has an unbeaten side in the Red Lion B, but they were forced to share the points with The Plough Hanney and there was a welcome 6-0 win for The Queens Arms against The Lamb A side who are still looking for their first win of the season.

Looking at the E section The Wheatsheaf Didcot defeated Steventon Sports B 4-2 to maintain their unbeaten record and newcomers Marcham Centre A beat the Bystander b also 4-2.

In the F section two sides seeking their first wins saw newcomers The Horse & Jockey B victorious 5-1 against The Plough Appleton in a game that featured 26 scored legs and 22 blobs!!

Marcham Centre B like their A side also had a welcome win, 6-0 at the North Star with R Wiltshire leading the way with 10 dolls for Marcham.

That’s about it for this week other than to say still no additional Competition entries or indeed any form teams in Section B and below and no apparent interest in anyone offering to be Section representatives. I have to say, this is disappointing, but it’s not too late so if you are following us on the website it would be great to get some entries for all of the Competitions scheduled to take place later in the season and particularly we really want to get the proposed singles and pairs for players in sections B,C, D, E, and F established this Summer. Don’t forget if you play in any of those sections you can also enter the other Competitions!

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