For all of you who spotted my not so deliberate mistake in my recent e mail thank you! I was just pre-empting my hope for next Sunday’s final! On Wednesday we will definitely be playing Holland!
Author Archive | Roger Nichols
Important – This weeks scheduled fixtures all postponed
Due to the somewhat unexpected result in last night’s European Championship quarter final when England, although without conviction, saw off the challenge of Switzerland and after many of you will want to watch the semi final tie on Wednesday when England will face Holland at 8pm.
Even if you don’t want to watch the game I am sure some if not all will want to and many of our venues will turn into fan zones on the night just when we are due to play our week 10 fixtures and this will make it difficult, if not impossible for all of us to get enough players to forego the football in favour iof Aunt Sally.
So the Committee has looked at a number of options and the least difficult and disruptive, and therefore the most sensible, seemed to us to postpone ALL of this weeks fixtures. This weeks fixture will now be played on Wednesday September 11th extending the league season by one week. We did look at other options, but this seemed to be the most practical, fairest and easiest to administer for individuals, teams and the league and whilst I appreciate that not everyone will be glued to TV’s on Wednesday the decision we think is the best one for both the league and all of our players who can now concentrate on supporting England with the exception I am sure of one Abingdon United player who would probably have turned up wearing Orange!
So all fixtures scheduled for Wednesday will now become the final league fixtures on September 11th. The plan agreed only last week was to hold the 3’s, 4’s and 5’s Competitions on that evening if we attract enough entries, but we will need to find another date(s) for those before the end of the season and this will probably need to be on another weekday(s) during the second half of the season as all our Wednesday’s are now full!
EGM and Competitions
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
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
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
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!
Week 5 review, league table pacesetters and spotlight on the leading dolls averages buy section
Almost difficult to believe that he season is already into it’s 6th week, that means after this week’s coming fixtures we are already a third of the way through our league season!
So what happened in week 5? Unfortunately we saw our first forfeited game of the season in Section F when the Horse & Jockey B were unable to fulfil their fixture against fellow newcomers Fleur de Leys B which resulted in a 6-0 walkover for the home side. Thankfully the captain of the visitors who was abroad at the time let the Fleur know early in the day to avoid an unexpected “no show” on the night.
Another week without a 6 being recorded so that’s 4 out of 5 weeks without a maximum, very unusual, but to be fair Abingdon Unt/Con Club were without a game!
Lot’s of 5’s though with both Dave Hudson and Jumbo Mott both hitting 5’s in their share of the points against Steventon Sports for whom Derek Fletcher not to be outdone for the second week by son Rich hit 10 dolls, but Rick still hit an impressive 9 dolls. Croft Nomads hit some good form with 3 players Ian Brook, Barry Townsend and Alan Bell all hitting 5’s, Alan doing it twice and he was the league’s top scorer last week with 14 dolls in total! Ian and Barry bot weighed in with 11 and 10 respectively.
In the 4 matches played in the Premier/A section last week Croft and The Vine both recorded home wins and the other 2 matches both ended all square at 3 points apiece. The doll count was interesting as in the Bystanders shared points with Steventon Sports both sides 9with handicaps) recorded 73 dolls, the Red Lion in their 3-3 result against the Plum Pudding totaled 72 dolls and the Croft hit 71 in their 3 legs. Over all of the 24 legs played 21 of them had scores off 20 or more!
Several double figure scores by individuals last week in addition to those mentioned above Jamie Smith hit 10 for the College Oak A, Robert Glen and Darren Kitchen both hit 10 for Stanford in the Vale FC, Colin (Rover! Grimes anchored for the Boundary House with his 10 dolls, Tom Lach was also a double figure man for Abingdon Conservative Club and Roly Bunce hit 11 dolls including a 5 for The Chequers at Charney in their 4-2 win against Berinsfield SC B.
Should also mention the other 5’ers who were Liam Brooks for The Bell B, Dave Harris for the Prince of Wales, Joe Moxon for the RAL SC, Robert Baker for the North Star B, Ed Wilkinson for The Plough, Hanney and Dan Foulks for the WADS Bar.
Ann early look at the players leading the doll average in each section at this stage of the season, Phil Adams and Dave Dix of Abingdon Utd/Con Club lead the way in the Premier with individual averages of 4.66 for Phil and 4 for Dave, in the A section Danny Hamilton leads the way averaging 3.07 and Andy Shipman of Harwellian B tops the average with 2.8 average per leg. Tom Lach heads the way in the c section at 2.83 and in the D section it is Roly Bunce of The Chequers who averages 2.67. Really good averages also in the E and F sections from Darren Bennett (2.5) and Robert Baker with a very impressive 2.92 for the North Star B. his is doll average not total dolls scored that will come later, but is there for all to see on the scores and results section of the website and is updated weekly as are the league tables.
Finally a quick look at the league pacemakers in the F section Fleur de Leys lead the way after 5 straight victories including last week’s forfeited match, in the E section despite being unbeaten to date Wheatsheaf are in pursuit of leaders Steventon Sports B who have played a game more. The D section is led by Red Lion B who have won all 5 of their fixtures as have Abingdon Conservative Club who lead the C section and although the Croft Bar are the only unbeaten side in the B section they trail Stanford in the Vale FC on points and The Bell Grove A on doll difference which, for the first time could be crucial in the final standings in September! In the Premier last week’s 6-0 result puts Croft Nomads clear at the top, but Abingdon Utd/Con Club in second place have played a game less and thy have yet to play each other!
My final comment is a moan! We have still not received any more competition entries and if that position doesn’t change soon we will have a reduced number of competitions and some of our long standing ones will not be able to take place and the proposed new competitions for the lower sections just will not get off the ground and with so many teams playing this year that will be very disappointing so get your skates on and your entries in PLEASE!
Week 4 review – Like London buses you wait and then 3 come along all at once! Sixes that is!
Welcome to a review of week and some of the highlights of last Wednesday’s individual and team performances. Let’s start with a warm welcome to the first individual maximum 6 dolls achieved last week not by 1 player, no, not by 2 players but 3 players. Inevitably Dave Dix was one of those hitting a second leg 6 against the College Oak A side, Stuart Wilson also hit a second leg 6 against the Red Lion A side and the third player to hit a straight six (and possibly as good a six as you will see this season) was Ricky Fletcher playing his first game both in the Premier and for Steventon Sports. Certainly Ricky outshone his normally free scoring dad (Derek “Rod”) on his debut to claim bragging rights in the Fletcher house! Not sure if the six saga has set any new records with the league waiting 19 legs across 6 sections before the first 6’s of the season and a player hitting a 6 on his debut not only to the Premier section, but also in the league!
Mentioning the achievement of these 3 all hitting 6’s came with a surprise that Stuart and Ricky were all on both on the wrong side of their team’s result. Furthermore the honour of the highest individual score of the night (and the season so far) was with Phil Adams who hit a magnificent three straight 5’s for Abingdon Utd/Con Club in their 4-2 win at the College Oak A.
The aforementioned Ricky Fletcher together with Dave Sapey of Abingdon RBL both hit 12’s as did Darren Bennett playing for the Wheatsheaf, Didcot. Lots of 5’s scored again and plenty of players hit double figures with Terry Downes hitting 10 for the Plum Pudding, with the exception of Terry all of the Plum Pudding side relocated to Milton from The Hart at Harwell and the lower altitude since they moved down the hill certainly appears to their liking as they are unbeaten after 4 and top the A section!
Ady Bolton and Scott Tabor both recorded 10 dolls for the Red Lion Drayton A as they overcame Berinsfield A 6-0 in a fixture switched to Berinsfield as the Red Lion was being refurbished last week. Danny Hamilton at the Vine was another 10 doll man as were the trio of Alan Bell, Ian Brook and Martin Robinson for Croft Nomads as they overcame Steventon Sports A 5-1. Other notable individual scores of 10 were hit by Billy Collett for The Plough, Wittenham in section B, by Jason Greenaway for Berinsfield B in the D section against The Lamb A and by Robert Baker for the North Star B
Other individual scores worth mentioning include the 4th successive 8 doll haul for The Grapes Mr consistent, Mick Brown. A 3rd successive 9 dolls for Andy Shipman for Harwellian B and individual leg scores of 5 apiece for Steve Enock, John Thomas, Phil Johnson and Rob Bartholomew.
Other things to mention this week congratulations to The Horse and Jockey B team who registered their first points of the season (and the first for their pub as the A team are still seeking their first points ) on their debut both to the league and for most of their players to the game! Fleur de Leys B are going strong in the F section, another new team, who have certainly started in style with 4 straight wins!
Just worth looking at the highest and lowest leg scores from each section last week and in the case of the Premier/A section this doesn’t include the handicap leg. I am not naming the teams as that is largely irrelevant and only reflects the highest and lowest leg s not a 3 leg average. It is intended only to see how the sections (for 1 week and 1 leg only) are looking in terms of competitiveness. It means nothing, but is interesting to keep an eye on through the season.
Highest Lowest
Premier/A section 26 13
B section 17 6
C section 19 7
D section 16 7
E section 15 4
F section 14 2
In a few weeks time we will have another look at these statistics but based on a 3 leg average and over a number of weeks to see how it looks.
That’s about it for this week folks, but just a reminder that the Competitions scheduled originally for next Sunday have been postponed. More disappointingly, we have still not received any additional entries nor have we received any entries at all for the B section and below competitions yet and we are now into June. So come on, get those entries in let’s make our Competitions which are part of our 60+ years history remain an integral part of our season…………otherwise presentation night in October will not be the same!
Finally, I haven’t noticed a rush of requests from the B,C, D, E and F sections to become volunteer representatives for their sections, it really won’t be too onerous, but it will ensure that all teams have an opportunity to have a voice on how the league is run and what we could do to make it better for the 400+ of us who play every week!
Have a good week and let’s hope the promise of warmer weather on it’s way this week includes Wednesday evening!!
Week 3 round up and an early look at the league tables
We are now all finding our way in the Summer season after 3 weeks and the early league positions are, in some cases looking a little predictable but across the 6 sections with 56 teams in total only 7 teams remain unbeaten!
Individually we are still awaiting our first 6 of the season I am not sure that this isn’t a first for the league having to wait 4 weeks for the first leg maximum! There were again last week plenty of 5 dolls scored with 11 players falling just 1 doll short of recording the magic 6 against their name! Overall top scorer of the night was Phil Adams from Abingdon Utd@Con Club. Phil hit 12 dolls against Red Lion A and was well supported by teammate Leigh Clapton who weighed in with 11 dolls. Their contribution proved not to be enough though as they went down to their first defeat of the season 4-2 without the missing pair of Dave Dix and Scott Humphries.
Also in the Premier Croft Nomads were way off the pace losing 5-1 at home to The Plum Pudding. Barry Townsend was one of the players who hit a 5 score in the 3rd leg for the Croft which they salvaged their 1 point from the third leg but the Crofts disappointing first 2 legs scores of 13 and 14 respectively was easily reached by the Plum who recorded their 3rd consecutive win to head section A impressively.
College Oak recorded their first win defeating Berinsfield 4-2 and the Bystander A also recorded their opening victory defeating The Vine Cumnor who had, in their opening 2 games shared the spoils with 3-3 draws so the loss means they are still seeking their first win of the season!
To date no team has a maximum haul of points from their first 3 games. Some sides are certainly showing the way, in the F section newcomers Fleur de Leys B have already amassed 16 points out of a possible 18 to lead the way whilst fellow newcomers Horse & Jockey with 2 teams in the E and F sections are both still searching searching for their first points. Time to, as the pub name suggests, get back and land a horse! The Plough Appleton may have set an unwanted record in their match against Fleur de Leys B when they recorded 17 blobs from 24 throws, guess that’s a record no side wants to challenge!
In the E section Marcham Centre A, also newcomers this season lead the way at the moment. The D section is certainly proving to be pretty competitive with 3 teams contesting the top spot all with 3 unbeaten games and only 5 dolls between them so very tight so far between Red Lion B, The Midget and College Oak B. Incidentally the 5 games in that section last week all ended with 6-0 results.
In the C section Abingdon Con Club for whom Mickey Neal hit a 5 last week lead the way and have 16 out of a possible 18 points and in the B section it is Stanford in the Vale FC who have alternated between the A and B sections in the last few seasons currently topping the table.
The surprise packet in the A section are the Plum Pudding which is largely the side who relocated from The Hart at Harwell initially closed earlier in the year. As well as hitting the equal highest leg score they top the table with 13 p0ints ahead of the Red Lion A who have only played two games to date.
Not surprisingly in the Premier Abingdon Utd/Con Club despite their first defeat of the season last week are still top dogs with 10 points, but with the handicap system it remains very tight in both the Premier and A sections which the handicap system is intended for!
Overall last week 12 of the 26 matches resulted in 4-2 scorelines, 9 in comprehensive 6-0’s, 2 ended 5-1 and 3 resulted in both teams sharing the points 3 apiece.
Section Representatives
Some months ago (at the 2024 AGM we raised the idea of having representatives from each of the sections to make sure that we, the Committee, could listen to the views, ideas and comment and criticism from those teams in the lower sections including all those new to the league who are not represented on the Committee and therefore may have things to say or do without the opportunity to get those opinions heard.
Section representatives are not necessarily formal roles. We know that every Wednesday there are conversations taking place in many pubs and clubs over a beer or two at what the league could do differently, improve or just making suggestions to be considered. If we don’t have representation from each of the sections we probably don’t even know what, if any, players are thinking!
Section representatives are just intended to be sounding boards for the other teams and individuals in their section. Not elected nor needing to become committee members (unless they want to be!!) they are just the eyes and ears of ideas as to what could be done to make our league better!
We often talk about the traditions of our game, but it is equally important that we seek to improve it, to make it more relevant to a younger generation, expand our reach to a wider population, to find ways of making it more fun, but all the while still recognising the history, the traditions and the commitment of all the people who laid the foundations all those years ago and ensuring that our game is still both attractive and inviting to newcomers.
If you are even a little bit interested in becoming a section representative just let any of the committee know and we will be delighted to have you on board!