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It’s halfway house for this year’s Summer League this week

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Summer 2025 Week 8 Results

Results delayed this week due to a card being sent in with nicknames not registered names. 
If you are going to send a card in and beg Roger to do it for you do make sure 
the names match the registered players - he's had to guess so check your scores! (and answer your emails).

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon Conservative Club 4 – Croft Nomads 2; Legs (26-25, 25-27, 22-17)

P/A – Abingdon United A 3 – Berinsfield SC A 3; Legs (23-21, 25-25, 23-24)

P/A – Steventon Sports SC A 4 – The Vine, Cumnor 2; Legs (17-16, 19-20, 19-16)

P/A – College Oak A 2 – Red Lion A 4; Legs (18-24, 22-20, 17-26)

P/A – Stanford in the Vale FC 2 – Plum Pudding 4; Legs (25-26, 24-19, 22-26)

B – Abingdon RBL 2 – The Bell A 4; Legs (8-14, 11-8, 12-14)

B – Bear & Ragged Staff 5 – Fleur De Lys A 1; Legs (10-10, 12-9, 12-11)

B – Harwellian B 4 – WADS Bar 2; Legs (16-11, 18-12, 19-20)

B – Royal Oak 4 – Abingdon United C 2; Legs (12-15, 18-13, 15-9)

B – The Croft Bar 4 – Earl of Abingdon A 2; Legs (7-14, 13-12, 13-10)

C – Boundary House 4 – Eight Bells, Eaton 2; Legs (10-8, 16-7, 12-14)

C – Red Lion B Drayton 2 – North Star A 4; Legs (10-6, 5-10, 11-13)

C – The Bell B Grove 6 – The Midget 0; Legs (12-7, 16-10, 16-12)

C – The Earl of Abingdon B 4 – Brewery Tap 2; Legs (10-13, 9-8, 13-10)

C – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 4 – The Fox, Denchworth 2; Legs (14-16, 19-9, 16-12)

D – Fleur de Lys B 4 – The Fox Boars Hill 2; Legs (13-8, 15-12, 8-9)

D – Harwellian A 2 – Prince of Wales Shippon 4; Legs (6-10, 12-16, 10-8)

D – RAL Social Club 2 – College Oak B 4; Legs (7-11, 14-9, 8-9)

D – The Lamb Wantage 4 – Steventon Sports B 2; Legs (11-7, 14-13, 10-12)

D – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 4 – Plough West Hanney 2; Legs (13-11, 15-13, 7-9)

E – Challow Cricket Club 2 – Marcham Centre A 4; Legs (8-11, 14-7, 11-18)

E – Crown Marcham A 6 – Berinsfield SC B 0; Legs (0-0, 0-0, 0-0)

E – Queens Arms Didcot 1 – Hanney RBL 5; Legs (10-15, 11-11, 8-10)

E – The George Sutton Courtenay 0 – Bystander 6; Legs (6-10, 5-14, 9-13)

E – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 6 – Black Horse E.Hanney 0; Legs (13-7, 16-11, 15-10)

F – Crown Marcham B 4 – Long Wittenham AC 2; Legs (14-12, 13-9, 11-13)

F – Grove RFC 6 – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 0; Legs (14-7, 13-6, 19-10)

F – Marcham Centre B 2 – Black Swan 4; Legs (9-11, 6-7, 8-7)

F – North Star B 2 – Ladygrove A 4; Legs (13-9, 10-11, 4-8)

F – Plough Appleton A 2 – The Lamb Wantage B 4; Legs (3-2, 4-12, 2-7)

Blobbers

Anna Antell (Plough Appleton A), Caroline Baker (Red Lion B Drayton), Clive Rayson (Bear & Ragged Staff), Dennis Ruffels (The Earl of Abingdon B), Gill Ebberson (RAL Social Club), J Campoli (The Lamb Wantage B), Keith Buckle (Abingdon RBL), Michael Littlechild (Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale), Nick Blacow (The George Sutton Courtenay), Phil Waddy (The Fox Boars Hill), Ryhs Lewis (Plough Appleton A).

Sixers

John Pownceby (The Vine, Cumnor), Phil Adams (Abingdon Conservative Club).

Fivers

Alan Bell 5-4-1 (Croft Nomads) – Week 8

Alex Chamberlain 5-3-2 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 8

Bernie Stimpson 0-1-5 (North Star A) – Week 8

Dave Dix 5-3-4 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 8

David Mott 1-2-5 (Abingdon United A) – Week 8

Gary De La Ruiz 3-0-5 (Harwellian B) – Week 8

Geoff Lee (S) 5-2-1 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 8

Jake Nutt 2-5-1 (Steventon Sports B) – Week 8

Jonathan Hutt 5-2-2 (Brewery Tap) – Week 8

Kevin Billington 1-1-5 (Red Lion A) – Week 8

Rory Mangan 1-5-2 (The Fox Boars Hill) – Week 8

Russell Flower 3-5-0 (Fleur de Lys B) – Week 8

Simon Winterbourne 2-5-3 (Plum Pudding) – Week 8

Steven Soden 3-0-5 (The Earl of Abingdon B) – Week 8

Terry Downes 5-3-4 (Plum Pudding) – Week 8

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Last Weeks’s Highlights

Well last week’s 30 fixtures only produced one maximum 6 from the 180 legs played and that came courtesy of Phil Adams third leg for Abingdon Conservative Club in their 4-2 victory over the Plum Pudding in the Premier section. The Con Club’s win saw them retain their 2 point advantage at the top of the table ahead of Croft Nomads who were also 4-2 winners on the night against Steventon Sports SC A.

For the Con Club Phil, Adams and Dave Dix shared the top dolls of the night with 12 dolls each and Paul Barrett also contributed 11 dolls. For the Plum Simon Winterbourne top scored with 10 dolls and Plum had the consolation of winning the 3rd leg with the best leg total of 27, but the consistency of the Con Club with two legs of 24 and one of 25 saw them home.

Croft Nomads 4-2 victory against Steventon Sports who were missing Derek Fletcher won the final leg setting 23 dolls in the which was just out of reach of the home side who left anchorman Steve Enock requiring 5 from his last throw to draw, but he just fell short and the visitors secured their 2 points. Chris Jenkins, new to the Abingdon League this year, top scored for the Nomads with 11 dolls.

Elsewhere in the Premier/A section Berinsfield continued their good form ad now lead the A section following their 6-0 defeat of the College Oak. For Berinsfield Richard Jones top scored with 11 and he was aided and abetted by Martin Rawlings who hit 10 dolls, both recording their highest scores of the season so far. Paul Kelsey top scored for the Oak with 9 dolls.

There was a welcome first win of the season for The Vine, with them winning 4-2 against Abingdon United A who were without skipper Steve Martin, but who still had 4 players hitting 9 dolls notably John Simmons (our President), Dave Hudson, Jumbo Mott and Jason Bowler, but unfortunately their efforts were not enough as the rest of the team could only manage 13 doll between them!

Red Lion remain in second place in the A section after they defeated Stanford FC 6-0. Scott Tabor led the scoring for the Lion with 10 dolls, his best of the season and for Stanford, Guy Checketts matched that with 10 of his own!

Other double digit scorers on the night were Andy Shipman of Harwellian B, Carl Jeffries of the Ladygrove, Billy Shellington for Marcham Centre B, Michael Rainbow, Long Wittenham AC and Tony Barrett of Abingdon RBL. Really good to note that 3 of these players are in sides in the F section so lots of promise down in the lower sections and while I am at it I should mention the Black Swan Abingdon (where the league started 65 years ago!), new to the league this season and in the F section who surpassed, I suspect even their own expectations, when they hit 17 dolls in a leg against the North Star B. Their leg score was bettered when fellow newcomers and also in the F section hit a highly commendable 19 doll leg against league leaders Grove RFC. 

Elsewhere there was some very good individual and team scores. Although only 1 maximum on the night there were 17 5’s recorded and these included players from all sections so there are lots of players who were tantalisingly close to joining the exclusive “6” members club. In the B section best leg score of the night came in Abingdon RBL 5-0 win against the Earl of Abingdon A in the B section with 19 dolls, also in the B section both the WADS Bar and the Royal Oak recorded leg scores of 18 dolls and the Earl B also matched their A team’s 18 doll leg in their 6-0 win over the Eight Bells. 

Quick summary of the league tables show that only 2 teams remain unbeaten and lead their respective tables that is The Wheatsheaf in Section C and The Plough West Hanney in the D section both of whom have 7 straight wins under their belts! Grove RFC remain top of Section F, just 1 point ahead of Long Wittenham AC, in the E section Marcham Centre A have the top spot leading The Bystander by just 2 points and in the B section WADS Bar are top, level with the Royal Oak on points, but ahead only on dolls scored.

Disappointingly we are already aware of one match that cannot be played this week because of a shortage of players and it is just worth reminding everyone as we approach the peak holiday season that additional players can be registered throughout the season simply by advising us of any additions to your teams and they can be immediately eligible to play.

We really don’t want teams to be unable to fulfill fixtures if they have other individuals who want/wish and are able to play.

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Summer 2025 Week 7 Results

Match Results

P/A – Croft Nomads 4 – Steventon Sports SC A 2; Legs (23-21, 22-16, 22-23)

P/A – Plum Pudding 2 – Abingdon Conservative Club 4; Legs (19-24, 21-25, 27-24)

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 6 – College Oak A 0; Legs (26-25, 28-19, 25-20)

P/A – Red Lion A 6 – Stanford in the Vale FC 0; Legs (25-24, 23-18, 24-23)

P/A – The Vine, Cumnor 4 – Abingdon United A 2; Legs (23-20, 16-22, 21-16)

B – Abingdon United C 0 – Abingdon RBL 6; Legs (10-17, 10-14, 12-19)

B – Earl of Abingdon A 0 – Harwellian B 6; Legs (12-15, 14-15, 10-14)

B – Fleur De Lys A 3 – The Croft Bar 3; Legs (7-9, 14-12, 9-9)

B – The Bell A 2 – Bear & Ragged Staff 4; Legs (12-10, 11-12, 12-17)

B – WADS Bar 2 – Royal Oak 4; Legs (10-14, 15-18, 18-13)

C – Brewery Tap 1 – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 5; Legs (10-10, 9-14, 9-15)

C – Eight Bells, Eaton 0 – The Earl of Abingdon B 6; Legs (9-13, 7-11, 6-18)

C – North Star A 0 – The Bell B Grove 6; Legs (7-10, 6-9, 5-10)

C – The Fox, Denchworth 2 – Red Lion B Drayton 4; Legs (8-9, 13-10, 10-14)

C – The Midget 6 – Boundary House 0; Legs (12-8, 14-7, 16-8)

D – College Oak B 2 – Fleur de Lys B 4; Legs (13-5, 7-8, 9-14)

D – Harwellian A 6 – RAL Social Club 0; Legs (16-6, 13-7, 13-5)

D – Plough West Hanney 6 – The Lamb Wantage 0; Legs (13-7, 9-8, 14-11)

D – Steventon Sports B 5 – Prince of Wales Shippon 1; Legs (8-8, 8-7, 22-9)

D – The Fox Boars Hill 3 – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 3; Legs (10-12, 12-12, 12-8)

E – Black Horse E.Hanney 3 – Queens Arms Didcot 3; Legs (16-15, 5-8, 10-10)

E – Bystander 6 – Berinsfield SC B 0; Legs (17-8, 13-8, 16-8)

E – Crown Marcham A 5 – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 1; Legs (12-8, 12-12, 13-11)

E – Hanney RBL 2 – Challow Cricket Club 4; Legs (10-13, 14-11, 9-10)

E – Marcham Centre A 5 – The George Sutton Courtenay 1; Legs (14-9, 12-12, 12-10)

F – Black Swan 2 – North Star B 4; Legs (5-15, 17-11, 8-9)

F – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 6 – Plough Appleton A 0; Legs (13-5, 12-5, 6-5)

F – Ladygrove A 4 – Grove RFC 2; Legs (14-12, 8-15, 19-15)

F – Long Wittenham AC 6 – Marcham Centre B 0; Legs (15-5, 12-8, 11-8)

F – The Lamb Wantage B 6 – Crown Marcham B 0; Legs (8-5, 8-7, 12-10)

Blobbers

Ben Scott (Fleur de Lys B), Claire Wright (Marcham Centre B), Darryl Justice (Bear & Ragged Staff), David Carroll (RAL Social Club), Ed Hoolihan (Boundary House), Ed Tansey (Brewery Tap), Geoff Swinden (Fleur De Lys A), Gill Ebberson (RAL Social Club), Ian Condon (The Bell B Grove), Joe Cram (Crown Marcham A), Joy Brinkley (RAL Social Club), Lloyd Woodington (Berinsfield SC B), Luke Dewar (Earl of Abingdon A), Matt Dixey (Challow Cricket Club), Nick Faulkner (College Oak B), Paul Oliver (CS) (Plough Appleton A), Pete Hogan © (The Lamb Wantage), Peter Haydon (North Star A), Phil Ebberson (RAL Social Club), Richard Moran (Marcham Centre B), Ryan Weresch (Earl of Abingdon A), Ryhs Lewis (Plough Appleton A).

Sixers

Phil Adams (Abingdon Conservative Club).

Fivers

Andy Shipman 3-5-2 (Harwellian B) – Week 7

Ben Tyler 1-3-5 (Bystander) – Week 7

Billy Skellington 1-5-4 (Marcham Centre B) – Week 7

Chris Jenkins 5-3-3 (Croft Nomads) – Week 7

Colin Brind (S) 3-1-5 (Steventon Sports SC A) – Week 7

Dave Dix 4-3-5 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 7

John Simmons 5-4-0 (Abingdon United A) – Week 7

Martin Rawlings 3-5-2 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 7

Michael Rainbow (S) 3-2-5 (Long Wittenham AC) – Week 7

Paul Barrett 4-5-2 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 7

Paul Burton 1-5-2 (Challow Cricket Club) – Week 7

Paul Hedges 1-2-5 (Steventon Sports B) – Week 7

Paul Kelsey 2-5-2 (College Oak A) – Week 7

Scott Tabor 4-5-1 (Red Lion A) – Week 7

Steve Peedell 5-1-2 (The Vine, Cumnor) – Week 7

Tom Swinney 5-1-1 (The Bell A) – Week 7

Warren Docherty 1-5-1 (Black Swan) – Week 7

 

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2025 Summer Competitions

As you know we have been canvassing recently to secure enough entries to stage this year’s many competitions.

At the AGM in January it was agreed that a minimum entry level of 8 was required to make the various events both competitive and to ensure that the effort in holding the competitions and  the cost of trophies were justifiable based on the number of entries.

We are pleased that the minimum number of entries has been reached in the 8’s competition which is already well under way and we have in excess of 20 entries and 14 entries for the singles and open pairs which will take place at Abingdon United on Sunday the 6th July. Good news.

For the Captains and Secretaries competition we require just one or two more entries to reach our minimum level.

For the other planned Competitions we seem to have enough entries for the D, E and F Section pairs which will be held on Thursday 21st August at a venue still to be confirmed. The remaining competitions we would still like more entries for. These are the Team 5’s, the Team 4’s and the Team 3’s together with the new Section B and C pairs events.

As a reminder the Team 4’s and 3’s are scheduled to be held at the Croft Bar on Thursday July 17th and the team 5’s will be held at Abingdon Conservative Club on Thursday August 7th.

The Section B and C pairs competition has the least entries and the date set for that is Thursday August 14th again at a venue to be confirmed subject to enough entries being received.

So when the Committee met earlier this week it was agreed to :-

  • Allow additional late entries to ALL competitions until this coming Sunday June 21st
  • Confirm the dates of the new “closed ” pairs competitions for the sections B and below
  • Proceed with all Competitions as planned (the only doubt is the B & C pairs which has only 3 entries so far!)
  • Allow substitutes/reserves wherever necessary on the day of the competitions.

As you will be aware these Competitions are part of our heritage with many of the  trophies donated several years ago by past sponsors, players etc and we therefore want these to remain an essential part of our history and of our sport for years to come.

We appreciate that we have to find ways of attracting more of our teams and our players to take part. We need to listen to the reasons why with 60 sides entered and 480 players taking part over our 18 week league season we struggle to get a minimum of 8 (singles), 16 (pairs), 24 (3’s),  32(4’s) and 40 (5’s) players to enter and commit to play in our Competitions. We know that in part it’s about when and where we hold the competitions, it’s about players and sides not entering because they think they are not good enough or are massive underdogs, they are not held on Wednesday’s which is Aunt Sally night etc 

Those are all understood and we can, and have, adapted the way we arrange competitions in our endeavour  to attract/increase entries, but without much real success.

We will continue to listen, adapt and learn in order to improve participation, but remember whenever and wherever you play Aunt Sally it’s about taking part, having fun, sharing the banter and for everyone who plays it keeps our game alive not just for ourselves, it’s for our pubs and clubs who support us.  As importantly it’s a way that encourages others who may want to become part of our game for the future to try their hand! . If  the game is lost it will probably be lost for ever!

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One third in but still all to play for!

It took 6 weeks, but the inevitable has happened the only surprise is that it has taken this long! Yes you have guessed it, Dave Dix’s first 6 of the season in the first leg of Abingdon Conservative Club’s 6-0 whitewash of Stanford in the Vale. Dave’s 15 dolls helped the Con Club climb to top spot in the Premier and they are now 2 points clear of Croft Nomads who also enjoyed a 6-0 win at Abingdon United in the same section. Early season pacesetters Plum Pudding were held to a 3-3 draw at Steventon Sports despite 11 dolls from Terry Downes aided and abetted by Paul Longford with 10. Colin Brind and Ian Morrison shared top scores for the home side with 10 dolls. The first leg of this game was tied with 26 dolls apiece a leg score hit again in the second leg by Steventon, but the Plum were only able to hit 20 in reply, but Plum won the third leg 24-17 to secure the draw. 

Croft Nomads hit the highest leg scores of the night 27 twice with Ian Brook top scoring with 12 dolls, Alan Bell with 11 and Tosh Wooloff with 10 all threw consistently to help secure a return to winning ways for the Croft.

In the Premier/A section College Oak’s Jamie Smith helped them to a 4-2 win over the Vine who are still seeking their first positive result of the Summer as they went down 4-2 at the College.

Red Lion the early season unbeaten pacesetters in the A section came a cropper on their own throw when Berinsfield SC A were 6-0 winners to leapfrog the Lion at the top of the table and go 5 points clear.

Elsewhere and overall there was some good scoring on the night. Individuals Lee Brown for The Earl of Abingdon A in Section B hit 10 dolls, Derrick Brown of the WADs bar matched that in the same section and in the E section Richard Bunce playing for the Black Horse Hanney contributed 11 dolls and in the F section James Fletcher’s 10 dolls took doll his average to date to 2.61 – James what are you doing in the F section?

Some other scores to note include Marcham Centre’s A 45 dolls on the night against Berinsfield B a 17 doll leg for the Waggon and Horses in the same section. Other scores, not so notable, include the Croft Bar’s 4 doll third leg at home against Harwellian B and Challow & Childrey CC game against The George in Section E. At first I thought it was a tennis result with scores of 8-6, 9-7 and 13-11!

Whilst there was only the one “sixer” last week there was a reduction in the number of “blobbers” on the night so obviously signs of improvement overall!!

The league tables can now be seen to take some shape. As mentioned earlier Abingdon Con Club lead the Premier by 2 points, Berinsfield SC A are 5 points clear in the A section. The B section sees WAD’s bar 2 points clear of Royal Oak and in the C section The Wheatsheaf’s 6 straight wins puts them comfortably clear of the Fox, Denchworth in second place.

Also with 6 straight wins The Plough West Hanney head Section D, but Fleur de Lys B are chasing in second place only 2 points behind. The F section is led by Grove RFC who are 5 points clear of 2025 newcomers Ladygrove, Didcot.

An early look at each of the sections top doll averages makes good reading. Unsurprisingly Dave Dix tops the Premier with an average of 4.53 dolls, Stuart Wilson has the highest average in the A section at 2.87, just ahead of Danny Hamilton whose average is 2.83. In the B section it’s Derrick Brown averaging 2.89, Shaun Gilensen is currently highest with an average of 2.33 in the C section. Steve Dingle and Billy Collett are both averaging 2.28 in the D section, Brian Bosley has been hitting hitting 2.89 dolls 0n average in the E section and the aforementioned James Fletcher’s 2.61 average for the North Star B leads the way in F.

That’s it for this week’s review, but do look out for an important update on the 2025 Summer Competitions which we will publish in the next couple of days.

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Summer 2025 Week 6 Results

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon United A 0 – Croft Nomads 6; Legs (19-24, 13-27, 22-27)

P/A – Steventon Sports SC A 3 – Plum Pudding 3; Legs (26-26, 26-20, 17-24)

P/A – College Oak A 4 – The Vine, Cumnor 2; Legs (20-21, 26-20, 23-17)

P/A – Red Lion A 0 – Berinsfield SC A 6; Legs (19-23, 19-24, 18-21)

P/A – Stanford in the Vale FC 0 – Abingdon Conservative Club 6; Legs (17-25, 17-19, 15-19)

B – Abingdon RBL 2 – WADS Bar 4; Legs (10-16, 8-16, 15-14)

B – Bear & Ragged Staff 2 – Abingdon United C 4; Legs (7-11, 12-8, 9-14)

B – Fleur De Lys A 2 – The Bell A 4; Legs (8-9, 9-13, 15-10)

B – Royal Oak 2 – Earl of Abingdon A 4; Legs (9-20, 12-10, 11-15)

B – The Croft Bar 2 – Harwellian B 4; Legs (9-15, 15-13, 4-14)

C – Boundary House 4 – North Star A 2; Legs (7-9, 10-8, 15-11)

C – Brewery Tap 2 – Eight Bells, Eaton 4; Legs (11-8, 7-13, 8-11)

C – The Bell B Grove 6 – The Fox, Denchworth 0; Legs (14-11, 13-10, 16-9)

C – The Earl of Abingdon B 4 – The Midget 2; Legs (8-14, 13-11, 15-12)

C – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 4 – Red Lion B Drayton 2; Legs (17-16, 7-8, 15-13)

D – Harwellian A 4 – Steventon Sports B 2; Legs (8-7, 13-17, 14-13)

D – Prince of Wales Shippon 2 – Plough West Hanney 4; Legs (11-9, 11-14, 12-15)

D – RAL Social Club 0 – Fleur de Lys B 6; Legs (5-9, 6-12, 4-15)

D – The Lamb Wantage 1 – The Fox Boars Hill 5; Legs (9-10, 10-10, 13-14)

D – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 0 – College Oak B 6; Legs (11-12, 9-10, 10-13)

E – Berinsfield SC B 0 – Marcham Centre A 6; Legs (5-15, 8-13, 6-17)

E – Challow Cricket Club 2 – The George Sutton Courtenay 4; Legs (6-8, 9-7, 11-13)

E – Hanney RBL 0 – Black Horse E.Hanney 6; Legs (8-9, 9-14, 9-11)

E – Queens Arms Didcot 2 – Crown Marcham A 4; Legs (13-12, 7-12, 9-12)

E – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 5 – Bystander 1; Legs (17-13, 15-8, 9-9)

F – Black Swan 2 – Long Wittenham AC 4; Legs (12-7, 6-8, 5-10)

F – Crown Marcham B 2 – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 4; Legs (9-10, 9-6, 5-6)

F – Marcham Centre B 2 – The Lamb Wantage B 4; Legs (8-5, 5-7, 7-12)

F – North Star B 1 – Grove RFC 5; Legs (7-7, 10-13, 8-12)

F – Plough Appleton A 0 – Ladygrove A 6; Legs (8-13, 7-11, 6-11)

Blobbers

Adam Davies (RAL Social Club), Andrew Butcher (Crown Marcham B), Andrew Latimer (North Star B), Chris Wilding (S) (North Star B), Claire Collier (CS) (Black Horse E.Hanney), Colleen Ashby (Brewery Tap), James Morton (Stanford in the Vale FC), John Selwood (College Oak B), Les Rillinson (Marcham Centre B), LL Jo Baker (Berinsfield SC B), Mckenzie Godfrey (Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale), Mervyn Dyer LL (The Bell A), Neil Thorn (The Plough Inn Long Wittenham), Robin Band (Plough Appleton A), Ross Weston (Bystander), Sylwia Lelowittis (RAL Social Club).

Sixers

Dave Dix (Abingdon Conservative Club).

Fivers

Alan Bell 4-5-2 (Croft Nomads) – Week 6

Andy Shipman 5-2-1 (Harwellian B) – Week 6

Chris Jenkins 1-2-5 (Croft Nomads) – Week 6

Colin Brind (S) 5-4-1 (Steventon Sports SC A) – Week 6

Dave Dix 6-5-4 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 6

Gary De La Ruiz 1-5-2 (Harwellian B) – Week 6

James Fletcher 2-5-3 (North Star B) – Week 6

Lee Brown 4-1-5 (Earl of Abingdon A) – Week 6

Paul Longford 5-1-4 (Plum Pudding) – Week 6

Richard Bunce 2-5-4 (Black Horse E.Hanney) – Week 6

Terry Downes 4-2-5 (Plum Pudding) – Week 6

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Last Day for Competition Entries

Today is the final day for competition entries. 

Forms are on the home page and can be submitted by email (or an email saying you want to take part) to support @ abingdonauntsally.com

This year we have free entry for B&C and D&E&F sections in their own pairs competitions AND there’s some prizemoney. So what are you waiting for?

DON’T DELAY as we will NOT be extending the deadline (post AGM feedback) so if we don’t get 8 entries per competition that competition will be cancelled. 

That will be a shame after six decades of good spirited challenge between teams in this, the largest league in Oxfordshire. 

Ring your team mates now and have a go at one or more competitions. Get your entries in!

There’s nothing quite like it!

Paul Stone
Chairman

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Week 5 Summary

Well last week saw some very good individual and team scoring and a week which resulted in some defeats for previously unbeaten sides and a return to form for some sides that had, in previous weeks, struggled to hit their usual level of performance.

Starting with individuals in the Premier/A section 4 leg maximums of 6 dolls were recorded by Alan Bell for Croft Nomads, Stuart Wilson and Richard Jones both of Berinsfield SC A and Barry Jones of Stanford FC. Well done to all.

Overall the highest doll scorers on the night were Dave Dix and Alex Chamberlain both belonged to Abingdon Conservative Club when both hit 14 dolls for Abingdon Conservative Club who, despite Colin Brind’s 10 dolls in response for Steventon Sports A, sailed to their first clean sweep of the season taking them to second place in the table. Phil Adams was another double figure scorer with 10 dolls for the Con Club.

Plum Pudding continue to impress and currently lead the Premier section. Terry Downes and Mick Samways with 11 and 10 dolls respectively saw the Plum emerge as 4-2 winners over Abingdon United A for whom both Bert Newman and Jumbo Mott hit double digits but a 1 doll advantage in the 3rd leg was enough to secure the win for the Milton side whose 29 dolls in the second leg was the highest leg score of the night.

College Oak were also impressive 4-2 winners on the night on their “long” trip across the Peachcroft car park to the Croft. Both sides hit 28 doll legs, The Oak setting 28 in the first leg and despite a good response from the home side including Titch Bell’s 6 they still fell short by 2 dolls. The second leg saw the Croft set 28 and the Oak responded with a very credible 26 dolls. They then secured their win in the 3rd leg setting 24 which proved too many for the Croft who again fell short by 2 dolls again. For the Oak Kev Chapman top scored with 10 dolls and for The Croft it was Alan Bell with 11 dolls and Steve Enock recording his double figure score for the 4th time in 5 outings in a match which saw 149 dolls recorded over the 3 legs.

Berinsfield SC A were another side that showed a welcome return to form as they recorded a 5-1 result against Stanford FC. Although a significant winning score in terms of points recorded it was much closer in terms of dolls with Berinsfield tally being 67 dolls on the night which only just outscored the Football Club’s 66! Small margins in terms of dolls scored, but not in points earned!!

Red Lion A continued their unbeaten start with a 4-2 defeat of the Vine who hit their highest doll total of the season, but are still searching for their first win. Red Lion are playing consistently well and deserve their position at the top of the A section.

Elsewhere some of our previously unbeaten sides suffered first time losses. In the B section it was WADS bar whose form dipped as they went down 4-2 to the Bear & Ragged Staff from up the road in Cumnor. Mark McCracken was the star of the night with 11 dolls including a maximum for the Bear.

Also in the B section John Worrell’s 10 dolls helped Abingdon United C to a thumping 6-0 victory over the Fleur de Lys A side, a score matched by the Earl of Abingdon A who overcame Abingdon RBL. Royal Oak winners 4-2 winners at Harwellian B join WADS bar at the top of B.

In the C section it was The Fox, Denchworth who suffered their first loss of the Summer going down 4-2 at home to the Boundary House. The Wheatsheaf remain unbeaten in this section and now top the table.

The D, E and F sections are all being dominated by sides from the western reaches of our league. The Plough, West Hanney lead the D section, Hanney RBL the E section and Grove RFC the F section and with a number of teams from the west of our region it bodes well for some local rivalry as the season progresses.

So a summary of last weeks results.

Of the 30 matches played 10 resulted in 6-0 wins, 15 ended 4-2 only 3 matches ended with 5-1 outcomes and 2 were tied at 3 apiece. Over the 30 matches played 8640 sticks were thrown of which 2100 dolls were called (including handicaps in the Premier/ A section), which is close to 1 in every 4 dolls being hit across the 6 sections. This must mean that 3 in every 4 dolls thrown across the sections are not troubling the caller!

Room for improvement methinks!

By comparison the current 10 leaders in the top dolls race are averaging in excess of 3 dolls per throw.

As always apologies for any errors and omissions in these weekly summaries and particularly in my arithmetic which highlights just how difficult and frustrating our game can be because every one of us when we take to the oche hope and try to hit the doll, but often to no avail!

Well it’s onto week 6 and it’s also the week in which entries for all of the Competitions close. At the time of writing we do not have the minimum numbers required to stage ANY of the Competitions. So Captains and Secretaries we need to you to gather support from your teams and make those entries required to enable our long standing and new Competitions to take place! At the AGM we were told not to extend the deadline this year. Father’s Day is the deadline!

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Summer 2025 Week 5 Results

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon Conservative Club 6 – Steventon Sports SC A 0; Legs (25-13, 23-20, 24-15)

P/A – Croft Nomads 2 – College Oak A 4; Legs (26-28, 28-21, 22-24)

P/A – Plum Pudding 4 – Abingdon United A 2; Legs (25-28, 29-21, 23-22)

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 5 – Stanford in the Vale FC 1; Legs (22-21, 27-23, 22-22)

P/A – The Vine, Cumnor 2 – Red Lion A 4; Legs (22-25, 20-19, 17-22)

B – Abingdon United C 6 – Fleur De Lys A 0; Legs (16-9, 13-11, 16-8)

B – Earl of Abingdon A 6 – Abingdon RBL 0; Legs (17-10, 15-12, 14-11)

B – Harwellian B 2 – Royal Oak 4; Legs (10-14, 13-9, 12-16)

B – The Bell A 2 – The Croft Bar 4; Legs (14-11, 12-18, 8-14)

B – WADS Bar 2 – Bear & Ragged Staff 4; Legs (10-13, 14-13, 9-17)

C – Eight Bells, Eaton 0 – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 6; Legs (11-14, 6-10, 6-10)

C – North Star A 4 – The Earl of Abingdon B 2; Legs (13-10, 11-10, 10-12)

C – Red Lion B Drayton 3 – The Bell B Grove 3; Legs (12-13, 9-9, 10-7)

C – The Fox, Denchworth 2 – Boundary House 4; Legs (11-12, 13-10, 10-15)

C – The Midget 4 – Brewery Tap 2; Legs (15-7, 10-9, 9-12)

D – College Oak B 4 – The Lamb Wantage 2; Legs (10-8, 9-5, 8-13)

D – Fleur de Lys B 6 – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 0; Legs (10-9, 12-6, 15-8)

D – Plough West Hanney 6 – Harwellian A 0; Legs (9-8, 17-10, 15-6)

D – Steventon Sports B 6 – RAL Social Club 0; Legs (10-9, 14-10, 9-8)

D – The Fox Boars Hill 6 – Prince of Wales Shippon 0; Legs (19-9, 13-9, 13-10)

E – Black Horse E.Hanney 0 – Challow Cricket Club 6; Legs (7-13, 5-8, 6-11)

E – Bystander 4 – Queens Arms Didcot 2; Legs (15-8, 6-10, 8-6)

E – Crown Marcham A 3 – Hanney RBL 3; Legs (8-8, 11-10, 10-12)

E – Marcham Centre A 4 – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 2; Legs (10-9, 15-11, 13-15)

E – The George Sutton Courtenay 4 – Berinsfield SC B 2; Legs (8-7, 7-6, 5-6)

F – Grove RFC 6 – Plough Appleton A 0; Legs (7-2, 12-5, 11-3)

F – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 1 – Marcham Centre B 5; Legs (7-7, 9-10, 5-10)

F – Ladygrove A 4 – Crown Marcham B 2; Legs (6-3, 12-10, 9-11)

F – Long Wittenham AC 4 – North Star B 2; Legs (12-10, 5-11, 13-9)

F – The Lamb Wantage B 1 – Black Swan 5; Legs (9-10, 8-9, 9-9)

Blobbers

Alison Coates (S) (Black Swan), Anna Antell (Plough Appleton A), Colin Trinder (Marcham Centre B), Dan S Smith (Berinsfield SC B), Dave Baker (Harwellian B), David Mills (Brewery Tap), Duncan Nicholl (Grove RFC), Gary Smith (Hanney RBL), Glen Bushnell (Crown Marcham B), Joy Brinkley (RAL Social Club), Lloyd Woodington (Berinsfield SC B), Mckenzie Godfrey (Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale), Nick Blacow (The George Sutton Courtenay), Phil Neale (Plough Appleton A), Ray Cousins (Prince of Wales Shippon), Robin Band (Plough Appleton A), Steven Pottenger (Marcham Centre A), Stuart Jackson (Abingdon RBL), Sylwia Lelowittis (RAL Social Club), Terry Doughty (Harwellian A).

Sixers

Alan Bell (Croft Nomads), Barry Smith (Stanford in the Vale FC), Richard Jones (Berinsfield SC A), Stuart Wilson © (Berinsfield SC A).

Fivers

Alex Chamberlain 4-4-5 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 5

Andy Shipman 2-5-2 (Harwellian B) – Week 5

Brian Bosley © 1-3-5 (Marcham Centre A) – Week 5

Colin Brind (S) 3-5-2 (Steventon Sports SC A) – Week 5

Dave Dix 4-5-5 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 5

David Mott 5-4-2 (Abingdon United A) – Week 5

Ian Brook (S) 3-5-1 (Croft Nomads) – Week 5

Ian Northover 0-5-2 (Brewery Tap) – Week 5

Jonathan Hutt 5-0-2 (Brewery Tap) – Week 5

Mark McCracken 5-2-4 (Bear & Ragged Staff) – Week 5

Martin Short 0-1-5 (Boundary House) – Week 5

Nathan Hamilton 5-2-1 (The George Sutton Courtenay) – Week 5

Nick Ridge 0-5-1 (The Croft Bar) – Week 5

Paul Gardner 1-0-5 (The Croft Bar) – Week 5

Paul Hedges 2-5-1 (Steventon Sports B) – Week 5

Phil Adams 5-3-2 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 5

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