Match Results

P/A – Abingdon United A 6 – Steventon Sports SC A 0; Legs (22-17, 24-21, 23-18)

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 5 – Croft Nomads 1; Legs (27-25, 28-26, 28-28)

P/A – College Oak A 2 – Abingdon Conservative Club 4; Legs (19-31, 23-25, 21-20)

P/A – Red Lion A 6 – Plum Pudding 0; Legs (21-20, 30-24, 26-17)

P/A – Stanford in the Vale FC 6 – The Vine, Cumnor 0; Legs (25-21, 24-16, 23-17)

B – Abingdon RBL 4 – Royal Oak 2; Legs (11-13, 12-10, 13-9)

B – Bear & Ragged Staff 2 – Harwellian B 4; Legs (18-14, 10-13, 16-17)

B – Fleur De Lys A 2 – Earl of Abingdon A 4; Legs (12-13, 13-14, 15-13)

B – The Bell A 4 – WADS Bar 2; Legs (18-13, 9-11, 16-14)

B – The Croft Bar 6 – Abingdon United C 0; Legs (15-11, 15-10, 18-12)

C – Boundary House 4 – The Bell B Grove 2; Legs (15-8, 13-9, 10-15)

C – Brewery Tap 0 – The Fox, Denchworth 6; Legs (9-14, 5-13, 5-14)

C – The Earl of Abingdon B 4 – Red Lion B Drayton 2; Legs (15-7, 14-13, 5-17)

C – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 6 – The Midget 0; Legs (19-9, 17-8, 17-16)

D – Harwellian A 4 – College Oak B 2; Legs (9-4, 9-11, 12-10)

D – Prince of Wales Shippon 4 – Fleur de Lys B 2; Legs (14-10, 11-14, 13-8)

D – RAL Social Club 0 – Plough West Hanney 6; Legs (5-12, 8-12, 10-11)

D – Steventon Sports B 4 – The Fox Boars Hill 2; Legs (8-7, 12-8, 11-13)

D – The Lamb Wantage 0 – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 6; Legs (8-11, 10-12, 1-12)

E – Black Horse E.Hanney 0 – Bystander 6; Legs (7-15, 8-12, 4-11)

E – Challow Cricket Club 5 – Crown Marcham A 1; Legs (11-11, 11-9, 13-4)

E – Hanney RBL 2 – Marcham Centre A 4; Legs (8-10, 11-10, 6-9)

E – Queens Arms Didcot 6 – The George Sutton Courtenay 0; Legs (7-6, 10-7, 12-5)

E – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 6 – Berinsfield SC B 0; Legs (18-8, 11-8, 8-4)

F – Black Swan 0 – Ladygrove A 6; Legs (6-8, 5-6, 8-11)

F – Crown Marcham B 5 – Plough Appleton A 1; Legs (7-7, 12-7, 10-6)

F – Long Wittenham AC 6 – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 0; Legs (10-8, 7-4, 9-7)

F – Marcham Centre B 1 – Grove RFC 5; Legs (11-20, 8-8, 8-13)

F – North Star B 4 – The Lamb Wantage B 2; Legs (8-4, 6-7, 18-7)

Blobbers

A Watson-Harrison (The Lamb Wantage B), Adam Davies (RAL Social Club), David Mills (Brewery Tap), Jo Wilson (The Fox Boars Hill), John C Vaughan (Harwellian A), Lloyd Woodington (Berinsfield SC B), Matt Tarrant (Ladygrove A), Mckenzie Godfrey (Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale), Michael Barry (Harwellian A), Nigel Tait (Abingdon RBL), Pam Edwards (Black Horse E.Hanney), Pete Hogan (C) (The Lamb Wantage), Robert Beasant (Black Horse E.Hanney), Sarah Stacey (Plough Appleton A), Simon Busby (Berinsfield SC B), Tessa Beasant (Black Horse E.Hanney), Tom Moore (Royal Oak), Wayne Robins (Plough West Hanney).

Sixers

Alex Chamberlain (Abingdon Conservative Club), Barry Townsend (Croft Nomads), Gary De La Ruiz (Harwellian B).

Fivers

Andy Morton 3-5-2 (Abingdon United A) – Week 18

Andy Phelps 5-5-3 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 18

Andy Shipman 4-1-5 (Harwellian B) – Week 18

Bob Duff (S) 5-3-1 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 18

Charlie Guinan 5-3-2 (The Wheatsheaf, Didcot) – Week 18

Dave Collett 1-1-5 (The Plough Inn Long Wittenham) – Week 18

David Mott 2-5-3 (Abingdon United A) – Week 18

Dean Bowler 3-3-5 (Red Lion A) – Week 18

Dennis Forbes-Smith 5-2-1 (Waggon and Horses B Southmoor) – Week 18

James Fletcher 2-1-5 (North Star B) – Week 18

Jason Bowler 3-2-5 (Abingdon United A) – Week 18

Ken Fisher 2-5-1 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 18

Kevin Billington 0-5-1 (Red Lion A) – Week 18

Mark O’Neill 5-2-2 (Grove RFC) – Week 18

Mark Weston 5-1-1 (Plough West Hanney) – Week 18

Paul Leach 5-4-2 (Plum Pudding) – Week 18

Phil Soden (CS) 3-5-4 (College Oak A) – Week 18

Sam Weston 5-1-3 (Bear & Ragged Staff) – Week 18

Steve Weeks 5-0-3 (The Bell A) – Week 18

Steven Pembroke 1-1-5 (Plough West Hanney) – Week 18

Stuart Wilson (C) 5-4-2 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 18

It really doesn’t seem over 18 weeks ago that we were looking forward to our Summer season, some with hope, some with trepidation and some just simply looking forward to Wednesday night’s with some banter,  a drink or two and a relaxing game of Aunt Sally with their mates in the garden or backyard of a local hostelry! 

So how do we reflect on the Summer? Firstly with lots of pleasure because this year we achieved our goal of attracting 60 teams to our league with 8 new teams welcomed some joining for the very first time, others returning after a time away and a few other changes saw some changes of names and venues for old friends. Remarkably the Summer was kind to us as well with Wednesday evenings being mostly rain free and warm! Can’t always say that, but it certainly helps! Equally remarkably our game attracted 835 actual players in total over the course of the season with 60 teams that’s at least 16 players and some onlookers at 30 pubs or clubs every Wednesday evening for 18 weeks! That must be good for business!

So who were the successful teams now that it is all over for another season? Firstly all teams were successful in their own way not necessarily because they won their section or finished runners up, but because they took part, introduced new players to our game and spent some much needed income in the pubs and clubs who provide the facilities and the environment which enables our game to continue to thrive.

We do need to reflect on to last week’s games and there were some tight finishes some of which were decisive in determining winners and runners up in some sections. The Premier section winners were Abingdon Conservative Club who finished 12 points clear at the top of the table averaging over 24 dolls per leg over 54 legs! A challenge and achievement for us all to aspire to (in our dreams!). Special mention to both Phil Adams and Dave Dix from the Con Club who both just fell 1 doll short of that coveted maximum 18 dolls match total. Maybe next year it will happen! Runners up in the Premier were Croft Nomads who despite losing 5-1 at Berinsfield SC A still managed to retain second spot because their nearest rivals Plum Pudding needing a win on the night at the Red Lion A, but they lost 6-0 so were unable to close the gap finishing 5 points adrift.

It was those 2 winning sides who dominated the A section, Berinsfield SC A winning the title with a 12 point winning margin over the Red Lion A who finished runners up.

The B section went right to the wire and it was the Croft Bar who clinched top spot by just 3 points with a closing night 6-0 victory over Abingdon United C and Abingdon RBL also won on the night to secure the runners up spot.

The C section was comfortably won by The Wheatsheaf who had an excellent season losing only 2 of their 18 matches, runners up in this section were The Bell B from Grove who enjoyed another successful summer.

The D section was won by The Plough West Hanney who topped the table for most of the season so congratulations to them and to the section runners up from East Hagbourne, The Fleur de Lys B.

The E section was, like the B section, a close run thing with 4 teams contesting the top spots for much of the year. At the end though it was The Bystander who came out on top just 1 point ahead of runners up The Waggon & Horses, both sides winning 6-0 on the last day! Marcham Centre A who had been in contention for a long time fell short on their last day going down 5-1 against Hanney RBL, but can take the consolation that their skipper Brian Bosley secured the overall top dolls total for the section.

Finally to the F section the home of several of our new teams i 2025. With lots of solid performances through the Summer Ladygrove and Long Wittenham AC can be pleased with their first year in the league, but it was last year’s newcomers grove RFC who clinched the title and long serving North Star B who finished runners up in this section.

Finally let’s not forget all of those players who recorded personal double figure scores last week, some for the first time (and last) this season.

Leading the pack last week was Alex Chamberlain for AB Con Club with 14 dolls including a maximum 6 Phil Adams and Dave Dix chipped in with 12 and 11 respectively for the league champions. In the Berinsfield SC A match against Croft Nomads, Andy Phelps top scored with 12 dolls for the home side and for the Croft both Barry Townsend (with a 6) and Chris Jenkins matched Andy’s 12. Also in this pretty high scoring match Stuart Wilson with 11 an Mick Greenaway and Richard Jones weighed in with 10 dolls each and for the Croft it was Alan Bell and Steve Enock with 11 dolls apiece.

In the Plum Pudding v Red Lion game Paul Leach and Dean Bowler for the Plum (Paul) and Red Lion (Dean) both hit 11 and also for the Lion, Scott Tabor racked up 10 dolls.

Elsewhere Phil Soden’s 12 dolls were his best of the season, Gary de la Ruiz’s 12 for the Harwellian B included a 6, Andy Morton’s 11 was joined in double figures by team mates, Jumbo Mott, Jason Bowler and Steve Martin who all contributed 1o dolls for Abingdon United A. Steve Davidson, mine host, captain and secretary for the Fox Denchworth led his team with 11 dolls.

There were lots of 10’s scored last week William Glen for Stanford FC, Charlie Guinan for the Wheatsheaf, Andy Shipman of the Harwellian B and his Harwellian clubmate from the A side Woodie Reiszner all broke single figures with 10 dolls each.

A final mention in the race for top doll scorer for top doll between father and son Billy and Dave Collett it was Billy who came out on top by just 4 dolls despite Dave outscoring him 7 to 5 last week. The difference in their season’s totals was probably decided by Billy playing all 18 fixtures whilst Dave only played 17!

Just to close this last league review of the season I would just like to remind you that the season is yet to finish! Tonight (Wednesday 10th) we will be staging the team competitions finals at Abingdon United and next week, Wednesday the 17th it is the Founders & Legends Trophy at Abingdon Conservative Club again from 7.30 which is open to all registered players aged 55 or over, registration on the night from 7 to 7.15. We also plan to hold the remaining semi final and final of the inaugural lower section pairs (D/E/F) before the start of that competition.

Even then the summer season isn’t completely over as we will stage our Presentation Night at Abingdon United FC from 7pm on Friday 10th October when the singles and pairs semi finals and finals will be played and all of the season’s trophies will be presented.

Still More to Come!

Don’t hang up your sticks just yet:

• Tonight (Wed 10th Sept): Team Competition Finals at Abingdon United.
• Next Wednesday (17th Sept 7pm): Founders & Legends Trophy at Abingdon Conservative Club (open to all players aged 55+ registration 7-7.15).
• Lower Section Pairs (D/E/F): Semi-final and final to be played before the Legends Trophy kicks off.
• Presentation Night: Friday 10th October at Abingdon United FC from 7pm. Singles and pairs finals, plus trophy presentations—don’t miss it!

A Massive Thank You

That’s it for this season’s Roger’s Ramblings! Huge thanks to every player, captain, secretary, landlord/lady, steward, and supporter. Whether you played every week or just stepped in when needed, you’ve helped keep this wonderful game not just alive—but absolutely thriving.

Here’s to another cracking season. Cheers!

Roger Nicols

League Treasurer and Match Secretary

Match Results

P/A – Croft Nomads 2 – Abingdon Conservative Club 4; Legs (22-23, 27-23, 23-26)

P/A – Plum Pudding 4 – Stanford in the Vale FC 2; Legs (24-21, 21-20, 18-22)

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 6 – Abingdon United A 0; Legs (23-19, 22-21, 24-10)

P/A – Red Lion A 5 – College Oak A 1; Legs (22-20, 21-19, 16-16)

P/A – The Vine, Cumnor 3 – Steventon Sports SC A 3; Legs (24-21, 17-17, 19-21)

B – Abingdon United C 2 – Royal Oak 4; Legs (11-10, 8-9, 9-11)

B – Earl of Abingdon A 1 – The Croft Bar 5; Legs (13-13, 6-14, 10-12)

B – Fleur De Lys A 4 – Bear & Ragged Staff 2; Legs (13-12, 13-9, 11-15)

B – The Bell A 2 – Abingdon RBL 4; Legs (14-15, 11-10, 14-18)

B – WADS Bar 2 – Harwellian B 4; Legs (13-17, 11-15, 14-13)

C – Boundary House 6 – Eight Bells, Eaton 0; Legs (0-0, 0-0, 0-0)

C – Brewery Tap 0 – The Earl of Abingdon B 6; Legs (0-0, 0-0, 0-0)

C – North Star A 0 – Red Lion B Drayton 6; Legs (11-12, 4-10, 9-15)

C – The Fox, Denchworth 4 – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 2; Legs (18-8, 15-12, 9-12)

C – The Midget 0 – The Bell B Grove 6; Legs (7-20, 6-17, 6-7)

D – College Oak B 2 – RAL Social Club 4; Legs (11-7, 6-8, 9-11)

D – Harwellian A 1 – Prince of Wales Shippon 5; Legs (8-9, 16-16, 9-12)

D – Plough West Hanney 5 – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 1; Legs (13-11, 10-10, 18-12)

D – Steventon Sports B 4 – The Lamb Wantage 2; Legs (5-8, 8-6, 7-6)

D – The Fox Boars Hill 1 – Fleur de Lys B 5; Legs (8-11, 15-18, 11-11)

E – Black Horse E.Hanney 0 – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 6; Legs (6-8, 5-13, 5-7)

E – Bystander 6 – The George Sutton Courtenay 0; Legs (19-8, 12-9, 13-8)

E – Crown Marcham A 6 – Berinsfield SC B 0; Legs (13-11, 11-9, 16-7)

E – Hanney RBL 5 – Queens Arms Didcot 1; Legs (11-10, 7-7, 12-6)

E – Marcham Centre A 5 – Challow Cricket Club 1; Legs (15-12, 12-12, 12-11)

F – Black Swan 6 – Marcham Centre B 0; Legs (7-5, 6-5, 7-4)

F – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 3 – Grove RFC 3; Legs (18-16, 11-11, 13-16)

F – Ladygrove A 4 – North Star B 2; Legs (10-9, 12-10, 9-10)

F – Long Wittenham AC 2 – Crown Marcham B 4; Legs (12-9, 10-11, 8-10)

F – The Lamb Wantage B 6 – Plough Appleton A 0; Legs (10-8, 11-8, 9-4)

Blobbers

Aaron Scott (The Plough Inn Long Wittenham), Charlie Greenslade (Black Horse E.Hanney), Declan O’Neill (Earl of Abingdon A), Gill Ebberson (RAL Social Club), J Buchanan (The Lamb Wantage), James Mansfield (Plough Appleton A), Jamie Stewart (Queens Arms Didcot), Lloyd Woodington (Berinsfield SC B), Malcolm Thomas (Waggon and Horses B Southmoor), Mary Carey (Plough Appleton A), MIck Wright (Marcham Centre B), Nick Monger (Steventon Sports B), Paul Hackwood (Steventon Sports B), Pete Hogan (C) (The Lamb Wantage), Simon Busby (Berinsfield SC B), Simon Coate (Black Swan), Stuart Packford (The Fox Boars Hill), Tina Harper (S) (The Midget), Vince Tyrrell (Marcham Centre B).

Sixers

Jason Bowler (Abingdon United A).

Fivers

Alan Bell 3-3-5 (Croft Nomads) – Week 17

Dave Dix 5-3-4 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 17

Ken Fisher 3-5-3 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 17

Mark Brind 3-1-5 (Plough West Hanney) – Week 17

Pat Wiltshire 5-1-2 (Grove RFC) – Week 17

Paul Barrett 5-2-4 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 17

Paul Ealey (S) 5-3-4 (Abingdon RBL) – Week 17

Paul Stone 5-4-1 (Croft Nomads) – Week 17

Steve Fernback (CS) 0-5-2 (The Fox Boars Hill) – Week 17

Wout VanGallen 1-1-5 (Abingdon United C) – Week 17

Last Wednesday’s fixtures saw several season outcomes decided. In the Premier Abingdon Con Club only needed 1 point to secure the title and Phil Adams needing 3 to draw the leg and secure that point with his last stick went 1 better with his 4 dolls in the opening leg actually gaining 2 points and securing the Premier section title against hosts Croft Nomads. The second leg went to the Croft, but Con Club secured a 4-2 result with the third leg in a match which saw 144 dolls recorded and the Premier league title comfortably finding a new home at the Con Club albeit with many serial winners of the title included in their side. For the Con Club of the 8 team hit double figures Dave Dix with 12, Phil Adams, Paul Barrett and Ken Fisher all contributed 11 and for the Croft Alan Bell top scored with 11 and Both Barry Townsend and Paul Stone hit 10, for Paul it was his first double digit score of the season.

Croft now need at least 3 points from their last game at Berinsfield SC A this week to see off nearest rivals for the runners up spot, Plum Pudding who closed the gap to 4 points with a 4-2 win against Stanford FC. Paul Longford again top scored for the Plum with 10 dolls.

Berinsfield SC A themselves have enjoyed a successful summer winning last week 6-0 against Abingdon Utd with Richard Jones hitting 10 dolls for the already secured A section winners. For Utd Jason Bowler recorded the only maximum six last week in his 11 dolls for Utd. Berinsfield will finish comfortable winners of the A section ahead of already certain to be runners up Red Lion A.

There were a good number of double figure totals recorded last week amongst the sections, Abingdon RBL’s Paul Ealey scored 12 in the B section and in the same section Harwellian B’s Andy Shipman hit 10. The C section saw Red Lion B’s Alex Winton hit 10 In the D section both Tom McGregor for the Fleur de Lys B and Todd Morris for the Fox, Boars Hill also scored 10 apiece for their sides and for them both that was their first double dolls tally of the season. And in the F section it was a 10 for Sol Parker which wasn’t only his first double figure haul, but also the first for the Horse & Jockey team so well done Sol and to all of the other first timers!

Of the 6 sections 3 are going to the wire in terms of both section winners and runners up with a lot of “crowding” at the top. In the B section Croft Bar find themselves at the top for the first time this season with just the one game to play, but 0nly 4 points separate the top 4 and both the the section winners and runners up could end up being decided not on points difference, but on actual dolls scored! All will become clear on Wednesday!

The C section winners are The Wheatsheaf Didcot despite losing only their second game of the season to The Fox, Denchworth they had already secured the title the previous week, The Bell B, Grove will finish runners up thanks at least in part to ensuring a maximum 6 points haul in 6 of their 17 games so far.

D section winners are The Plough, West Hanney and runners up spot has been secured by The Fleur de Lys B who are finishing the season strongly winning their last 3 games.

That takes us to the E section which is another section going right to the wire this week. Bystander currently lead the table by just 1 point from Marcham Centre A and the Waggon & Horses. Hanney RBL still have a theoretical chance of claiming one of the 2 top spots, but to do that they will have to win 6-0 at home to Marcham Centre this week and that, in turn would deny Marcham their hopes for top spot.

The F section has been led for most of the season by Grove RFC and they just need 4 points from this week’s home tie against Marcham Centre B to secure the F section title. North Star B look favourites to come runners up, but in the unlikelyhood of a 6-0 and a 6-0 defeat for the Rugby Club this week those roles could be reversed!

So as we approach the last week of the Summer 2025 season still lots to play for many teams and that also extends to a couple of the section individual “top dollers”.

Not surprisingly Dave Dix is not catchable in the Premier, but in the A section this weeks tally will determine the outcome in the race between Danny Hamilton and Richard Jones, Derick Brown of the WADs bar will take the honours in the B section and Steve Taylor in section C. Section D is very interesting with “brothers” ? Billy and Dave Collettt separated by only 6 dolls with just 18 sticks left to throw! Brian Bosley will collect the E section top “doller” trophy and Jim Fletcher the F section award!

So the last week of the season, one that has been pretty kind in terms of Wednesday night weather and still lots to play for!

Don’t forget Finals Night at Abingdon United on the 10th September with a 7.30 start.

And a final not from me by way of apology for all the times I have got things wrong in these reports over the season, but as I have said before I didn’t mean it and that includes anyone who has hit double figures who I failed to mention, Sorry to my teamate Steve Enock who should have got his 10 dolls mentioned in last week’s report!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon Conservative Club 5 – Plum Pudding 1; Legs (24-24, 28-22, 31-19)

P/A – Abingdon United A 5 – The Vine, Cumnor 1; Legs (25-18, 28-24, 21-21)

P/A – Steventon Sports SC A 1 – Croft Nomads 5; Legs (19-26, 23-23, 19-22)

P/A – College Oak A 0 – Berinsfield SC A 6; Legs (15-26, 15-30, 14-22)

P/A – Stanford in the Vale FC 5 – Red Lion A 1; Legs (25-22, 22-22, 24-21)

B – Abingdon RBL 5 – Abingdon United C 1; Legs (15-11, 14-14, 16-14)

B – Bear & Ragged Staff 2 – The Bell A 4; Legs (15-16, 15-13, 10-13)

B – Harwellian B 6 – Earl of Abingdon A 0; Legs (11-8, 16-15, 12-10)

B – Royal Oak 0 – WADS Bar 6; Legs (13-16, 8-15, 11-18)

B – The Croft Bar 2 – Fleur De Lys A 4; Legs (13-14, 12-13, 11-10)

C – Boundary House 4 – The Midget 2; Legs (12-9, 9-14, 12-10)

C – Red Lion B Drayton 2 – The Fox, Denchworth 4; Legs (7-9, 8-6, 9-11)

C – The Bell B Grove 6 – North Star A 0; Legs (13-11, 13-7, 12-10)

C – The Earl of Abingdon B 6 – Eight Bells, Eaton 0; Legs (14-11, 11-9, 14-8)

C – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 6 – Brewery Tap 0; Legs (15-7, 16-12, 20-7)

D – Fleur de Lys B 6 – College Oak B 0; Legs (18-13, 12-10, 12-9)

D – Prince of Wales Shippon 5 – Steventon Sports B 1; Legs (7-7, 10-8, 10-7)

D – RAL Social Club 2 – Harwellian A 4; Legs (8-11, 11-14, 8-6)

D – The Lamb Wantage 3 – Plough West Hanney 3; Legs (12-9, 12-12, 10-12)

D – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 4 – The Fox Boars Hill 2; Legs (10-11, 11-9, 12-10)

E – Berinsfield SC B 2 – Bystander 4; Legs (10-11, 10-16, 11-10)

E – Challow Cricket Club 2 – Hanney RBL 4; Legs (11-10, 10-11, 7-8)

E – Queens Arms Didcot 3 – Black Horse E.Hanney 3; Legs (9-9, 9-8, 7-14)

E – The George Sutton Courtenay 0 – Marcham Centre A 6; Legs (7-11, 10-19, 8-14)

E – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 6 – Crown Marcham A 0; Legs (14-8, 12-7, 12-4)

F – Crown Marcham B 3 – The Lamb Wantage B 3; Legs (10-12, 13-10, 11-11)

F – Grove RFC 6 – Ladygrove A 0; Legs (13-11, 12-6, 17-8)

F – Marcham Centre B 1 – Long Wittenham AC 5; Legs (7-7, 11-13, 10-15)

F – North Star B 4 – Black Swan 2; Legs (12-3, 16-6, 9-13)

F – Plough Appleton A 0 – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 6; Legs (2-11, 1-11, 5-10)

Blobbers

B Chalmers (The Lamb Wantage B), Dave Baker (Harwellian B), Dave Imrie (Steventon Sports SC A), David Carroll (RAL Social Club), Haydn Fullick (Boundary House), James Mansfield (Plough Appleton A), Keith Buckle (Abingdon RBL), Liz Downthwaite (Plough Appleton A), Mark Jones (Brewery Tap), Nick Faulkner (College Oak B), Ray Cousins (Prince of Wales Shippon), Ryhs Lewis (Plough Appleton A), Tom Turner (The Fox Boars Hill).

Sixers

Andy Phelps (Berinsfield SC A), Dave Dix x2 (Abingdon Conservative Club), Phil Adams (Abingdon Conservative Club).

Fivers

Adam Connolly 3-2-5 (Grove RFC) – Week 16

Alan Bell 2-5-3 (Croft Nomads) – Week 16

Alex Chamberlain 4-5-4 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 16

Andy Morton 5-3-3 (Abingdon United A) – Week 16

Barry Townsend 4-5-2 (Croft Nomads) – Week 16

Billy Collett (C) 4-4-5 (The Plough Inn Long Wittenham) – Week 16

Charlie Guinan 2-3-5 (The Wheatsheaf, Didcot) – Week 16

Dave Dix 5-6-6 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 16

Dave Myers 5-0-2 (Ladygrove A) – Week 16

David Sapey (C) 2-4-5 (Abingdon RBL) – Week 16

Gareth Brown 3-4-5 (WADS Bar) – Week 16

Geoff Smith (S) 5-2-0 (College Oak B) – Week 16

Jason Bowler 1-5-4 (Abingdon United A) – Week 16

John Simmons 1-5-2 (Abingdon United A) – Week 16

Luke Dewar 0-5-2 (Earl of Abingdon A) – Week 16

Paul Longford 5-3-3 (Plum Pudding) – Week 16

Paul Stone 5-1-3 (Croft Nomads) – Week 16

Richard Jones 3-5-4 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 16

Simon Winterbourne 1-5-2 (Plum Pudding) – Week 16

Steven Martin 5-5-2 (Abingdon United A) – Week 16

Stuart Wilson (C) 4-3-5 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Match Results

P/A – Abingdon Conservative Club 6 – Stanford in the Vale FC 0; Legs (33-19, 24-19, 22-21)

P/A – Croft Nomads 2 – Abingdon United A 4; Legs (22-24, 25-19, 17-22)

P/A – Plum Pudding 4 – Steventon Sports SC A 2; Legs (21-16, 23-16, 19-23)

P/A – Berinsfield SC A 6 – Red Lion A 0; Legs (23-22, 25-18, 25-24)

P/A – The Vine, Cumnor 0 – College Oak A 6; Legs (19-25, 18-19, 19-20)

B – Abingdon United C 2 – Bear & Ragged Staff 4; Legs (8-13, 13-10, 9-14)

B – Earl of Abingdon A 2 – Royal Oak 4; Legs (15-11, 8-11, 13-14)

B – Harwellian B 2 – The Croft Bar 4; Legs (9-15, 9-11, 11-10)

B – The Bell A 5 – Fleur De Lys A 1; Legs (13-9, 11-11, 13-7)

B – WADS Bar 0 – Abingdon RBL 6; Legs (13-14, 10-17, 10-15)

C – Eight Bells, Eaton 5 – Brewery Tap 1; Legs (12-12, 16-9, 11-10)

C – North Star A 2 – Boundary House 4; Legs (9-11, 9-10, 13-6)

C – Red Lion B Drayton 0 – The Wheatsheaf, Didcot 6; Legs (9-14, 6-19, 7-11)

C – The Fox, Denchworth 6 – The Bell B Grove 0; Legs (16-11, 21-10, 19-12)

C – The Midget 5 – The Earl of Abingdon B 1; Legs (16-15, 14-11, 13-13)

D – College Oak B 2 – The Plough Inn Long Wittenham 4; Legs (9-11, 12-10, 8-11)

D – Fleur de Lys B 4 – RAL Social Club 2; Legs (8-8, 13-13, 11-10)

D – Plough West Hanney 6 – Prince of Wales Shippon 0; Legs (10-8, 14-8, 11-7)

D – Steventon Sports B 3 – Harwellian A 3; Legs (10-15, 14-14, 12-11)

D – The Fox Boars Hill 6 – The Lamb Wantage 0; Legs (Match Forfeit)

E – Black Horse E.Hanney 1 – Hanney RBL 5; Legs (3-13, 8-14, 6-6)

E – Bystander 5 – Waggon and Horses B Southmoor 1; Legs (11-8, 11-11, 14-13)

E – Crown Marcham A 2 – Queens Arms Didcot 4; Legs (11-4, 2-7, 8-11)

E – Marcham Centre A 4 – Berinsfield SC B 2; Legs (11-14, 11-10, 11-7)

E – The George Sutton Courtenay 4 – Challow Cricket Club 2; Legs (7-6, 15-7, 8-11)

F – Grove RFC 2 – North Star B 4; Legs (6-8, 15-16, 16-7)

F – Horse & Jockey Stanford in the Vale 6 – Crown Marcham B 0; Legs (14-12, 17-8, 14-11)

F – Ladygrove A 6 – Plough Appleton A 0; Legs (7-6, 11-2, 15-6)

F – Long Wittenham AC 4 – Black Swan 2; Legs (13-9, 12-6, 9-12)

F – The Lamb Wantage B 4 – Marcham Centre B 2; Legs (16-10, 10-6, 3-6)

Blobbers

Beth Coate (Black Swan), Brenda Gould (Red Lion B Drayton), Brian Hudson (The Croft Bar), Brian Trotman (Black Horse E.Hanney), David Carroll (RAL Social Club), Dennis Moran (Red Lion B Drayton), James Blackler (Queens Arms Didcot), Jamie Stewart (Queens Arms Didcot), Les Giles (Fleur De Lys A), Michael Harvey (The Vine, Cumnor), Nick Blacow (The George Sutton Courtenay), Peter Haydon (North Star A), Sandra Hill (Marcham Centre B), Sarah Stacey (Plough Appleton A), Scott Mackenzie (Crown Marcham A), Tessa Beasant (Black Horse E.Hanney).

Sixers

Paul Barrett (Abingdon Conservative Club).

Fivers

Alan Bell 3-5-5 (Croft Nomads) – Week 15

Alex Chamberlain 3-5-3 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 15

Darren Bennett 2-5-1 (The Wheatsheaf, Didcot) – Week 15

Darryl Justice 5-1-2 (Bear & Ragged Staff) – Week 15

Dave Dix 4-5-5 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 15

Derek Fletcher 0-0-5 (Steventon Sports SC A) – Week 15

Jack Wrigglesworth 0-3-5 (The Bell B Grove) – Week 15

Leigh Clapton 5-0-2 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 15

Mick Greenaway 5-0-2 (Berinsfield SC A) – Week 15

Nick Baldwin 5-2-3 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 15

Pat Wiltshire 0-5-1 (Grove RFC) – Week 15

Paul Ealey (S) 1-5-2 (Abingdon RBL) – Week 15

Paul Gardner 5-2-1 (The Croft Bar) – Week 15

Phil Adams 5-5-3 (Abingdon Conservative Club) – Week 15

Sam Weston 1-3-5 (Bear & Ragged Staff) – Week 15

Simon Coate 2-1-5 (Black Swan) – Week 15

Steve Taylor 4-5-3 (The Fox, Denchworth) – Week 15

DEF Pairs Competition

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

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

Week 14 Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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