Archive | Summer League Reports

This post category is for match reports for Summer League matches. In the future, it will be updated automatically with match results after they are entered into the database by team captains.

Summer League AGM 26th January 2026 – Minutes

By Paul Stone on 13th April 2026 in Committee Meetings, Newsletter, Summer League Reports

Note attachments are available on request and are not included here. Apologies for the delay in publication.

Minutes from Abingdon & District Aunt Sally Association AGM held on 26th January 2026
At The Croft Bar, Abingdon

Present: Committee – P. Stone (Chairperson), R. Nichols (Treasurer), T. Woolloff (General), G. Lee (General) and C. Foster (Secretary)

Teams Represented (22 Teams) – See attachment 1

Registration & Welcome

P.Stone welcomed everyone and thanked all for attending.

1. Minutes of AGM 2025

Agreed and proposed by D. Harris and seconded by E. Reisener

2. Chair’s Report

2026 has been a good year for the league as far as the sections go as we managed 60 teams making us the biggest league in the county, and as some might say, the world!

We still have challenges with venues still having a difficult time, we are aware of a couple with issues that will affect next season, but we also know that the teams affected are looking for new locations so are keen to keep playing which is excellent news.

We are also aware of a few new teams and venues that want to take part so we may be in the position of having to instigate some byes this season. As we are a 10-team section league if we step over 60 teams we really need to leap to 66+ to avoid multiple byes in sections. Of course, many of our venues with a single pitch can support two teams so do encourage others to think about having another team. And a slight plea to think about the number of players registered – we don’t set a limit but having 16+ players registered seems a bit daft when you could probably have two teams.

As far as performances go Dave Dix who was again 1 short of the maximum in Week 16, he did total 6 sixes in the season but that was equalled with Phil Adams who also missed the maximum by one doll in Week 12! Both missing dolls in the first leg. Surely, we should be getting a max this season.

I can’t mention all the other 24 sixers here, but it was great to see both our Honorary President John Simmons get one in Week 14, nice to see him getting some form back, and our sponsor, John Pownceby got one in Week 8.

Sadly, I need to mention another sixer Andy Shipman from Harwellian B who we lost over Christmas. He was their best player (he scored 6-5-4 in Week 9) and will be sadly missed by the team and his family.

With every player that puts down their sticks, as it were, we, like a lot of pastimes, need to encourage a younger element to take up the game. There’s a lot to be said to drag some away from their screens and outside into a social gathering both for mental health and social skills. This is not without risks as we’ve seen this year with 2 incidents with behaviour which have been dealt with and for the first time in my history of the Summer League has led one player to a rest-of-season+1 ban. We are all conscious that a mix of alcohol and strong opinions can lead to heightened emotions and it’s up to teammates, and Captains, to ensure everyone’s behaviour is sensible. Two incidents out of 540 games isn’t much but any incident is shocking.

For the avoidance of doubt this league will not accept anti-social or threatening behaviour.

Which brings me on to the people that support us in the League not that they are anti-social or threatening!

Thanks to the efforts of the committee, we have the 60 teams to give us a strong league both in financial and playing terms. Roger Nichols of course puts in a great deal of effort to get us going and keep us going in the season and for Competitions, Presentation Night and of course this AGM as Treasurer.

Roger didn’t do all this on his own and Claire, Geoff & Tosh – your committee, helped us along the way.

Once again, we were grateful for John Pownceby of Thames Cable for sponsoring the League and for the new lower section pairs competitions. For which the one for the D/E/F sections was very popular in the summer with a great turnout at The Harwellian.

We’ve still not increased our fees and as we know almost everything else has gone up. We don’t intend increasing this year but there will come a time when we need to look at our income vs expenditure.

I’ve mentioned the lower section competition, and we did manage to get enough entries to run most of the competitions this year, but it was a hard slog, and Roger did his upmost to cajole and strong-arm teams to enter to get the bare 8 we need for a decent start. Unfortunately, some of those teams dropped out meaning that competition didn’t happen.

I believe the competitions are the best way to hone your match nerves and of course your skills as a player and would hope more teams will take part this year. Singles is always well supported, I’d just encourage you to take part in the other events.

So, I think we are looking forward to another successful year of Aunt Sally.

3. Financial Report – see attachment 3 & 3A

Proposed by M. Crook and seconded by M. Samways

A query was raised on trophies and names. It was explained that some trophies had gone missing/destroyed etc during COVID. Teams to let committee know what trophies are incorrect.

4. Rule Change/Amendments.

Suggestion – could players fill in if another team is short at the same club? It would mean all players would need to sign on for 2 teams for entering scorecards??? Best option is to try and get another team?

5. Sponsorship

Thames Cable have sponsored us again and have also donated £200.00 to lower league competitions which was very much appreciated.

6. Competitions

A big dilemma – which days to hold them, are there too many etc
8’s – handicap is 2 per section at present. Is this fair? Suggestion to use players handicaps instead.
5’s – no handicap at present. Should handicap be introduced?

From the floor – Suggestion of staggering the comps, starting with the lower leagues?

Wednesday for competitions

AGREED – To leave to committee to decide handicaps

Other competitions and start of season:

22^nd April will be first round of 8’s competitions
League will run from 29^th April until 26^th August
3’s, 4’s & 5’scompetitions will be take place on 2^nd and 9^th September
Captain’s and Secretary’s to stay as individual competitions but if not enough entries, this will be combined – AGREED

7. Election of Officers

The existing committee was willing to stand for another year with no new members.

Chairman – Paul Stone
Treasurer – Roger Nichols
Secretary – Claire Foster
General – Tosh Woolloff and Geoff Lee
All nominated by J. Pownceby and seconded by P. Soden.

8. Dates

16^th March – Registration Night @ Ab Con Club from 7.30pm
16^th September – Final’s Night @ Ab United
23^rd October – Presentation Night @ Ab United

9. Recruitment

Hopefully there will be the same number of teams in the League this year as the ideal number is 60 teams. We understand pubs/clubs change hands and circumstances do change but we always welcome new teams/venues.

10. A.O.B.

Scorecards – it is not necessary for each player to sign but the captains must sign to agree scores and players.
All handicaps will be published and put into welcome packs.

The meeting closed at 9.15pm.

The Summer Season starts soon!

By Roger Nichols on 10th April 2026 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

The 2026 Summer Season is about to get underway with friendlies already being played must have been the sunshine that got some of you out so early!

The draw for the first round of the Skol Trophy 8’s competition has already been made and will be published with those matches due to be played on Wednesday the 22nd April.

The following week the league season gets underway on Wednesday the 29th. It’s highly probable that the sunshine will have gone and the temperature will be significantly cooler by then! Hopefully though it won’t be raining!!

The Team packs including the fixture list, match cards, teams, locations and other relevant information including email addresses and telephone numbers of Captains and Secretaries will be included in your packs which should be delivered by Friday 17th April to all 66 sides who have entered this year.

A plea from the committee to everyone especially Captains and Secretaries!

Can you check your teams as listed on the website to ensure we have entered everyone who you have registered, their names are right and are spelt correctly. Also any additional players registered after the registration forms were submitted are included,

Remember you can register any additional players throughout the season at no extra cost subject to Committee approval.

Finally, e-mail addresses for Captains and Secretaries are important as that is the only way other than the website we can contact all teams throughout the season. In our first email of the season to all a small number were unable to be delivered due to the address not being recognised and we have to say some addresses may have been entered incorrectly by me and my excuse would be that may have been because some were barely legible. If, as a Captain or Secretary for your team you haven’t received an e-mail it might be worth sending a test to roger.nichols@hotmail.com to make sure we have your correct address.

A final finally from your Committee the website belongs to everyone and it is kept up top date throughout the season with results, news, league tables, individual scores and much more so please keep in touch and use it as your information centre. It also has a team support facility where any team can raise, direct with the league any concerns, issues that they experience at any time through the season.

Enjoy your season and a special welcome to all of the new locations, teams and players many of whom are new to our game in what we think is the 66th year since our formation and co-incidentally has attracted 66 teams.

SUMMER 2026!

By Paul Stone on 31st March 2026 in Competition News, Newsletter, Summer League Reports

We are here again for another season of Aunt Sally! Our 66th year since formation, despite being 66 years old the league is still younger than many of our players!!!

This year we have 65, yes sixty five teams entering so we now have a G section (and are still the biggest Aunt Sally league in the world!) ) Unfortunately our growth has necessitated some byes as each section our ideal make up is 10 teams but this year with 5 additional teams it means 5 sections will only have 9 teams so 16 matches instead of 18. Our simple choice was to accept all entrants or turn away some. Turning away teams is not conducive with our objectives which are to “grow our game”, encouraging more teams and players many of whom are totally new to our game, and importantly that provides custom to our local pubs and clubs!

Sections and handicaps have been calculated and teams are being set up in the score system and in parallel we are working with the printers to get the fixture list and other necessary paperwork finalised.

Sections are determined by the Committee who establish each teams top 8 2026 registered players and, use their 2025 doll average to determine the overall team average. Teams are then placed in sections which are expected to provide competitive teams of similar ability.

NEW TEAMS this year include:- The Old Anchor Abingdon, Oxford RFC , The Seven Stars Marsh Baldon. The Red Lion Northmoor, The White Hart, Harwell Check out our Venues Map to show where we play.

Welcome back to the ‘regulars’ and to all the new teams and players and a warm Diddy welcome from me to The Wheatsheaf Didcot into the A section (Tosh Woolloff and I will look forward to walking to our away match!)

League season starts slightly earlier this year in APRIL with the first league matches taking place on Wednesday 29th April.

The week before, Wednesday 22nd April will be the first rounds of the 8s Handicap Knockout competition. We have 15 entries so far so there’s still time to enter with the closing date being next Monday April 6th. You can enter via Team Support or directly via e mail to roger.nichols@hotmail.com

This year we are adjusting the handicap system from the simple ‘2 dolls a section’ approach of previous years to a section average approach based on all registered players for 2026 which benefits teams from the middle and lower sections with a doll or so extra than the previous system.

This will all be explained in your packs (and online) when Roger has done the necessary with the printers.

Summer 2025 Week 18 Results

By Paul Stone on 10th September 2025 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

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

Summer League 2025………Now it’s all over, all been said and now it’s done!

By Roger Nichols on 10th September 2025 in Newsletter, Summer League Reports

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

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