Well, week 13th has come and gone and the most surprising things about the 2026 Summer season is that time flies and the sun keeps shining!
Last week Premier Division leaders Berinsfield SC A were undone by Red Lion A losing 4-2 despite 11 dolls from Stuart Wilson, for the Lion Dean Bowler matched that and he was well supported by 3 of his team mates who all added 9 dolls each to secure 4 points for the visitors. The A section is still dominated though by Steventon Sports who “whitewashed” the Plum Pudding 6-0 to strengthen their advantage over the Lion who remain their nearest rivals, but a 7 point gap may be difficult to close with just 6 matches remaining (5+England postponement). Terry Downes was once again top man for the Plum with another 11 dolls, but it was the consistency scoring of the Steventon team that secured the win with Colin Brind’s 10 dolls and all of the rest of the team adding between 6 and 9 dolls each.
Abingdon Con Club closed the gap at the top to just 1 point as they were 4-2 winners against Abingdon United A. The Con Club were ably led by skipper Dave Dix with another 13 dolls, a total equalled by Phil Adams, and Paul Barrett chipped in with 11. For United Bertie Newman “rolled back the years” with 11 dolls and Jason Bowler also contributed 11 including a third leg maximum.
Other player to hit their first double total of the season were Martin Robinson and Dave Butler for Croft Nomads who beat the Wheatsheaf 5-1. Martyn Bolton top scored for the Didcot side with 10 dolls and Ollie Saunders secured their point in the first leg, needing 5 to take the leg he just fell short with the last stick, but his 4 was enough for the point.
In the B section 4-2 wins for both The Vine and the WADS Bar maintained the tight position at the top of the table as the two sides are separated by just 1 point with the WADS leading, but with the Vine having a much superior doll count should it come to level points at the season end. 4-2 was a popular score in this section last week with 4 of the 5 matches ending in that score line with wins for The Croft Bar and The Royal Oak by that margin whilst Abingdon RBL and The Plough shared 3 points apiece. Top scorer on the night was Matt Dingle for The Vine with 11 dolls and remarkably of the 30 legs played, with 80 players in action and 240 sticks thrown there were only 9 scores of 4 dolls recorded!
The C section is led still by Grove RFC, but again only 1 point keeps them ahead of the Earl of Abingdon B. The D section saw The Fox and the Earl of Abingdon A both record 6-0 wins and retain their leadership and second spot positions whilst the other 3 matches ended 4-2 with wins for WADS B, Long Wittenham AC and The Bell A.
Hanney RBL retain top spot in the E section winning 4-2 against the Red Lion B. There were a couple of walkovers in this section last week disappointingly giving the Lamb B and Challow & Childrey CC 6-0 results, but I am sure they would rather have had the games played!
The F section produced some good individual performances, including a leg with 5 dolls for Tony Blissett for the White Hart A as they shared the spoils with The George. 9 dolls for stalwart Joe Moxon in the RAL’s as they also drew 3-3 with The Crown B for whom Jamie Butcher hit 8 dolls and best of the night was Jonathan Hutt’s 11 dolls for the Brewery Tap’s 6-0 win over Harwellian A for whom Ian Cooksley recorded a very credible 9 dolls. Marcham Centre B were 4-2 winners against the Lamb A in this section which is led by the Brewery Tap with an impressive 10 point advantage.
Finally the G section where the Seven Stars suffered only their second defeat of the season going down 4-2 to section leaders Oxford RFC who brought to an end the Seven Stars run of 5 straight 6-0 victories these 2 sides are just 2 points apart at the top of the section. In a local derby The Black Swan and The Old Anchor shared the honours with 3 points apiece. Gary Kaveaney followed up his 6 last week with another 9 doll haul for the Anchor. The Red Lion at Northmoor were 6-0 winners against The Plough Appleton and a special mention for the White Hart B whose 4-2 result over the Black Horse was their 6th successive win!
I am going to be on holiday for a few days, but I am sure that our erstwhile Chairman, Paul Stone will keep you all updated until I return on August 8th. If you need any help, additional registrations, scores posted please contact Paul and the best route is Team Support.
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