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.
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