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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