Week 8 June 11th

Masons Arms ‘A’ produced the shock of the season so far by beating Premier Section holders and leaders The White House 3-0 at home. Taking full advantage of their five-doll handicap, The Masons set 23 in the opening leg and in reply White House started off well and by the half way stage they only needed 10 to win, however they inexplicably collapsed and fell one doll short to give the Masons an unexpected lead. White House set the second leg with 26 and with some mixed scoring by the Masons in reply left anchor-man Chris Webb needing four to win. This proved to be no problem as he went one better to clang off five dolls to give them a total of 28 and with it the second leg. Masons set with 22 in the final leg and once again the White House struggled and fell one doll short with 21 to give the Masons the maximum win. Phil Austin with 13 dolls (4-4-5) was the only bright spark for the White House on bleak night for them.

The New Club ‘A’ move up to joint top spot with the White House after they beat The Ampleforth Arms ‘A’ 3-0 at home in a high scoring close fought game where the score line could easily have been reversed. The Amp set a challenging 27 in the opening leg, a six from James Bennett gave the New Club a good start in their chase where they left anchor-man Pete Shepherd needing five to win and he was up to the challenge by whipping off the five dolls needed to give the New Club an early lead. New Club set the second leg with an imposing 29 however The Ampleforth responded well but fell just one doll short with 28. New Club set 26 in the final leg, in reply a blob in the middle order killed the Amps chances and they fell three dolls short with 23. Bennett top scored with a baker’s dozen (6-3-4, while veteran Geoff Townsend smashed off a dozen dolls (3-5-4) for The Ampleforth.

The Swan beat Garsington Sports Club at home 3-0 in a low scoring game. Swan could only set 20 in the first leg and with Garsington on course to win the leg, leaving their anchor-man needing just two to win, he unexpectedly blobbed out to give The Swan the leg. Swan then went on to comfortably win the next two legs 24-20, 22-19.

The battle between the two Legions saw another low scoring game with Littlemore British Legion ‘C’ come away from Yarnton B.L. with a 2-1 win. With only four players overall hitting double figures Yarnton won the first leg 18-17 with Littlemore coming back, winning the next two 23-17, 19-15.

SECTION 2
The Bells were muffled at The Duke Of Monmouth as they beat Section 2 leaders The Six Bells ‘C’ to end their unbeaten start to the season. The Duke set and won the first leg by the smallest of margins 22-21. Then chasing a set of only 12 the Duke struggled and left anchor-man Lee Worrall needing 2 win, which proved to be no problem as he whipped off three dolls to give the Duke a two-nil lead. The Bells grabbed a point in the final leg 20-15. Top doll scorer Jack Lane hit a dozen dolls (6-3-3) for The Six Bells.

The Black Horse ‘B’ five game unbeaten run came crashing down at home to Donnington Club ‘B’ who had to come from behind to beat them 2-1. It started off well for the Black Horse as they galloped into an early lead winning the first leg 17-11. They then set 16 in the second leg and looked on course to take a two nil lead when Donnington only had 9 on the board with only two more players to throw. However, Phil Cassidy hit four and anchor-man Paul Sims finished the job off by whipping four dolls off to give them the leg by the smallest of margins with 17. The final and deciding leg was tied 16-16 with Donnington winning it on three sticks. Alan Surman threw consistently hitting a dozen dolls (4-4-4) for the Black Horse.

Cowley Workers struggles continue as they lost their seventh straight defeat this time away at Rose Hill Social Club 3-0. Rose Hill won all three legs 16-11, 17-17 (on three sticks) 22-18. William Davenport top scored for Rose Hill with 10 dolls (2-5-3).
After winning three games out of their first four, Wads bar decline continues as they lost their fourth consecutive game, this time at home to The Blackbird who set the opening leg with 15. WADs bar were on course to take the leg but a couple of blobs dented their chances, and they fell two short with 13. WADs then set 17 in the second leg which The Blackbird matched and then won the three sticker 8-7. Blackbird then completed the whitewash in the final leg 16-14.

The Tandem tasted victory for the first time in five weeks when they beat visitors Queens Head ‘A’ 2-1 in a close encounter. Queens set the first leg with 13 which was unlucky as Tandems anchor-man Paul Cox clanged off the three dolls needed to win the leg by the odd doll with 14. Tandem then set and won the second leg 17-15. Queens set and won the final leg 17-16 for a deserved point. Neale Clarkson was top dog for The Tandem with 11 dolls (3-5-3).

SECTION 3
Section 3 leaders New Club ‘B’ remain unbeaten after they beat hosts Queens Head ‘B’ 2-1 however the result could easily have been reversed in a very exciting close game. New Club set the first leg with 15 and looked to be a formality win when Queens only had six on the board with two to go, however five dolls from Kevin Vickers and four dolls from anchor-man Jack Wells turned the leg on its head and the leg was tied 15-15. In the end it was all in vain as New Club won the leg on three sticks. New Club set 13 in the second leg and another poor start by The Queens left anchor-man Wells needing 5 to tie and 6 to win. He gave it a good try but fell just one short with four dolls with a total of 12. Queens grabbed a well-deserved point in the final leg, chasing a set of 14 they passed that with ease hitting 17 in reply. Jack Wells top scored with 11 dolls (4-4-3).

The Cricketers rise up the table continues, and they move into second spot following their 3-0 win against high flying Masons Arms ‘B’ who couldn’t have picked a worse time to hit their lowest score of the season. Cricketers took an early lead winning the first leg 15-10. Masons completely exploded in the second leg when they could only set with 6, which included 4 blobs! Cricketers hitting 15 in reply. Cricketers completed the whitewash in the final leg 22-17. Aaron Presley was in top form hitting a dozen dolls including a maximum six (3-3-6) for The Cricketers.

Donnington Club ‘A’ had to come from behind to beat visitors Littlemore Rugby Club who won the first leg 12-11. A set of 8 in the second leg was never going to be enough for The Rugby Club as Donnington got over the line easily with 15 to level the game. Final leg Donnington set, and it was not looking good when they only had 6 on the board with one to go, however a 5 from anchor-man Derrick Slater gave them a more respectable total of 11 and it proved to be the winning score as The Rugby Club came up one short in reply with 10 to complete the turnaround for Donnington.

Vikings Sports ‘B’ at the eighth time of asking, have finally recorded their first win of the season following their 3-0 home win against Littlemore British Legion ‘B’. Vikings won the first leg on three sticks after it was tied 13-13. Vikings went two up in the second leg 15-10 and completed the whitewash in the final leg 13-12 to loud cheers that could be heard all over Oxford! Gary Smith was top dog for Vikings with 11 dolls (3-4-4).

Red Lion Yarnton achieved their best score of the season when they grabbed maximum points at home to Bletchingdon Sports club. Consistent throwing was they key as they won all three legs 17-11, 14-9, 17-14.

SECTION 4
In Section 4 leaders Ampleforth Arms ‘B’ just about clung onto their unbeaten record after they narrowly beat visitors Red Lion Cassington 2-1. After winning the first leg at a canter 22-10, The Amp could only set 12 in the second leg which The Lion roared past that with 16 to level the game. The Ampleforth set with 14 in the final and deciding leg. In reply despite a couple of blobs The Red Lion matched it to send it to a three sticker. The Ampleforth winning the three sticker to maintain their unbeaten run.

Headington Con Club dropped a valuable point at home to The Golden Ball in their 2-1 victory. The first leg was set by The Golden Ball with 18 and in reply Con Clubs anchor-man Steve Bennet, who has settled into the role, clanged off the three dolls needed to snatch the leg by the odd doll with 19. Con club chasing a set of 14 hit another 19 to win the leg and go two up. Standards dropped in the final leg when they could only set with 11, however Golden Ball had to rely on their anchor-man James Thompson to whip off the two dolls needed to sneak the leg by the smallest of margins with 12 and prevent the whitewash.

Six Bells ‘B’ three match winning streak ended abruptly when they lost at home to The Catherine Wheel 2-1. All the damage was done in the first two legs when two sets of 12 & 8 were not enough as Catherine Wheel won them both with scores of 13 & 10. Bells finally chiming in the final leg winning it 13-10.

White Hart continues to seek their first taste of victory following their latest 2-1 defeat at home to Kidlington Football club in the scores of 9-14, 11-10, 10-.15.

SIXERS: J.Bennett (New Club ‘A’) J.Lane (Six Bells ‘C’) A.Presley (Cricketers)

BLOBBERS: J.Langford (Yarnton B.L.) M.Long (The Tandem)

TOP DOLL SCORERS
14: J.Bennett(Littlemore B.L. ‘A’)
13: P.Austin (The White House)

TOP LEG SCORE: New Club 29

TOP SCORE OVER 3 LEGS: New Club 83

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