Week 10

Games played on Wednesday 5th July

Chris Webb was in tremendous form as he clanged off sixteen dolls (6-5-5) to guide The Gladiators ‘B’ to only their second win and shock of the season at Section 2 leaders Chequers ‘C’. It was the best night of the season for The Glad’s as they banged in a set of 28 in the opening leg to which the Chequers could only reply with 21. Chequers then set 20 in the next leg and in reply The Glad’s could only hit 18. The final and deciding leg Chequers set with a steady 24. Incredibly the Glad’s in reply hit 30 to claim the leg and game. Tommy Recht hit a dozen dolls for The Gladiators.
Derrick Slater hit a rare six for The Bullnose Morris ‘A’ in their 3-0 win over close rivals Six Bells ‘E’ Kidlington. This win moves The Bullnose to second spot as they won all three legs 17-12, 23-19, 17-14 and dented the Bells title ambitions.
Steve Walton was in top form for Donnington Club ‘A’ as he bagged himself a six in his thirteen doll haul (2-5-6) and kept up their title chances with a 3-0 win at home to Six Bells ‘A’ Quarry. Team mate Adam Baker chipped in with a dozen dolls including a six (4-2-6) in the leg scores of 18-14, 24-10, 29-19.

There was some individual high scores and team scores in the game between Premier leaders Gladiators ‘A’ and The Swan ‘B’. The Gladiators set and won the opening leg 34-25. The Swan set in the next leg with 28. Glad’s set off well in reply but a middle order collapse caused too much damage despite a six from anchor man Keith Weller they fell one doll short with 27. The final and deciding leg Swan set with 26, however this time there was no collapse and a good team performance saw them fly past that with 31. Kevin Giles (4-5-5) and Keith Weller (4-6-4) both hit fourteen dolls for The Gladiators.
The Swan ‘A’ finally hit form as they clanged off ninety two dolls in total in their 3-0 win at home to The Three Pigeons. The Swan chased each leg and won the opener 30-21, the second leg 31-25 and finally completed the whitewash in the final leg 31-30. Lee Thompson (5-5-5) & Keith Powell (6-5-4) were in top form with Lee Hazell chipping in with a bakers dozen (3-6-4) for the Swan. Neil Lyon replying with thirteen (4-6-3) for The Pigeons.
The George ‘A’ are still struggling this season after suffering another 3-0 defeat, this time at Garsington Sports ‘A’. The George lost the first two legs 24-18, 26-21 but tied the last leg 27-27. Unfortunately they lost the leg on three sticks to keep them rooted at the foot of the table. Barry Ruffels (5-2-6) was top dog for Garsington..

In Section 3 Mark Warrell was the hero for Six Bells ‘A’ Kidlington in their clash at The Queens Head. After winning the first two legs 16-14, 19-16 The Bells were set 21 by The Queens Head in the final leg. After a steady reply they still left anchor man Warrell needing five to win. His last throw as a single man with his wedding taken place two days later, he whipped off the five needed to give them a 3-0 win.
With only two points separating the top five at the top of the table New Club ‘B’ boosted their chances by beating Garsington Sports ‘B’ 2-1. They lost the first leg 17-11 but rallied well in the next two legs winning them 18-13, 21-19.

In Section 4, It was unlucky thirteen for Democrats ‘A’ Richard Wyness as clanged off 4-5-4 but it was all in vain as they lost at Green Road Club ‘B’ 2-1 in the leg scores of 23-18, 11-18, 22-13. Mark Burns whipped off a six for Green Road in his dozen dolls.

Seacourt Bridge ‘A’ Section 5 title ambitions took a hit as they lost at The Cricketers ‘A’ 2-1. It started of well for Seacourt as they won the opening leg 16-14 but in the second leg chasing just a set of thirteen they fell two short with eleven. The deciding leg Seacourt set with sixteen and in reply Cricketers last two players came to their rescue, Andy Lewis hitting five and anchor man Gareth Williams hitting four to give them a total of eighteen..
Robert Dunn hit a steady 4-4-4 to lead the Chequers ‘B’ to a 2-1 win at The Masons Arms ‘B’. With the game nicely poised at one each Masons set seventeen in the deciding leg and in reply Chequers anchor man Steve Jenkins whipped off the two dolls needed to give them victory by one doll with eighteen.

Six Bells ‘B’ Quarry opened up a two point lead in Section 6 after their 2-1 home win over Marston British Legion. The Bells took the first two legs 20-11, 15-8, however the Legion responded well to grab a point in the final leg 22-18.
Donnington Club ‘B’ scored two more dolls than their hosts Vikings sports ‘C’ (46-44) but still lost 2-1. Donnington set the opening leg with thirteen but a four from Vikings anchor man Jack Wells saw them sneak the leg by one doll with fourteen. Donnington levelled in the next leg 15-12 and the final leg went to a three stick shoot out that Vikings won after it was tied 18-18.
After losing their first three games of the season Florence Park Club have gone on to win seven games on the bounce, their latest a 3-0 whitewash against The White Hart ‘A’. In a close game Florence Park won all three legs 13-10, 14-12, 15-13.
Black Horse ‘B title hopes took a nose dive as they lost to Northway Club ‘A’ who are propping up the table 2-1 and it could have been a lot worse. Northway won the first leg 17-11 and just fell one short in the next leg losing it 19-18. Northway wrapped up only their third win of the season in the final leg 18-15.

In Section 7 the opening leg between the top two teams Prince Of Wales and Red Lion ‘B’ Yarnton was a long affair. It was tied 17-17 and then 10-10 on three sticks. A one stick shoot out could not separate them and so back to six sticks which Red Lion won 12-10. They then went on to win the next two legs 19-18, 14-11.
The Tandem scored five more dolls than visitors Black Horse ‘A’ but still managed to lose the game 2-1. Black Horse won the first leg 13-11 but then crashed dramatically in the next leg only hitting five to The Tandems thirteen. Black Horse won the final leg by the smallest of margins 11-10.

In Section 8 Democrats ‘B’ who had been on a quite a good run of victories, were brought crashing back to earth after being beat comprehensibly 3-0 at home to White Hart ‘B’ Wolvercote. With three players failing to trouble the doll all night Democrats were going to struggle and lost all three legs 12-9, 10-6, 11-5.
It was so close in the game between White Hart Wytham and Original Swan ‘B’ that only one doll separated the teams in all three legs. White Hart won them all 10-9, 10-9, 8-7. Damien Todd top scored for The White Hart with nine dolls (3-3-3).

SIXERS: B.Ruffels (Garsington Sports ‘A’) J.Weller, K.Weller (Gladiators ‘A’) L.Hazell, K.Powell (The Swan ‘A’) C.Webb (Gladiators ‘B’)
D.Slater (Bullnose Morris ‘A’) R.Wyness (Democrats ‘A’) J.Breakspear (Donnington Club ‘C’) N.Lyon (Three Pigeons)
M.Burns (Green Road Club ‘B’)

BLOBBERS: R.Brock (Vikings Sports ‘B’) K.Hayle (Seacourt Bridge ‘B’) F.Delaney, A.Gibbs, C.Bush (Democrats ‘B’)

TOP DOLL SCORERS:
16: C.Webb (Gladiators ‘B’)
15: L.Thompson, K.Powell (The Swan ‘A’)
14: K.Weller, K.Giles (Gladiators ‘A’)
13: B.Ruffels (Garsington Sports ‘A’) R.Wyness (Democrats ‘A’) L.Hazell (The Swan ‘A’) N.Lyon (Three Pigeons)

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