Week 5 May 21st

John Brown was in terrific form as he clanged off 14 dolls (5-5-4) to guide The Black Horse ‘A’ to maximum points at Garsington Sports Club. Setting all three legs they won the first 19-13 and had to rely on a three sticker in the second leg after it was tied 18-18. They then completed the whitewash in the final leg 24-16. Pete Rampton chipped in with a baker’s dozen (4-4-5) for The Horse.
The much-anticipated clash between two of the top teams, Littlemore British Legion ‘C’ and The White House turned out to be a drab affair and more fitting for a Section 2 or 3 clash. Only three players out of the sixteen manged to hit double figures. Legion set and won the opening leg 25-19 however it went downhill from there. White House could only set 21 in the second leg and astonishing Legion could only muster a reply of 13. Final and deciding leg White House set again and this time with only 20 and once again Legion were not up for the mission and could only hit 16 in reply to give The White House an unexpected win.
Littlemore British Legion ‘A’ travelled to Premier leaders The New Club and came away with an unanticipated 2-1 win. It started off well for The New Club when they banged in a set of 28 in the opening leg, Legion responding with 24. However, that was to be their only success as Legion won the next two legs 27-22, 24-20. The only bright spot for the New Club was Pete Shepherd hitting 13 dolls (6-4-3), while Ian Bowler hit a dozen dolls (4-3-5) for the Legion.
After winning their opening two games of the season Yarnton British Legion have now lost three on the bounce, their latest defeat away at The Ampleforth Arms ‘A’. Setting all three legs the Amp won them all 18-16, 21-16, 23-14 with Stuart Bishop bagging himself a six in his 10-doll total.
The Swan set 23 in the opening leg away at The Masons Arms ‘A’ and in reply Masons left anchorman Neil Gaul needing four to win and he did not disappoint as whipped off the four dolls needed to claim the first leg. However, that was to be their only success as the Swan won the second leg 24-21 to level and then completed the turnaround in the final leg 19-18.

Six Bells ‘C’ continue to dominate Section 2 and remain unbeaten after their fifth straight win this time at Cowley Workers 3-0. They won all three legs 19-11, 12-9, 20-16.
Black Horse ‘B’ is in second place and are ready for any slip ups by the leaders after they galloped to a 3-0 home win against Duke Of Monmouth. They won the first two legs comfortably 24-17, 24-13 and then set 20 in the final leg. A mixed reply from the Duke left anchorman Lee Worrall needing at least four to tie and he nearly pulled it off but fell one short with 3 to give the Horse the leg and a maximum win. Alan Goodgame top scored with 11 dolls (3-4-4).
Queens Head won all three legs at home to WADs bar however the game was much closer than the scoreline suggests. Queens set and won the first leg by the odd doll 18-17, won the next 19-15 and then the final leg by the odd doll again 15-14. Mark Tilling threw a steady dozen dolls (4-4-4) for WADs while Andy Hooker was top dog for the Queens with 11 dolls (5-4-2).
The local derby between The Blackbird & Rose Hill did not produce any sparks as Blackbird ran out easy winners 3-0 in the leg scores of 18-16, 20-15, 18-15. Steve Buckle (3-4-3) and Tom Finney (4-3-3) both hit 10 dolls apiece for The Blackbird.
Donnington Club ‘B’ had a trouble-free victory at The Tandem winning all three legs 17-13, 17-15, 15-9.

Section 3 leaders New Club ‘B’ made it five wins out of five when they travelled to Bletchingdon Sports club and came away with all three points. They set and won the first two legs 19-10, 20-15, however in the final leg standards dropped and they could only set 12 which was beatable. A slow start by the Sports men put pressure on the bottom half of the team but they rallied to leave anchorman needing three to win, however he could not complete the rally hitting just one doll to give the New Club the leg and with it their first maximum win.
Littlemore British Legion ‘B’ tasted victory for the first time this season when they beat local rivals Littlemore Rugby club 3-0. Chasing a set of 13 the Legion left anchorman Dean Jacobs needing three to win and he did not disappoint whipping of the winning doll with his final stick. This inspired the Legion as they improved and won the next two legs 16-13, 17-9 and move them off the foot of the table.
Vikings Sports B are finding it tough and fell to their fifth consecutive defeat, this time at home to near neighbours Masons Arms B, however it was a very close contest with only two dolls separating the teams all night. It looked promising for Vikings when they won the opening leg on three sticks 6-5 after it was tied 12-12. Masons levelled in the second leg by the smallest of margins 14-13. Masons set the final and deciding leg with 14. A good start in reply by Vikings was tarnished by a collapse in the middle leaving anchorman Steve Reeves needing four to win and three to tie. He couldn’t quite manage it hitting two dolls to leave them one short with 13. Joe Bandrowski top scored for the Masons with 10 dolls (2-4-4).

Ampleforth Arms ‘B’ still rule the roost in Section 4 and remain unbeaten however they were made to fight all the way at home to Headington Con club where the result could easily have been reversed. The Amp started off in a blistering pace, setting and winning the opening leg 19-15. Con club set 12 in the second leg and in reply the Amp only had 4 on the board with half the team already thrown. Eleven dolls from the bottom half of the team saw them over the line by just one doll with 13. Con club set the final leg with 15 and once again the Amp struggled at first only registering 5 on the board at the halfway stage. The bottom half came to the Amp’s rescue once again hitting 10 dolls to tie the leg. Con club set and won the three sticker to grab a well-deserved point. Chris Cox was top dog for Con Club with 10 dolls (5-2-3) while Adam Woodley for The Amp also hit 10 dolls (4-3-3).
Vikings C won their opening game of the season; however, it has gone downhill from there losing their next four games, the latest at home to The Catherine Wheel. Vikings did not get off to a good start losing the first leg 13-6. They then set 11 in the second leg and things were not looking good as by the halfway stage Catherine Wheel had whipped off nine dolls. However, with the next two players blobbing out it was left to anchorman Michael Ashburner to clang off the three dolls needed to win the leg by the tiniest of margins with 12. Catherine Wheel wrapped up the maximum win in the final leg 18-10. Michael Ashburner for the Catherine Wheel hit his best score for over 15 years when he smashed off a dozen dolls (5-3-4).
White Hart still holds up the rest of the table after they lost at Six Bells ‘B’ 3-0. It was a easy-going win for the Bells winning all three legs 13-6, 15-8, 16-10.


SIXERS: L.Purcell, P.Shepherd (New Club ‘A’) S.Bishop (Ampleforth Arms A)

BLOBBERS: B.White (Vikings ‘C’) A. Butler (Catherine Wheel) L.Davies (Yarnton B.L.) D.Woodward (White Hart)

TOP DOLL SCORERS
14: J.Brown (Black Horse ‘A’)
13: P.Rampton (Black Horse ‘A’) P.Shepherd (New Club ‘A’)

TOP LEG SCORE: New Club ‘A’ 28

TOP SCORE OVER 3 LEGS: New Club ‘A’ 70.

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