Week 4 May 20th

There was no change at the top of the Premier Section as all five teams recorded 2-1 victories over their Section 1 opponents.
Leaders White House were pushed all the way by Black Horse ‘B’, eventually battling back from a leg down to claim victory on their travels. Carrying a three-doll handicap, Black Horse made a flying start with a formidable 28 in the opening leg, while White House could only reply with 21. White House levelled the contest in the second leg after setting 21, with Black Horse unable to reproduce their earlier form and finishing on 17. In the deciding leg, Black Horse posted 18, but White House comfortably overhauled the target with two players remaining, eventually reaching 26 to seal an impressive comeback. Mick Phipps starred for White House with a superb 13-doll haul of 5-4-4.

Littlemore British Legion remain just one point behind the leaders after edging out Black Horse ‘A’ in another closely fought contest. Black Horse set only 18 in the opening leg, but some unusually erratic throwing from the Legion side saw them fall one short on 17. The visitors again posted 18 in the second leg, but this time Legion responded in emphatic fashion with 27 to level the match. The hosts could manage only 20 in the deciding leg, giving Black Horse hope of a surprise result. Despite a strong start, the visitors faded late on and anchor man Steve Walton was left needing all six to tie the leg. He managed five, leaving Black Horse agonisingly one short. Kevin Baker was the standout performer for Legion with a baker’s dozen of 5-5-3.

Jolly Sportsman continued their excellent recovery from an opening-day defeat by recording a third straight win, overcoming The Blackbird at home. Sportsman dominated the opening two legs, winning 24-20 and 28-21 before setting 24 in the final leg. Blackbird mounted a determined response and left anchor man Tom Finney needing just one to secure the leg. Finney held his nerve to hit the single doll required and give Blackbird the final leg 25-24. Nevertheless, it was another strong all-round display from Sportsman, with six players reaching double figures.

North Leigh FC finally celebrated their first victory of the season after edging out visitors Ampleforth Arms ‘A’ in a dramatic and lengthy encounter. Ampleforth set 22 in the opening leg, which North Leigh matched before eventually claiming the leg via a one-stick shootout after the three-stick tiebreaker failed to separate the sides. The second leg followed a remarkably similar pattern, ending 20-20 before North Leigh again prevailed in the three stick shootout. Ampleforth responded strongly in the final leg with an excellent 25, a target North Leigh could not threaten as they finished on 16, ensuring the visitors at least took a deserved point. Charlie Buckingham endured a mixed evening for North Leigh, scoring 11 dolls with returns of 4-6-1.

New Club ‘A’ survived an early scare to overcome Masons Arms ‘A’ on home soil. Carrying a three-doll handicap, Masons claimed the opening leg 28-19 and threatened a major upset. The visitors then posted 25 in the second leg, but New Club responded superbly with an outstanding 31 to level the match. Masons could manage only 17 in the deciding leg, allowing New Club to cruise home with 22. Adrian Shepherd produced an inconsistent but memorable evening for New Club, sandwiching a maximum six between scores of one, while Masons’ Neil Gaul also struck a six during his excellent 12-doll tally of 6-3-3.

SECTION 2
The top two met in a crucial Section 2 clash and it was Catherine Wheel ‘A’ who edged out visitors Donnington Club ‘A’ in a closely fought encounter.
Catherine Wheel set the opening leg and looked to be struggling after reaching only six at the halfway stage, but a strong finish from the lower order, contributing 13 between them, lifted the hosts to a respectable 19. Donnington never really found their rhythm in reply and left their anchor man needing four to win the leg, only for him to blob out and hand Catherine Wheel the early advantage. Donnington responded in the second leg, narrowly taking it 18-17 to level the match. However, Catherine Wheel regained control in the deciding leg, setting an impressive 24 before restricting Donnington to 17 to seal a valuable 2-1 victory. Ben Carter was in excellent form for Donnington with a superb 13-doll haul of 4-4-5, while Graham Hambridge top scored for Catherine Wheel with 12 dolls from scores of 4-5-3.

Garsington Sports secured their first victory of the season while condemning Catherine Wheel ‘B’ to a fourth consecutive defeat with a convincing 3-0 home success. Inspired by Barry Ruffels, who struck 13 dolls with returns of 4-5-4, Garsington controlled all three legs, winning 15-12, 19-13 and 20-12.

Donnington Club ‘C’ claimed a narrow 2-1 victory over visitors New Club ‘B’ in a match where two of the three legs were decided by a single doll. New Club set 13 in the opening leg, in reply Donnington left anchor man Lee Worrall needing two to win. He held his nerve to whip off both dolls and secure the leg 14-13. Donnington then produced an excellent 20 in the second leg, restricting New Club to 15 to clinch the match. New Club at least salvaged the final leg after setting 17, with Donnington falling agonisingly short on 16.

Donnington ‘B’ celebrated their first win of the season after coming away from Queens Head ‘A’ with a hard-earned 2-1 victory. Queens Head made the brighter start by taking the opening leg 14-13. Donnington levelled the match in style with a 19-12 success in the second leg before setting 16 in the decider. Low scoring early in the chase left Queens Head’s final two players needing eight to tie and nine to win. Richard Wright knocked off four dolls before anchor man Dean Fitzgerald struck three, leaving the hosts one short on 15.

WADs Bar began strongly against visitors Six Bells ‘C’, taking the opening leg 19-12, but that proved to be their only success of the evening. Six Bells responded impressively to claim the next two legs 18-15 and 20-12 to secure a 2-1 victory. Clive Walsh led the way for Six Bells with an excellent 11-doll tally of 3-4-4.

SECTION 3
Section 3 saw another shake-up at the top of the table as Cowley Workers climbed into pole position with an impressive away win over Headington Con Club. Having opened the season with victory, Headington have now suffered three straight defeats, and they were outplayed by a strong Workers side inspired by Neil Butler, who fired an excellent 11 dolls (3-3-5). Cowley dominated throughout, taking all three legs comfortably 19-9, 18-9 and 18-14 to continue their fine form and move clear at the summit.

Previous leaders Catherine Wheel ‘C’ slipped to their first defeat of the campaign after losing 2-1 at home to Six Bells ‘B’ in a surprisingly low-scoring encounter. Neither side could reproduce their usual standards in what turned out to be both teams’ lowest totals of the season so far. Six Bells could only manage nine in the opening leg, but Catherine Wheel failed to capitalise, replying with just eight. The hosts responded strongly in the second leg, more than doubling their opening effort with 17 after Six Bells again posted 9 to level the match. However, the deciding leg proved one-sided as Catherine Wheel slumped to a disappointing 7, allowing The Bells to ease home with 16. Terry Lester endured a mixed evening for Six Bells but still finished with a match-winning 11 dolls (5-1-5).

The local derby between Littlemore Rugby Club and British Legion ‘B’ failed to ignite in what was a scrappy affair. Legion edged the first leg 13-9 before the rugby men responded well in the second, cruising to a 16-7 victory. Rugby Club then found their best form in the deciding leg, hitting an impressive 18 to secure the match despite Legion replying with a respectable 14.

Red Lion finally celebrated their first win of the season with a hard-fought 2-1 success away at The Ampleforth Arms ‘B’. Lion started strongly by taking the opening leg 13-8 before the hosts levelled matters with a 16-12 second-leg win. The visitors regained control in the decider, producing a solid 13-7 victory to clinch the match. Paul Edwards was the standout performer for Red Lion with a consistent return of nine dolls (3-3-3).

One of the closest contests of the night came at Masons Arms ‘B’, where only three dolls separated the hosts and Queens Head ‘B’ across the entire match. Masons edged the opening leg 15-13 before narrowly taking the second 17-15 to secure the victory. Queens Head battled hard throughout and earned a deserved point by claiming the final leg 15-14. Josh Breakspear impressed for The Queens with a fine double-figure tally of 10 dolls (3-3-4).

SECTION 4
Section 4 produced another entertaining night of Aunt Sally action with the battle at the top of the table taking another twist as The Tandem’s unbeaten start to the season finally came to an end at the hands of Red Lion Cassington. Playing a player short proved costly for the hosts as Lion roared through the opening two legs 15-7 and 17-13 to take control of the contest. The Tandem showed plenty of fight in the final leg, forcing a three-stick shoot-out after the scores were tied at 10-10, but Red Lion held their nerve to complete a deserved victory and move level at the summit.

Kidlington Football Club joined Red Lion at the top after producing a disciplined and consistent display in their 3-0 home win over Rose Hill Club ‘B’. The football club never allowed their opponents into the game, taking all three legs 14-9, 10-7 and 15-8 with steady throwing throughout the night proving the difference.

Rose Hill Club ‘A’ enjoyed one of the most comfortable wins of the evening as they swept aside struggling Corner House with a convincing whitewash. The visitors never got going as Rose Hill dominated all three legs 10-4, 14-4 and 13-1.

It continues to be a difficult start to life in the league for newcomers Gardener Arms, who slipped to a fourth successive defeat away at Vikings Sports. The opening leg could hardly have been closer, with Vikings eventually edging a tense three-stick shoot-out after the scores finished level at 7-7. Vikings then tightened their grip on the match with a 9-6 second-leg success before wrapping up the contest 11-8 in the final leg.

White Hart Wolvercote may feel unfortunate to come away empty-handed once again after producing some of their best throwing of the season against a powerful Bletchingdon Sports side. Both teams recorded their highest scores of the campaign so far in an entertaining clash. White Hart opened with a respectable 14, but Bletchingdon responded strongly to claim the leg 16-14. The hosts repeated the feat in the second leg with another 14, only for the visitors to step things up further with an impressive 20. Bletchingdon completed the clean sweep by taking the final leg 18-10, with Wayne Harwood in outstanding form, finishing the night with 11 dolls (4-3-4).

With four games of the season already played, just three teams remain unbeaten, while four sides are still searching for their first win. There have already been 13 maximum sixes hit by 11 different players, alongside 30 blobs recorded by 27 players. Roger Goodall, of The White House, has produced the highest individual tally in a single night with 16 dolls, while his side also hold the highest three-leg team total so far with 84.
Fifteen players are already averaging double figures, with four currently on course to reach the magical 200-doll mark. However, as always, everything can change after just one bad night.

SIXERS:
A.Shepherd (New Club ‘A’) N.Gaul (Masons Arms ‘A’) C.Buckingham (North Leigh FC)

BLOBBERS:
J.Brown (Littlemore Legion) S.Cadle (Rose Hill ‘B’) R.Pickett (Red Lion Yarnton) D.Ward, R.Irving (Corner House) K.Griffiths (Vikings Sports) P.Cox (The Tandem)

HIGHEST SCORERS
13: K.Baker (Littlemore B.L.) B.Carter (Donnington Club ‘A’) B.Ruffels (Garsington Sports) M.Phipps (White House)

HIGHESTS LEG: New Club 31

OVER THREE LEGS: New Club 72

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