2026 RESULTS & REPORTS

League Round 14 - 6th August 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 0 Dolls - 

Section One: 0 Dolls - 

Section Two: 0 Dolls - 

Section Three: 0 Dolls - 

WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

Player

SIXERS

Player

REPORT

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to whoever took the card away!

Premier & Section One:

Coming soon

Section Two & Section Three:

Coming soon

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League Round 13 - 30th July 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 24 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC) 

Section One: 17 Dolls - Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 18 Dolls - Dave Gardiner (Oxford Yeoman B) 

Section Three: 15 Dolls - Aaron Atkin (Stonesfield SSC A)

WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

24 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

22 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons)

20 Dolls - Dan Reading (Eynsham SSC A)

SIXER

Steve England x 2 (Charlbury SSC)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! No late cards this week!

There were multiple big victories this week, with some sides picking up some big points. But that can only mean that some sides only collected minor points! The one thing I can say for sure is that round 13 was full of surprises!

Premier & Section One:

The top section fixtures this week were all between sides in the same section, meaning that it was a really opportunity to gain ground and climb the table. The main talking point was that title rivals the Three Pigeons and the White House B both suffered heavy away defeats as the race for the title hots up. The White House B sliped to an 8-2 defeat in their visit to play an inspired Charlbury SSC. The White House were missing a couple of their regular players but I'm not sure that made much difference as Charlbury produced a magnificent performance. They came in with a season's best 102 dolls on the night (which includes their +3 handicap) and included impressive back to back sets of 22 dolls. They easily won the opening four legs before the White House managed to rally themselves to take the final leg to at least secure some points on the night. It was an excellent team performance by Charlbury with all their players throwing well all night. Dave Prew had his best night of the season so far with 13 dolls but it was Steve England's performance which was by far the standout as he claimed 24 dolls (6,3,5,6,4). This was Steve's second score of 24 dolls this season and it continued his excellent recent form, which has seen him put himself in the mix of claiming the top doll award this year. With the White House losing the Three Pigeons had a big chance to extend their lead at the top of the table as they made the trip to play Yarnton BL. However they also found their opponents in inspired form as Yarnton also had their best night of the season so far to claim a big 9-1 victory. Things began ok for the Pigeons after the opening leg of the match was tied on 19-19 all, but it was all Yarnton after that as they won each of the remaining four legs. It was a strangely below par performance by the Pigeons as they struggled to get into the match, with the exception being yet another strong showing by Roger Goodall who top scored with 22 dolls. As for Yarnton, anchorman Mark Poulter had a great night with 19 dolls and included some solid throwing to wrap up leg wins for his team in three out of the five legs played. He was well backed by seasons best scores from Mark Lacey (16 dolls) & Gary Smith (13 dolls from four legs). Darren Holmes also made a welcome return from injury to hit 14 dolls from the four legs in which he played in. So although both The Pigeons & White House will no doubt be disappointed in their results, it was probably a better week for the Pigeons as their lead at the top of table was only cut by a single point. What this also goes to show is that even the top teams are beatable, you just have to throw well when playing them! There was clear evidence of this after the fantastic performances by Charlbury & Yarnton this week so well done to both sides. The other all premier match of the week was the week's only 'close' match and the only top section fixture which went to last leg decider. Eynsham SSC A played host to Enstone SSC B in a match that swung one way and then the other. Eynsham came flying out the blocks and raced into a 4-0 lead after some very impressive throwing when chasing in the opening two legs.This included a best leg of the season so far by them in the second leg in which they sailed past Enstone's set of 20 dolls with a man to spare! (they ended the leg with a mighty 25 dolls). However the match then turned in Enstone's favour as two more good set's by them in the third & fourth legs saw them level the match up and take it to a last leg shootout. Eynsham had the honour in this final leg and just about managed to get to a total of 16 dolls, despite having two blobs in the leg. This total never looked to be enough, especially when lead off man Rob Bradford started the chase off with 4 dolls. However a succession of single doll socres resulted in their anchorman not having shot, meaning that Eynsham claimed a 6-4 victory. The match top scorer was Eynsham's Dan Reading, who was unlucky not to score more than the 20 dolls he came in with. His teammate Martyn Oliver is also well deserving of a mention after hitting a season's best 14 dolls, which included hitting 5 dolls in leg two and 4 dolls in the final leg. Both of these throws by Martyn came at crucial times within the leg and helped his side to win both of those legs, which in turn made all difference in the match result. Enstone's top two throwers Rob Bradford & Steve Arthurs both had good nights with 18 dolls each, although both would probably feel that they left a few more dolls out there. Teammate Norman Torr also had a decent night with a season's best score of 14 dolls. These three results involving all of the premier sides now mean that just six points separate the bottom four teams, so the race for the wooden spoon is very much on! Moving into section one and there has been only a minor change in the table after the top two sides both picked up big wins. Leaders the Masons Arms put in a dominant performance to win 9-1 in their away match at Enstone SSC A. The tone of the match was set in the opening leg as the Masons successfully chased down Enstone's good set of 20 dolls and then they extended their lead by comfortably taking leg two. The third leg was much closer and required a great throw by the Mason's anchorman Spencer Buckingham. Chasing a modest score of 14 dolls, the Mason's chase was stuttering before Spence stepped up to hit the four dolls required to take the leg. The Masons then backed this up wiith a great set of 22 dolls in the fourth leg to move into an 8-0 lead with just one leg to play. With Enstone only managing to set 14 dolls in this final leg a clean sweep victory looked on the cards, but the Masons fell just short in their chase and could only tie the leg to gift a point to the home side. It was a strong all round performance by the Masons, with Charlie Buckingham top scoring for them with 17 dolls. He was well backed up by Spence & Kevin Johnson, who both came in with 15 dolls. Finally the Oxford Yeoman A kept up the pressure on the Masons A after winning their away match at the White Hart 8-2. The match started very evenly with the opening two legs both ending in draws before the Yeoman took control of things by easily chasing down the White Hart sets in the final three legs. It wasn't a match full of big scores, but as long as you hit enough to win then who cares! The Yeoman's Doug Mingham was the match top scorer with 13 dolls as he continues his excellent season. As for the White Hart it was good to see that they had a full squad of players taking part in the match and I'm certain that they will hit more dolls in the coming weeks (probably when they play against my team!!)  

Section Two & Section Three:

Just like the top sections, there were some big winning margins in the lower sections this week. The best of these big wins was achieved by Stonesfield SSC A as they secured their best win of the season so far by defeating Middle Barton SSC 9-1. An entertaining opening leg ended in a draw, but only because Stoney's anchorman Aaron Atkin whipped off the 4 dolls required to tie things up. Stoney then made home advantage count as they won each of the remaining four legs to secure the big win. Aaron made a welcome return to form this week as he had his season's best score of 15 dolls of the night. Teammate Alan Franklin also had a good night after reaching double figures for the second time this season. The Red Lion picked up an impressive 8-2 away victory over the Masons Arms B to extend their lead at the top of section three. The match was very even to begin with as both sides won a leg each. The Lion then narrowly took leg three to move 4-2 ahead and then backed this up with a good chase in the fourth leg to move further ahead. The Masons kept fighting and posted a good set of 14 dolls in the final leg, which actually contained 2 blobs so could have been even more! They were left to regret those blobs as the Lion managed to beat that target as they hit 15 dolls to secure the big match victory. It certainly looked like it was an entertaining match and could have been won by the Masons if the Lion hadn't found top form in those final two legs. The match top scorer was the Mason's Andy Mott with 12 dolls, whilst the Lion's Jim Thompson hit 11 dolls when throwing from an unusual lead off position. The Oxford Yeoman continue their amazing run of form by defeating Stonesfield SSC B at home 6-4. Since the beginning of June the Yeoman have picked up an unbelievable 61 points out of a possible 70, which is an incredible run of good form. This match was pretty even to begin with before the Yeoman took control of things in the final couple of legs. They opened up with an impressive set of 18 dolls in the first leg and then just managed to win leg two after anchorman Dave Trim hit the 2 dolls required to move 4-0 ahead. Stoney hit back to win the third leg to give them some hope in the match, but that hope didn't last long as they posted two below average sets in the final two legs to allow the Yeoman to claim another big match victory. The Yeoman's Dave Gardiner had an excellent night as he top scored in the match with an impressive 18 dolls. Finally, Eynsham SSC B's hopes of challenging for the section two title took a hit as they slipped to a 6-4 defeat in their away fixture at the White Horse. The match was extremely close, with just a couple of dolls separating the the sides. The opening leg ended in a tie before both sides picked up a leg win each in the next two legs to put te match score at 3-3 with two legs too play. The foourth leg was another very even affair and ended in another draw to set the match at 4-4 and send it to a last leg shootout. It was a tense last leg in which the White Horse just about did enough to take the leg and claim the match win. With the Yeoman B in such god form at the moment Eynsham will need to up their game if they want to keep pace at the top of table and to be in with a chance of claiming the trophy come the end of the season.

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Competition Week: Pairs - 23rd July

Please see below the full results from this week's Pairs competition.

The * indicates which pair set in the leg

The slightly smaller numbers in some of the 3rd legs indicate the three or one stick playoffs

TOP LEG SCORES

Venue One:

9 Dolls - S McAteer & S Arthurs x 3, T Downes & S Humphries

Venue Two:

8 Dolls - C Buckingham & N Pratley, M Blake & S Ducker, A Major & A Warren

SIXERS

Steve Arthurs (Enstone SSC B)

Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A)

REPORT

Obviously there is no way I'll be able to produce a full report on all the action from the pairs competition - that would just take ages! So I'll reward myself with a week off from my reporting role and recharge the batteries ready for the return of league action next week. I will just offer congratulations to the two venue winning pairs who have made it through to the Final, which will be played at Finals Night.

See you all next week!

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League Round 12 - 16th July 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 23 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons) 

Section One: 17 Dolls - Lee Thompson (White Hart) 

Section Two: 17 Dolls - Steve Mott (Masons Arms B) 

Section Three: 13 Dolls - Marcus Copelin (Red Lion) 

WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

23 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons)

22 Dolls - Dan Reading (Eynsham SSC B)

22 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

21 Dolls - Steve Arthurs (Enstone SSC B)

21 Dolls - Steve Enock (White House B)

20 Dolls - Rob Bradford (Enstone SSC B)

SIXERS

Ethan Simlett (Oxford Yeoman A)

Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons)

Dan Reading (Eynsham SSC B)

Mark Revill (Eynsham SSC B)

Dave Gardiner (Oxford Yeoman B)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! This week's late card was:

Chadlington SSC v White Horse

Things are certainly hotting up as the second half of the season gathers pace. And it could be our closest season ever! The Three Pigeons lead at the top of the premier table has been cut to just seven points, and in all the other three sections the various leaders hold just a single point lead over their nearest rivals. Wow! I've said it before and I'll say it again, every leg & point counts! Game on! 

Premier & Section One:

The White House B crept another two points closer to premier leaders the Three Pigeons as their title challenge continued to gather momentum. This week they picked up an 8-2 home win in what looked like a tricky fixture against Enstone SSC A. Giving away a 5 doll handicap start is incredibly difficult so the White House did very well to ease to victories in the first four legs to move 8-0 up in the match. Enstone did then rally to take the final leg to at least come away with some points, which they deserved after sticking to their task. They were missing their top scorer Jason Eley so were always going to be up against things so should be pleased with their efforts, even if they are disappointed with the scoreline. As for the White House, it was another solid team effort, with the highlight being Steve Enocks 21 dolls, which was his best score of the season so far. The Three Pigeons produced a leg of the highest quality just when it mattered in their home match against Eynsham SSC B. It looked like it was a very entertaining game, although it was slightly strange. The first four legs were all won by the side who chased, with neither side able to set a decent score when they had the honour. However, this pattern changed in the crucial last leg decider. It was Eynsham who set in this final leg and they managed to put a good score of 19 dolls on the board. Seeing as the Pigeons hadn't scored more than 19 dolls in any leg in the match so far this target looked ominous and they knew that they needed to get off to a strong start if they wanted a chance of chasing it down. This is exactly what did, with lead of man Rob Tudge htting 5 dolls to set the tone for what proved to be a great chase. They actually managed to go past Eynsham's set with only five players (they clearly didn't trust their anchorman.....) as they ended the leg on an impressive 25 dolls to secure a vital leg & match victory. There were some great individual performances within the match with three maximums hit from three different players, which is the most we have seen so far this season. The Pigeons Roger Goodall hit a miximum on his way to a mighty 23 dolls, which was the week's highest individual score. Considering that Roger sits at the top of the top doll scorer table it's quite surprising that this was only his second six of the season, but it does also show you just how consistantly he has been throwing this year (he ain't the five time WC for nothing!). Just behind him in the match was Eynsham's Dan Reading as he came in with an impressive 22 dolls, which included his third maximum of the season. The other six in the match was hit by Eynsham's Mark Revil which helped him to get to a great 18 dolls on the night. There were two more last leg deciders involving the top two sides in section two as this title race continues to swing one way and then the other. The Masons Arms A managed to snatch a 5-5 match draw from the jaws of victory in their home match against the White Hart in a very entertaining fixture. The Mason's cruised to the first two legs before a tied third leg had them 5-1 ahead at the halfway point. The fourth leg proved to be the turning point in the White Hart's favour, although this was probably more about the Mason's losing the leg and not the White Hart winning it. The White Hart had the honour in the leg but could only get to a total of 12 dolls, which never looked to be enough. However, the Mason's chase stuttered and the eventually ended one doll short to gift the leg to the White Hart. The Masons set in the last leg decider and posted a score of 15 dolls, which is on of those 'you never know' totals. However the White Hart got off to a flying start with lead off man Lee Thompson hitting 5 dolls to put them on track with their chase. The rest of the White Hart side chipped away and left anchorman Gordon Kitchen the task of needing two dolls to win the leg, which he duly did to complete the excellent comeback and end the match in a 5-5 draw. This result gave the Oxford Yeoman the chance to close things back up at the top of the table, which they only just managed thanks to winning their last decider in their home fixture against Yarnton BL. The Yeoman raced into a 4-0 lead after comfortably winning the opening two legs before Yarnton hit back to win the next two legs to level things up at 4-4. The highlight of the match was without doubt the fourth leg. Yarnton set in this leg and managed to post an impressive total of 21 dolls, which would test the Yeoman's chasing skills. They were very much on track to chase this down, especially after captain Ethan Simlett hit his first ever six, but the bottom half couldn't quite manage to hit the dolls required to reach Yarnton's total. However, the Yeoman's disappointment was short lived as they managed to produce a solid team effort in the final leg to secure yet another home victory and move to just a single point behind leaders the Masons. The final match saw the only away victory in the top sections as Charlbury SSC made it three impressive wins on the trot as they defeated Enstone SSC B 6-4, who have now lost four in row. The win was made even more impressive due to Charlbury not being at full strength, but some excellent throwing by their middle order (Keith Claridge, Bruce Claridge & John Fitzgerald) helped them to get over the line. They easily won the opening two legs before Enstone gave themselves a lifeline in the match by winning leg three. However, a poor chase attempt in the fourth leg by Enstone saw Charlbury move into an unassailable 6-2 lead. Enstone did managed to nick the last leg to give the final scoreline a more even look about it, although you could argue that this wasn't really deserved. There were three players within the match to get their names on the big hitter list, although strangely despite their good throwing none of them managed to hit a maximum. The match top scorer was Charlbury's Steve England who continued his great recent form with 22 dolls. Enstone's Steve Arthurs came in with 21 dolls, which was unbelievably his first 20+ score since the opening round of fixtures. Just as unbelivable was that Rob Bradford's 20 dolls was only his second 20+ score of the season, although with both Enstone players showing signs of hitting top form watch out for more big scores over the coming weeks. 

Section Two & Section Three:

The Oxford Yeoman B claimed yet another big victory as their remarkable run of good form continued. This week they picked up an 8-2 away win over section two rivals Eynsham SSC B to remain top of the table. Eynsham actually started the match brightly and took the opening leg after anchorman John Ayres whipped off the 4 dolls required to move 2-0 up. However, that was as good as things got for Eynsham as the Yeoman then comfortably won the remaining four legs to secure the big match victory. It was another really solid team display by the Yeoman side, particulary by their final two throwers. Penultimate thrower Dave Gardiner came in with 16 dolls, which included his first maximum of the season, whilst anchorman Dave Trim also had 16 dolls, which was his highest score of the season so far. Eynsham's John Ayres was their top scorer as he continues his good season with 14 dolls, although his card was slightly spoiled by a blob in the final leg which prevented him coming close to a really a big total. The Masons Arms B have now moved into second place after they picked up an impressive win in their away match at Stonesfield SSC B. The Masons got off to an ideal start as they easily won the opening two legs to move 4-0 ahead. The third leg was more difficult as their chase got off to a stuttering start before an excellent 5 dolls by Jordan Arnold help to get them back on track, with their tail doing then doing the business to put them 6-0 ahead. They moved further ahead after winning the fourth leg, which included a score of 5 dolls by Steve Mott. Stoney did managed to composed themselves in the final leg to at least get some points on the board but it was very much too little too late. The Mason's Steve Mott certainly enjoyed himself as he came in with a season's best score of 17 dolls, which was the highest score in section two fof the week. As for Stoney, this result saw them drop to second in the section three table after the Red Lion won 8-2 in their home fixture against Stonesfield SSC A. The Lion quickly took control of the match as they won the opening three legs to move 6-0 ahead before Stoney got a leg on the board by winning leg four. However the Lion made sure of the big match win by taking the final leg, which was down to their anchorman Marcus Copelin hitting the 3 dolls required. Following a good recent run of results this win has seen the Lion take over at the top of the section three table, but the question is can they stay there? Finally, the White House A kept themselves in prime position in the section two title race after picking up a clean sweep 10-0 win away at Middle Barton SSC in what was a very one sided match. Although the White House currently sit third in the table, they do still have a game in hand and a win in that match would see them go top. They were never in trouble in this match as they easily won every leg, although it should be noted that the Barton side were missing a couple of their top players. Wayne Gray was the match top scorer for the White House with 13 dolls and he was well back up with a season's best score 12 dolls from Adie Cooper.

Another excellent night of chucking by all, well done to everyone who took part in some fabulous looking matches

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

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League Round 11 - 9th July 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 21 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC) 

Section One: 19 Dolls - Lee Thompson (White Hart) & Spencer Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 19 Dolls - Dave Behan (Oxford Yeoman B) 

Section Three: 12 Dolls - Michael Franklin (Stonesfield SSC A) & Sean Osgathorp (Red Lion)

WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

21 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

SIXERS

Lee Thompson (White Hart)

Kevin Johnson (Masons Arms A)

Spencer Buckingham (Masons Arms A)

Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

Steve Arthurs (Enstone SSC B)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! No late cards this week, thanks for the effort made to get them to me quickly

There were so many talking points this week, this is going to test my reporting skills!

Premier & Section One:

The Three Pigeons charge towards claiming the premier title took a hit as they suffered a surprising 8-2 defeat in their away match at Charlbury SSC. This defeat was made worse after nearest rivals the White House B picked up an 8-2 win over Enstone SSC B to close the gap at the top of the table. The Pigeons probably felt a little aggrieved over the size of their defeat in what was a very close match with Charlbury, with a couple of brilliant throws by some Charlbury players tipping the balance in their favour. After Charlbury comfortably took the opening leg it looked odds on that the Pigeons would level things up in the second leg. However, Charlbury's anchorman George Williams had other ideas as he whipped off the 5 dolls required to put his side 4-0 ahead. The Pigeons did then take the third leg as they sailed past Charlbury's set of 17 dolls, ending the leg with an impressive 23 dolls. Charlbury set again in the fourth leg and were in danger of failing to reach a decent total before Steve England smashed off a maximum which helped get his side to a total of 20 dolls. The Pigeons put up a great effort in their chase but ended up agonisingly one doll short, meaning that Charlbury moved 6-2 ahead. Another good set in the final leg by Charlbury, which again the Pigeons failed to chase down, gave them the impressive match win and moved them off the bottom of the table. Not only did Steve hit the already mentioned maximum, which was his seventh maximum of the season, he was this week's only entry into the big hitter table after coming in with a great 21 dolls. The White House B had a much easier nights work as they comfortably defeated Enstone SSC B, which effectively ends Enstone's hopes of retaining the title this year. After Enstone took the opening leg they would have had high hopes of getting themselves back into the title hunt, but this was quickly extinguished in the remaining four legs after a ruthless display of throwing by the White House side. It was an excellent team performance by them, with 18 dolls coming from Barry Townsend and 17 dolls each from Scott Humphries & Tom Finney. The only bright spots for Enstone were Rob Bradford's 19 dolls and a second maximum of the season for Steve Arthurs. Moving into section one and there was a sensational performance by the Masons Arms A as they racked up 94 dolls on the night (104 if you include the handicap) on their way to a clean sweep 10-0 win away at Yarnton BL. This big result moved them up to the top of the table after previous leaders the Oxford Yeoman A dropped four points in their away win over Eynsham SSC A. The Mason's were on mighty form in their match, with 19 dolls or more being hit in every leg. Their card included two sixes, with Kevin Johnson & Spencer Buckingham both hitting their first maximums of the season. Kevin went on to finish on 17 dolls for the night, which was his best score of the season so far. Ray Grant also had his best night of the season after hitting 15 dolls, which was great to see. It was Spencer who finished as the match top scorer with a great 19 dolls, closely followed by 18 dolls from Yarnton's Mark Poulter. Despite the heavy defeat Yarnton actually played well in the match and would have certainly picked up some points if they hadn't found the Masons in such inspired form. The Oxford Yeoman A produced another good performance to pick up a match win in their away fixture against Eynsham SSC A. It was an extremely close match, with both sides totalling 90 dolls (that's a victory for the handicap committee!). The main difference between the sides was probably the performance of the Yeoman's anchorman Harry Irwin. In the opening leg Harry hit the 5 dolls required to win the leg and then he produced another magic moment in the last leg decider when he whipped off the 4 dolls required to take the leg and secure the match win for his side. That's some excellent throwing from Harry, especially when the pressure was on at such a crucial time. The Yeoman had gone 4-0 ahead in the match before Eynsham hit back to win the next two legs to level things up at 4-4. However, thanks to Harry's efforts it was the Yeoman who had the last laugh to take the match 6-4. It was Harry's teammate Doug Mingham who had the honour of being the match top scorer after coming in with 18 dolls, closely followed by Harry's 17 dolls. Eynsham's Dan Reading also had 17 dolls as he continues his great season. Although they lost the match, this result moves Eynsham up into third spot in the table as they continue to show great consistancy following a difficult start to the season. Finally, Enstone SSC A managed to close the gap at the top of the section one table after picking up a good 7-3 away win over bottom side the White Hart. With lots of points still on offer Enstone refuse to be ruled out of the title picture and if they secure wins against their title rivals they could certainly find themselevs right in the mix come the end of the season. They eased to wins in the opening two legs to move 4-0 ahead before a tied third leg put the score at 5-1. They had to work hard in the fourth leg and were looking in trouble in their chase attempt before a excellent throw of 5 dolls by penultimate thrower Jason Eley settled the nerves, which left anchorman Steve Ducker to finish things off by hitting the 2 dolls required to win the leg and the match. The White Hart did then manage to win the final leg to give the final result a more even look to it. Jason ended up with a solid 15 dolls as his good season continued but it was the White Hart's Lee Thompson who claimed the match top scorer award with an excellent 19 dolls, which included his first maximum of the season. 

Section Two & Section Three:

There were some extremely interesting results this week in the lower sections, with three out of the five matches going down to last leg deciders. One fixture that didn't go the distance was between the Oxford Yeoman B and Chadlington SSC. It was the Yeoman who continued their stunning run of recent results by collecting another 10-0 win to move to the top of the section two table. The result was never in doubt as the Yeoman made the most of their home throw to comfortably win every leg, which included an impressive 20 dolls in the opening leg. The standout performance in the match was by the Yeoman's Dave Behan, who was unlucky not to get onto the big hitters table after coming in with an excellent 19 dolls. The Yeoman are without doubt the league's in form side at the moment, but can they keep it up? They have some tricky fixtures ahead so it wouldn't surprise me if the top spot in the table changes hands multiple times over the coming weeks. The all section two clash between the Masons Arms B and Eynsham SSC B was an entertaining affair, with some good throwing by both sides. Eynsham took the opening leg before the Masons hit back to win the next two legs to put themselves 4-2 ahead. However, Eynsham produced two good sets in the final two legs to complete a great comeback and claim a 6-4 away win. Both sides played well in the match, which included the Masons racking up 17 dolls when setting in the third leg. However it was the overall team performance by Eynsham that was the difference, particualrly in the final two legs in which they only had one score of 1 doll between all their players. Two Eynsham players had their best week's of the season so far, with Barry Stratford hitting 13 dolls and Ryan Day hitting an excellent 12 dolls, which I think might be his first ever double figure score (or it's certainly his first one in a few years). Excellent stuff Ryan, very well done. Despite these good efforts by these Eynsham players it was actually the Mason's Mark Bennett who top scored in the match after hitting a season's best score of 14 dolls. The White House A kept up pressure at the top of section two after winning the last leg decider in their home match against Stonesfield SSC A. This victory was made more impressive as they were missing their star performer Wayne Gray and, with a game in hand, keeps them in a strong position in the league. After two tied legs and a leg win each the match scoreline was poised at 4-4 going into the final leg. With the match win up for grabs each score in this final leg would be crucial. It was the White House's Mike Bunyan who came up the match winning throw as he hit a crucial 4 dolls which helped to get his side over the line a secure the narrow 6-4 victory. There was a top of the table encounter in section three, with leaders Stonesfield SSC B hosting second place the Red Lion. Stoney would have had high hopes of extending their lead, especially as they were the home side. They got off to a perfect start after narrowly winning the opening leg, although the Lion would have been disappointed not to have chased down Stoney's set of 9 dolls. However, the Lion didn't let that disappointment bother them as they easily took the next three legs to move into an unassailable 6-2 lead. Stoney did manage to rally in the final leg, although it did take an excellent throw by their anchorman Geoff Booth to secure the leg and limit the damage to a 6-4 Lion win. The final match to report on saw the White Horse pick up their first win since the end of May as they just about managed to defeat Middle Barton SSC 6-4 in yet another tight match. The match was evenly poised at 3-3 after three legs, with there being no clue on who would go on to claim the win. Barton set in the fourth leg but could only manage to post a score of 7 dolls. This never looked to be enough and that proved to be the case as not only did the White Horse go past this total, they sailed past it and ended up hitting an impressive 17 dolls, which even included one blob! With victory in their grasp it was the White Horse who set in the final leg, but it was their turn to only post a score of 7 dolls. Barton looked odds on to go past this score in their chase as they needed just 3 dolls to win from their last four players. However, two blobs and two single doll scores resulted in them also ending on 7 dolls, meaning that the White Horse just about claimed the match victory. 

Wowsers, that was some week. There really was some excellent chucking out there so well done to all! I'm off for a sit down no

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

.................................................

League Round 10 - 2nd July 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 22 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons)

Section One: 21 Dolls - Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 0 Dolls - 

Section Three: 13 Dolls - Wayne Hawtin (Middle Barton SSC) 

WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

22 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons)

21 Dolls - Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A)

20 Dolls - Dick Walsh (White House B) & Dan Reading (Eynsham SSC A)

SIXERS

Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A)

Martin Herbert (Eynsham SSC A)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! This week's cards not to get to me in time were:

Enstone SSC A v Yarnton BL

Chadlington SSC v Masons Arms B

Premier & Section One:

The top two sides in section one both suffered surprising home defeats this week, which keeps things extremely tight at the top of the table. Leaders the Oxford Yeoman A lost a last leg decider to go down 7-3 in their match against Charlbury SSC. This comes straight after my comments last week about their home throw being a fortress, so I'm surprised that I haven't been blamed for the defeat yet! It was an extremely close match, with every leg going the distance and requiring both anchormen to do their stuff. None of the legs played were won by the setting side and in every leg those anchormen, Harry Irwin for the Yeoman & George Williams for Charlbury, did the business and made sure that they secured a positive leg result for their team. The first leg ended in a tie before Charlbury took control of things by sucessfully chasing down the Yeoman's sets in the next two legs to go 5-1 ahead. The Yeoman hit back to take the fourth leg to send the match to a last leg shootout but were unable to prevent Charlbury from taking this final leg and securing a good away victory. Charlbury's Steve England continued his great recent form and was the match top scorer with 19 dolls. With the Yeoman losing, the Masons Arms A had the opportunity to take over at the top of the table. However, they failed to do this after slipping to an 8-2 defeat at the hands of Eynsham SSC A. It was a cagey start to the match, with both sides producing average sets which were comfortably chased down to leave the score at 2-2. It was the Eynsham side that then kicked on and managed to win all of the final three legs to pick up the big 8-2 match win, which moves them up to joint third place in the premier table. The third leg was particulary interesting as it included two maximums in it, one for either side. Eynsham had the honour in this leg and were struggling to get to a decent score before Martin Herbert whipped off his first six of the season to help his side post a good score of 17 dolls. The Mason's chase couldn't have started any better after Charlie Buckingham went off with his second maximum of the season. However, the rest of the Mason's side could then only muster six dolls between them meaning that they fell well short in their chase attempt. It was a good night for both lead off men, with Eynsham's Dan Reading hitting 20 dolls and the Mason's Charlie Buckingham hitting 21 dolls. The Three Pigeons took another giant step towards securing the premier title after easily defeating rivals Enstone SSC B 7-3. Although the final result suggets that it was a close match that wasn't really the case as the Pigeons won each of the opening three legs with relative ease to move 6-0 ahead. Enstone did manage to rally to tie the fourth leg and then win the final leg to give them some points, which looked unlikely at one stage. Although there was some good chucking, with the number of top players on show in the match it was very surprising that no maximums were scored. The Pigeons Roger Goodall, fresh from being crowned as the five time World Champion, came in as the match top scorer with and impressive 22 dolls, which was the week's highest individual score. The White House B had to come from behind to pick up a 6-4 home win over a battling White Hart side. It looked like an upset was on the cards as the White Hart held a 4-2 lead after three legs had been played. This included an excellent set by them, posting a season's best score of 24 dolls in the third leg which the White House couldn't chase down. However, the White House replied in the fourth leg with an excellent set of their own, posting a score of 25 dolls which was easily enough to level the score up and send the match to a last leg decider. They had the honour in this final leg and managed to post another good score, this time hitting 21 dolls. The White Hart put up a spirited display in their chase attempt but eventually fell just short, ending on 19 dolls. I keep saying that the White Hart are a dangerous side and that they've always got a couple of great legs in them, and this was certainly the case in this fixture. There were a couple of season's best scores hit in the match, with the White House's Dick Walsh hitting 20 dolls whilst the White Hart's Len Sykes came in with 15 dolls. 

Section Two & Section Three:

The Oxford Yeoman B continued their excellent recent form to pick up a rare 10-0 victory in their away match at Middle Barton SSC. After struggling during the early weeks of the season the Yeoman have now won four matches in a row (including two 10-0 & one 9-1 scorelines) which has seen them climb the table and are now firmly in the mix in the section two title race. It was actually a tight start to the match, with the Yeoman winning both legs by just a single doll. However, they then took control of things and easily won the final three legs to complete the clean sweep victory. The match top scorer was the Yeoman's Dave Behan, who came in with a great 17 dolls. Despite the heavy defeat, Middle Barton's Wayne Hawtin had another decent night with 13 dolls. Eynsham SSC B picked up a 6-4 home in their match against section three leaders Stonesfield SSC B, but only after a dramatic last leg decider. It was an extremely close match that swung one way and then the other, which moments of skill followed by acts of despair. Stoney eased to the opening leg and looked certain to take the second leg when Eynsham could only set them a total of 8 dolls. However their chase fell just short after their anchorman (who's name will remain silent) failed to trouble the scoring, gifting Eynsham a surprise leg win. Eynsham then upped their game to easily win the third leg before Stoney hit back to win the fourth leg to level the match up at 4-4. This fourth leg victory for Stoney was due to a brilliant effort by their anchorman (I bet he wants his name mentioned now!) as he whipped off 4 dolls to take the leg and send the match into a last leg decider. It was Stoney who set in this final leg and they managed to reach a total of 11 dolls, despite the leg containing two blobs. Eynsham's chase stuttered to begin with but some good throwing by the tail saw them get home to secure the match win. There was more last leg drama in the match between Stonesfield SSC A and the White Horse which resulted in Stoney producing a stunning final leg to see them secure the match victory. It was another extremely match which really could have gone either way. The opening leg ended in a tie, Stoney then took the second leg before another there was another tie in the third leg. The White Horse then took the fourth leg to level the match score at 4-4 with just one leg left to play. The White Horse set in this final leg and managed to post a score of 14 dolls, which was the highest leg total of the match so far. Stoney's reply started slowly and they were left needing 10 to draw or 11 to win from their final three throwers. Against all odds they managed to do this, with Jim Wagerfield hitting a 4, Ben Wagerfield hitting a 3 and then anchorman Aaron Atkin knocking off 4 dolls to secure the leg and secure a 6-4 match win for his side. Jim ended up with 10 dolls on the night, which was his first double figure score for a fair few years. Well done Jim, good effort fella. Finally, the White House A hit back from losing the opening leg in their away match at the Red Lion to pick up a good 7-3 match win. After the second leg was tied the White House took complete control of things and won the remaining three legs to keep their title challenge on track. It was a good team performance by the White House with Mike Bunyan continuing his good recent form by hitting 13 dolls and Wayne Gray finding his best form again with a good 16 dolls. The Red Lion is always a difficult venue to go to so this could prove to be a very important victory for the White House come the end of the season. I'm sure that the Red Lion will be disappointed with the result, especially as Stoney B dropped points, but I'm certain that they will keep going and look to close the gap over the next few weeks.

That's the lot for this week.

Oh wait, one last thing......... it was Geoff Booth. I can't not name drop him after his 4 dolls in that final leg (let's just forget about what happened in the second leg!)

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

.................................................

League Round 9 - 25th June 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 22 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

Section One: 18 Dolls - Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 14 Dolls - Ray Barson (Oxford Yeoman B) 

Section Three: 15 Dolls - Sean Osgathorp (Red Lion) 

WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

22 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

SIXERS

None this week!! 

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! This week's late card is:

Middle Barton SSC v Masons Arms B

Wowsers that was a hot one! It was almost too hot to play this week. Not that I'm complaining, I'd rather that than freezing cold. And the sunshine did make the cider taste just that little bit better....

Premier & Section One:

The top of the Premier table clash between the Three Pigeons & the White House B ended with the home side securing a comprehensive 9-1 victory to open up a decent gap at the top of the table. The Pigeons dominated a fairly one sided match and should really have won 10-0 if it wasn't for letting the White House off with a tied third leg when they were well placed to win it. Sometimes the "big" matches just don't live up to the hype! Not that the Pigs will really care as they know just how important this result could prove to be. Roger Goodall hit 19 dolls for the Pigeons and he was well backed up by Mark Finch's 18 dolls, whilst Terry Downes top scored for the White House with 19 dolls of his own. Enstone SSC B lost more ground in thier attempts to catch the Pigeons after going down 6-4 in their away match at the Oxford Yeoman A. The Yeoman cruised to the opening two legs before Enstone took leg three to give themselves a glimmer of hope. However, this hope was completed destroyed in the fourth when the Yeoman produced their best leg of the season so far by racking up 25 dolls which easily went past Enstone's set of 18 dolls. Enstone did manage to take the final leg to at least get four points from they match. This probably was the best they could have hoped for as the Yeoman lads were in fine form and clearly benefited from having a settled side on the night, with every one of their players scoring well throughout the match (although I did promise to include the Yeoman's skippers blob in the final leg in the report, sorry Ethan!) This result means that the Yeoman still hold a narrow lead at the top of Section One, although the lead is just by a single point after the Masons Arms A matched their result this week after winning at home against Charlbury SSC. This was a much closer match than the above two matches with the Masons producing a fantastic comeback to go from 4-0 behind to win 6-4. Charlbury took the opening two legs relatively easily before their form slightly dipped, which allowed the Masons to hit back to record the important win. Charlbury's Steve England was the match top scorer (and weekly top scorer) with a great 22 dolls. As for the Masons, Charlie Buckingham (18 dolls) and Dean Harris (16 dolls) both continued with their good recent form but it was the 13 dolls hit by Ray Grant that struck me as the standout performance in the team. Well done Ray, good chucking! The White Hart managed to avoid defeat for only the second time this season after they picked up a 5-5 draw in their home fixture against Yarnton BL. It was a very even match in which the White Hart were never behind in, but every time they looked to increase their lead the Yarnton side hit back to level things up. The match was poised at 4-4 going into the last leg decider, with both sides hoping to snatch the match win. However, this final leg ended in an entertaining 16 each tie, meaning that the match spoils were shared. Morgan Sykes made his first appearance of the season for the White Hart and showed the team what they've been missing as he topped scored for them with a solid 12 dolls, but it was Yarnton's Mark Poulter who was the match top scorer with 15 dolls. Finally, Eynsham SSC A claimed a hard-fought 6-4 victory in their away match against Enstone SSC A. The match couldn't have been much closer as both sides hit the same amount of dolls over the five legs, which is a tick in the box for the handicap committee! Enstone took the opening leg before Eynsham hit back to win the next three legs to move into an unasailable 6-2 lead, before Enstone crusied to the final leg to give the final scoreline a fairer look to it. It was the lowest total of dolls hit by Eynsham so far this season so I'm sure that they will be delighted with the victory when not in top form. The match top scorer was Enstone's Jason Eley, who had another decent night with 15 dolls. 

Premier & Section One - Half Time Verdict

The Three Pigeons are certainly in a good position at the top of the Permier table and look strong favourites to claim the title this year. However, they have played more home games than away games, so it will be interesting to see if they can take their good form with them. And with two of their players in with a chance of winning the Top Doll Scorer award, will this inspire them to even greater scoring or will it become a distraction? Both the White House B & Enstone SSC B could still close the gap on the Pigeons but they really need to start winning by greater margains if they want to have any chance of winning it. Eynsham A, Yarnton & even Charlbury could all still climb the table and join the fight for second place providing that they have strong second halves to the season. With all the Premier sides capable of beating each other it looks like it's going to get very interesting! As for Section One, it looks like it's going to be a straight fight between the Oxford Yeoman A and the Masons Arms A. The Yeoman hold a narrow lead at the moment and are capable of producing some high quality throwing, particulary at their home fortress. However, they do have the ability to have a bit of a shocker, with evidence of this being the two defeats they've suffered this year (10-0 & 9-1). The Masons are probably a more consistent side and the very rarely suffer a heavy defeat. With Charlie Buckingham & Dean Harris both in fine form this season you can never rule them out of a leg, particularly if their teammates chip in with some dolls. It was the making of going right down to the wire, with every leg & point potentially being vital. Enstone A are not that far behind but probably lack the consistentcy of the top two sides. They have made a welcome return to the top sections this year and are understandably finding things tough. However, they have always got a couple of good legs in them are are surely pleased with how the season is going. The same could be said for bottom side the White Hart. Along with Enstone, these are a couple of dangerous sides who always pull something out of the hat when you least expect them to. Write them off at your peril! It's also worth a quick mention about the Top Doll award, which is shaping up to be a very entertaining battle. There are some seriously good players in our league and if you take a glance at the All Players Dolls Scored table it reads like a who's who of top players. I wonder who will hold their nerve to pick up the trophy this year?

Section Two & Section Three:

There were some tight matches in the lower sections this week, with none of the home sides able to claim a victory. The only home side who managed a positive result was Chadlington SSC, with their match against Stonesfield SSC B ending in a 5-5 draw. They did have to do things the hard way by winning the last leg decider to claim a share of the points. Stoney were leading 5-3 going into this final leg and must have been confident of winning the match, however a good set by Chad saw them take the leg to level things up. This set was main to good throws by Chad's Johnny Walker & Josh Betts, who both hit 4's to help their side get to a winning total. The Oxford Yeoman B picked up another victory after winning 6-4 in their away match at Stonesfield SSC A. They quickly took control of the match by moving 4-0 ahead and looked favourites to take the third leg before falling just short in their chase attempt. However, the Yeoman hit back to easily win the fourth leg to move into an unassailable 6-2 lead. Stoney did then take the final leg after a good set of 15 dolls, which included Michael Franklin hitting 5 dolls from his lead off position. Both Michael & the Yeoman's Ray Barson ended the night with good totals of 14 dolls. Finally, the Red Lion picked up an impressive 7-3 away win over Eynsham SSC B to keep up the pressure at the top of the section three table. It was Eynsham who took the opening leg but the Red Lion hit staright back to take the next two legs. A tied fourth leg sent the match into a last leg decider, although the Lion will be disappointed not to have won the leg when needing just three 3 final their last three throwers. However a blob sandwhiched between to scores of 1 resulted in a drawn leg. It was Eynsham who set in the final leg but could only muster a score of 9 dolls, which the Lion cruised past to secure the match win. The match top scorer with 15 dolls was the Lion's Sean Osgathorp, which was also the highest total of the week in the lower sections.

Section Two & Section Three - Half Time Verdict
Section Two always seems to be a very tough league, and that's certainly the case again this year. At the time of writing this, there are just seven points separating the five sides. Each side has recorded some excellent victories and some surprising defeats, so it's impossible to say who will go on and take the title. I can confidently say that every point could prove to be vital and I would be shocked if the title race doesn't go down to the final couple of games of the season. There are some top players playing in Section Two this year so keep an eye out for some big performances when the matches get tight. As for Section Three, this looks like it's a straight shootout between Stonesfield SSC B and holders the Red Lion. Stoney hold a narrow lead at the moment but they can't relax as the Lion keep chipping away at their lead. Both Middle Barton SSC & Stonesfield SSC A have yet to hit top form this season but both remain dangerous opponents, so don't be surprised if they go on a run of victories. The White Horse, playing in their debut year, seem to be doing very well and have been competitive every week, which is great to see. 

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

....................................................

League Round 8 - 18th June 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 23 Dolls - Neil Lyon (Three Pigeons) 

Section One: 21 Dolls - Spencer Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 19 Dolls - Dave Gardiner (Oxford Yeoman B) 

Section Three: 19 Dolls - Matt Bullock (White Horse) 

NEW - WEEKLY BIG HITTERS (20+ SCORES)

23 Dolls - Neil Lyon (Three Pigeons) 2 x sixes

21 Dolls - Spencer Buckingham (Masons Arms A)

20 Dolls - Scott Humphries (White House B) 1 x six

20 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons)

SIXERS

Neil Lyon x 2 (Three Pigeons)

Dean Harris (Masons Arms A)

Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

Scott Humphries (White House B)

Mark Poulter (Yarnton BL)

Wayne Hawtin (Middle Barton SSC)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! No late cards this week, which was very helpful

It was quite a change from last week's cold temperatures and wind, with the sun making a welcome appearance for this week's round of fixtures. It's a slightly shorter report this week due to my hectic workload but I've tried to include all the match highlights. 

Premier & Section One:

There was a clean sweep of home victories this week, with all five top section matches ending in comfortable wins for the home sides. The closest match and the only one which needed a last leg decider was between Eynsham SSC A & the White Hart. The match was up for grabs as it was tied at 3-3 after the first three legs. However, it was Eynsham who made the most of setting in the final two legs to pull clear and pick up a good 7-3 victory. The closest match in relation to the final scoreline was between Enstone SSC B and the Masons Arms A. It was a very tight match which could have gone either way. Enstone started strongly and moved into a 2-0 lead before the Masons hit back to take leg three. A crucial fourth leg then followed and it looked like the Masons would level things up after a great set of 21. However, Enstone scored well in their chase and ended up nicking the leg after hitting 22 dolls. The Masons did manage to take the final leg to make the final scoreline 6-4, which was just about correct. Two of the Mason's side had excellent nights, with Spencer Buckingham coming in with a season's best 21 dolls and teammate Dean Harris hitting 17 dolls, which included his first maximum of the season. The Three Pigeons produced a dominant display in what was on paper a tricky looking fixture against the Oxford Yeoman A. They racked up 97 dolls on the night (102 with the handicap) as they ran away with the match and came in with an impressive 9-1 win. The whole Pigs side scored well, with Neil Lyon on particularly good form as he hit a mighty 23 dolls, which included two maximums. The very nearly a blob free card, but anchorman Wayne Townsend put paid to that by failing to trouble the scoring with the last throw of the match! As for the Yeoman, I'm sure they won't lose too much sleep over this result and they still hold top spot in the section one table, although their lead is now just a single point. Charlbury SSC produced their best performance of the season so far as they racked up a big 8-2 win over Enstone SSC A. The return to a full strength team clearly made a difference to them as the recorded their biggest win of the season so far. It wasn't quite as easy as the scoreline suggests through as Enstone put up a good fight and can count themselves unlucky not to come away with more points. After Charlbury easily won the opening two legs, they narrowly took leg three after Enstone fell just a single doll short in their chase when well placed to take the leg. Enstone did then take the fourth leg to get some points on the board before Charlbury easily claimed the final leg to secure the big match win. Charlbury's Steve England continued his recent top form after hitting another maximum on his way to 19 dolls for the night to be the match top scorer, with teammate Dave Prew having his best night of the season so far as he hit his first double figure total. Finally, the White House B kept up the pressure on the Three Pigeons at the top of the premier section after claiming a good 8-2 victory over Yarnton BL. The highlight of the match was a high quality final leg. Yarnton set in this leg and managed to post an excellent score of 23 dolls, which was achieved in part to anchorman Mark Poulters second maximum of the season. However, the White House produced an excellent chase to match this score and tie leg, which included Scott Humphries hitting a maximum for the second successive league match in a row. Scott ended up with 20 dolls on the night and certainly seems to enjoying things in what his his first season of action in our league.

That's the lot for this week. League round 9 looks like it's going to be extremely hot with some toasty looking weather to match some tasty looking fixtures! All eyes will be on the top of the premier table clash as we reach the halfway stage of thhe season. Good luck teams!

Section Two & Section Three:

The were two stunning individual performances this week in the lower sections which both deserve top billing in the report. The first performance to mention was that of the White Horse's Matt Bullock who came in with a mighty 19 dolls in his away match at the Red Lion. This was the highest section three individual score that I can find from my records, so it really was an excellent effort by Matt. It was mainly due to his performance that his side managed to come away with a 5-5 draw as he scored just under half of his team's dolls on the night. They were leading 5-3 going into the final leg of the match, but the Red Lion managed to hold their nerve to take the leg and secure the score draw result. The other performance deserving of a special mention came from Middle Barton's Wayne Hawtin. He hit his first ever maximum in the final leg of his away match at Stonesfield SSC B. It's very rare to see a maximum being scored by players in section three, so Wayne deserves to be applauded for his efforts as he added further evidence on the overall strength of our league. Unfortunately for Wayne he ended up on the losing side as Stonesfield ran out easy 8-2 winners to maintain their position at the top of the section three table. Although Stoney were missing a few of their regular players, the stand in's all played well and perhaps have given the skipper some difficult choices regarding team selection in the coming fixtures. The Oxford Yeoman B easily had their best night of the season so far as they continued to gain ground on the sides above them after claiming a big 9-1 victory over the White House A. In fairness, it should have been a clean sweep 10-0 win if the Yeoman hadn't managed to tie leg three when it seem certained that they would win the leg. However, I'm certain that they will still be delighted with this result and theyy have really turned things around over recent weeks. The Yeoman's Dave Gardiner returned to the type of form which we know he is capable of as he had his best night of the season so far with 19 dolls to be the match top scorer. Another side who will be delighted with their result this week are Stonesfield SSC A as they finally managed to secure a match victory, which was their first one of the season. However, it certainly wasn't straight forward as it needed them to win the last leg decider in their away match at the Masons Arms B to finally get something in their matches won column. Both sides were missing key players (particulary the Masons) so personal praise from me goes to both sides for making sure that the fixture was completed as scheduled. (which is the way it should be - other teams please note this!!!) Stoney's Callum Brooks had a good night as he came in with his first double figure score, whilst teammate Jim Wagerfield had the honour of hitting the winning doll in that last leg decider. Finally, Eynsham SSC B claimed a 7-3 away win at Chadlington SSC to just about maintain their position at the top of the section two table. It was a fairly low scoring match, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't entertaining. There were some very tight legs and if a extra doll had been hit at certain times it could have made a massive difference to the end result. The best individual performance in the match belonged to Eynsham's John Ayres as he came in with a good 15 dolls to continue his recent good form. 
Thanks all

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

................................................

Competition Week: Singles - 11thJune

Please see below the full results from this week's Singles competition.

The underlined scores indicate which player set in the leg

The slightly smaller numbers in some of the 3rd legs indicate the three or one stick playoffs

SIXER

Steve Arthurs (Enstone SSC B)

REPORT

Obviously there is no way I'll be able to produce a full report on all the action from the Singles competition - that would just take ages! So I'll reward myself with a week off from my reporting role and recharge the batteries ready for the return of league action next week. I will just offer congratulations to the four venue winners, who have made it through to the Singles Semi-Finals, which will be played at Finals Night. Those matches will be:

Dan Reading (Winner of Venue One) 

Versus

George Williams (Winner of Venue Two)

Mark Revill (Winner of Venue Three)

Versus

Steve England (Winner of Venue Four)

See you all next week!

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League Round 7 - 4th June 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 21 Dolls - Neil Lyon (Three Pigeons) 

Section One: 19 Dolls - Lee Thompson (White Hart) 

Section Two: 17 Dolls - Andy Stratford (Eynsham SSC B) 

Section Three: 14 Dolls - Aaron Atkin (Stonesfield SSC A) 

SIXERS

Dan Reading (Eynsham SSC A)

Scott Humphries (White House B)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! Just the one late card again this week, which was:

Chadlington SSC v Red Lion

It was certainly testing conditions this week, which you could tell by the slight drop in scoring across nearly all the matches. There was only one entry in the Big Hitter table, which was the Three Pigeons Neil Lyon's 21 dolls. There were two maximums scored, which were by Eynsham SSC B's  Dan Reading and the White House B's Scott Humpries. Both throw a hard, flat stick, which was probably the way to go with all that wind around. Well done chaps.

Premier & Section One:

The Masons Arms A inflicted a first defeat of the season on the Three Pigeons after they won the last leg decider to claim a 6-4 home win. The Masons came flying out of the blocks and racked up 24 dolls in the first leg to go ahead in the match before the Pigeons hit back to take the next two legs to lead 4-2. The Masons chased and were in with a chance in both of legs before falling just short in their efforts. The home side then narrowly won the fourth leg to level the match at 4-4 and send it to a last leg shootout. The Masons posted a score of 16 dolls, which is one of those "you never know" totals. However, they had no need as the Pigeons could only managed 9 dolls between them to gift the leg and the match to the Masons. As mention at the top of the report, the Pigeon's Neil Lyon top scored with 21 dolls whilst the Mason's Charlie Buckingham had another consistant night with 18 dolls. With the Pigeons losing the focus turned to the White House B to see if they could take advantage and close the gap at the top of the table. They had a tricky looking away fixture against the Oxford Yeoman A, who are top of the Section One table. It certianly was a difficult evening for them as the Yeoman claimed a good 6-4 home victory. It was a very close match, with each leg only being a narrow win. There was a win for each side in the opening two legs before the Yeoman successfully chased down the White House's sets in the next two legs to move into an unassailable 6-2 lead. The White House did manage to claim the final leg, which was partly due to Scott Humphries' maximum and also to do with the Yeoman's chase falling short at the end when they were in a good position to be successfull. Charlbury SSC picked up their first win of the season by winning the last leg decider away at the White Hart. The match was up for grabs and poised at 3-3 with two legs left to play. Charlbury set in the fourth leg and managed to get to a total of 18 dolls, with Mark Fitzgerald's 5 dolls in the middle of the leg proving vital. The White Hart put in a great effort with their chase but fell just a single doll short when anchorman for the leg Nathaniel McCreadie scored 2 dolls when needing a 3 to tie. This saw Charlbury move 5-3 ahead and they made sure of the match victory by easily winning the final leg. I'm certain that this will be the first of many wins which the Charlbury side will acheive so don't be surprised if you see them climbing up the table. It was a good team effort by Charlbury, who kept their card blob free and all chipped in with dolls. As for the White Hart, Lee Thompson put in his best performance of the season by a long way with an impressive 19 dolls. Eynsham SSC A produced a magnificant comeback to hit back from 0-4 behind to win 6-4 in their fixture away at Yarnton BL. The home side started well and cruised to victory in the first two legs before their form desserted them, just at the time when the away side found theirs. Eynsham easily won the final three legs to claim the match win and cap off a fine comeback victory. Both sides anchormen had decent nights, with Yarnton's Mark Poulter hitting 16 dolls and Eynsham's Mark Revill coming in with 17 dolls. Dan Reading's maximum came in the final leg decider and couldn't have been better timed. It's always a great feeling when your lead off player goes off with a maximum, especially when chasing in a last leg decider! Excellent stuff Dan, well done. The final match in the top sections was the Enstone SSC derby, which ended in another comeback victory. It was the B side who came back from 2-4 down to win 6-4. The B side narrowly won the opening leg before the A side hit back to take the next two legs. They played particularly well in that third leg, hitting a total of 20 dolls which contained excellent shots of 4 dolls by both Pete Cox & Eve Blake. The B side managed to muster up their best leg of the match to take the fourth leg before they just about won a tense final leg to complete the comeback victory and gain a couple of points on the teams above them in the table.  

Section Two & Section Three:

The White House A picked up two good wins this week to move to the top of the Section Two table. They began the week by winning their rescheduled fixture against Eynsham SSC B 6-4, which was switched to play indorrs at Eynsham club to avoid the teams getting soaked in the rain (a very wise decision in my eyes!) The White House easily won the opening two legs before Eynsham mounted a comeback to win the next two legs and level things up at 4-4. Eynsham set a decent 13 dolls in this decider, but that didn't prove enough as the White House cruised past that total to claim the away win. A good week turned into an excellent week on Thursday after they produced their best performance of the season so far to win 9-1 in their home match against the Masons Arms B. It was an excellent team performance by the White House, with each of the six players involved all getting into double figure scores. This included Pat Grealis (15 dolls), Mike Bunyan (13 dolls) & Adie Cooper (10 dolls) all having their best weeks of the season. It nearly ended in a rare 10-0 result but for a tied last leg, so at least the Mason's avoided that. They actually played pretty well on the night and even hit 17 dolls in leg three (The White House hit 18!), but when your luck's not in there's not much you can do about it. The Oxford Yeoman B finally picked their first win of the season, and what a way to do it! They won their away match at the White Horse 10-0 to finally get the monkey off their back and get something in their win column. Even though it was the White Horse's worst performance of the season it was actually quite a close match. They certainly should have won the final leg in which they were chasing the Yeoman's set of just 9 dolls. The Horse started their chase well and were poised to claim the leg win after being on 8 dolls three players had thrown, but a trio of blobs then followed to leave them 1 doll short. The Yeoman's Dave Gardiner showed signs of a return to form with 14 dolls to be the match top scorer. The first Stoney Social derby was an entertaining affair, with bragging going to the B side this time. The A side took the opening leg following an excellent set of 16 dolls before the B side returned the favour in the second leg with their own set of 16 dolls to level things up. This was the start of the B side taking control of the match and they soon moved into an unassailbale 6-2 lead. However, that was the end of their good throwing (or perhaps the beer then kicked in?) as they could only come up with a set of 5 dolls in the final leg (which included their +2 handicap!). The A side easily chased this low set down to claim the leg and give the final result a more sensible look to it. The standout performances form the match were from the A sides Aaron Atkin (14 dolls) and the B sides Kim Patterson, who both had their best nights of the season so far. Finally, Eynsham SSC B hit back after their defeat earlier in the week to pick a good home win over Middle Barton SSC. They played well in the opening three legs to quickly establish a 6-0 lead. The fourth leg was an entertaining draw, with Barton's anchorman Nick Pickup hitting the 2 dolls required to tie and leg. Barton then secured some further points by winning the final leg to limit Eynsham's winning margain to 7-3. Andy Stratford was the match top scorer with a great 17 dolls, which was the highest individual score of the week in Section Two. 

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

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League Round 6 - 28th May 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 23 Dolls - Mark Poulter (Yarnton BL) 

Section One: 16 Dolls - Doug Mingham & Joe Langford (both Oxford Yeoman A) & Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 17 Dolls - Dave Behan (Oxford Yeoman B) 

Section Three: 16 Dolls - Sean Osgathorp (Red Lion) 

SIXERS

Steve England (Charlbury SSC)

Tom Finney (White House B)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! There were no late cards this week - great effort, thanks

Premier & Section One:

Although there were only three players who got their names onto the Big Hitter table and only two maximums socred, Round 6 produced some excellent scoring with multiple players recording their best scores of the season so far. There was a very entertaining match in Bladon with the White House B hosting in form Eynsham SSC A. It was the away side who started the best after their modest set of 15 dolls took the opening leg, before the White House hit back to move 4-2 ahead by winning the next two legs. The final two legs of the match both ended in ties and both saw each sides anchorman hit a 4 to secure the point. It was Eynsham's Mark Revill who hit his 4 in the fourth leg, with Tom Finney doing the business in the final leg to secure victory for his new side. Tom was making his debut in the Wychwood and certainly made an immediate impact by hitting 20 dolls, which included a maximum in the third leg. His teammates Terry Downes (15 dolls) & Scott Humphries (17 dolls) both had their best scores of the season so far in what was a good team performance by the home side. The Oxford Yeoman A bounced back from their hammering last week to pick up an important 6-4 home win over Section One rivals the Masons Arms A. The Yeoman started the match strongly and took the opening two legs after hitting scores of 20 & 21 dolls to move 4-0 ahead. The following two legs both ended in entertaining draws, which put the Yeoman into an unassailable 6-2 lead. The Masons managed to win the final leg to limit the damage, although they would have been hoping for a match win to close the gap at the top of the table. The match top scorer award was shared between Doug Mingham & Joe Langford (both Yeoman) and the Mason's Charlie Buckingham, who all came in with 16 dolls. The Three Pigeons kept up their unbeated start to the season after winning 8-2 in their home fixture against Enstone SSC A. It was another solid team effort by the Pigs, with all the team chipping in with good dolls throughout the match. Enstone tried their hardest and showed how dangerous a side they are by winning the fourth leg after an impressive set of 21 dolls. The Pigs Roger Goodall continued his recent good form with 20 dolls from his new lead off position, whilst teammate Mark Finch also impressed with 18 dolls.  Enstone SSC B produced a solid team performance to pick up a big 9-1 win in their home fixture against the White Hart. Although the final scoreline suggests that this was a one sided affair it was actually far from it. Enstone comfortably took the opening leg, but the next three legs were all extremely close. Enstone set in all of these three legs and although they posted decent scores, the White Hart had chances to win all of these legs. On another day they could have easily 6-2 ahead, but on this occasion they found themselves 7-3 down. There was clear evidence of this in the fourth leg, with the White Hart's final two players needing just 3 dolls between them to win the leg. However, both players failed to trouble the scoring meaning that they gifted Enstone the leg. Enstone wrapped things up by taking the final leg following a strong set of 21 dolls, which proved to be a winning score. All of the Enstone side chipped in with important dolls at crucial times which turned out to be the difference between the two sides. As for the White Hart, Neil Curtis continued his good form with a season's best score of 15 dolls, which was great to see. Keep it going Neil! The final match to report on in the top sections was the only away victory, which saw Yarnton BL pick up an 8-2 win at Charlbury SSC. The home side were missing multiple regular players so were always going to be up against it, and to make matters worse they came up against Yarnton's Mark Poulter, who was in fine form with the week's highest score of 23 dolls. Mark wasn't the only Yarnton player to take a liking to the Charlbury throw, with Pete 'Macca' McClosky having his best week of the season by far with 15 dolls, which included a great 5 in the third leg. The two sides shared the opening two legs before Yarnton took control of things and easily won the remaining three legs to claim the big match win. 

Section Two & Section Three:

The Oxford Yeoman B had two away matches this week, with their rearranged match against Stonesfield SSC B being played on Monday and then their scheduled fixture against the Red Lion taking place on Thursday. Unfortunately for them they suffered defeats in both of these matches to remain without a win in the season so far. In the first match, Stoney B quickly took control of things as they moved into an unassailable 6-0 lead. However, the Yeoman stuck at it and won the fourth leg, follwed by a tie in the final leg to limit the defeat to 7-3. The Yeoman's Dave Behan clearly enjoyed having a chuck on a Monday night as he hit a season's best score of 17 dolls to be the match top scorer. The Thursday fixture against the Red Lion was much tighter match which went down to the final leg. The points had been shared at 4-4 going into the final leg, with the match win up for grabs. It was the Yeoman who set in this final leg, but they could only post a score of 7 dolls which the Lion cruised past to claim a 6-4 home win. Dave Behan again performed well for the Yeoman with 15 dolls but it was the Lion's Sean Osgathorp who was the match top scorer with an impressive 16 dolls, which included a match winning 5 dolls in that final leg. Excellent stuff Sean, well done. Stonesfield SSC B made it two wins in the week after winning 6-4 at home against the White House A. Stoney easily won the first two legs before the White House hit back in leg three to reduce the match score to 4-2 in favour of the home side. However, Stoney put paid to the White House's comeback by easily winning leg four to move 6-2 ahead. They had the visitors on the ropes so should be disappointed with their efforts in the final leg when they could only set 6 dolls (which includes their +2 handicap), meaning that the White House claimed the leg to limit the damage. Stonesfield SSC A showed promising signs of a return to form despite going down to a 6-4 away defeat at Eynsham SSC B. Although Eynsham who won the opening three legs to move into an unassailable 6-0 lead, they were only narrow victories. Stoney kept on plugging away and ended up winning the remaining two legs to pick up some well deserved points. Three Stoney players had their best nights of the season so far, with Aaron Atkin & Michael Franklin (12 dolls) and Matt Bolter (11 dolls) all doing well on the night. With Section Two looking extremely tight every point could prove vital so I'm sure Eynsham will have been pleased with the end result. The White Horse picked up a good 7-3 away win over the Masons Arms B after winning the last leg decider. The Masons were missing a number of their regular players so knew it would be a tough night. However, the White Horse could only field five players so they were also up against things. The match was poised at 3-3 after three legs, with both teams hoping for a strong end to the match. It was the away side that performed the best in these final two legs to secure the good away win. Special praise in the match must go to the White Horse's Douglas Rudlin, who at the tender age of 81yrs old and playing in his debut season whipped off a 5 in the opening leg (his previous best score was a 2). Excellent chucking Douglas, very well done. In the final match to report on, Chadlington SSC continued their promising start to the season with an impressive 8-2 home victory against Middle Barton SSC. Chad quickly established a 6-0 lead in the match before the Barton side won leg four to get some points on the board. However, they were their only points as the home side went on to win the final leg to secure the big home win. It was a good performance by all of the Chad side, who all scored well on the night. Their top scorer was James Cleevely, who had a season's best score of 10 dolls. The match top scorer was from the Barton side, with Wayne Hawtin continuing his good recent form with 13 dolls.

That's the lot for this week (I'm exhausted after that lot!)  

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

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League Round 4 - 14th May

STONESFIELD SSC B v OXFORD YEOMAN B being played on Tues 26th May

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 22 Dolls - Roger Goodall (Three Pigeons) & Barry Townsend (White House B) 

Section One: 18 Dolls - Tom Lay (Oxford Yeoman A) & Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 19 Dolls - John Ayres (Eynsham SSC B) 

Section Three: 15 Dolls - Wayne Hawtin (Middle Barton SSC)

SIXERS

Mark Finch (Three Pigeons)

Paul Edwards (Yarnton BL)

Barry Townsend (White House B)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! This week's late card so NOT making the report is:

Middle Barton SSC v Stonesfield SSC A

Premier & Section One:

The White House B flexed their muscles this week as they secured the top sections first 10-0 scoreline of the season after brushing aside Charlbury SSC. It looks like they are starting to get used to their new throw as they racked up a huge 103 dolls on the night, which included 22 dolls by Barry Townsend (including his first maximum of the season) and 20 dolls from skipper Phil Austin. It was a fantastic team performance by the White House, with the standout being the third leg in which they set a mighty score of 26 dolls - that would take some chasing down! As for Charlbury, well they actually played pretty well despite what the scoreline suggests. The scores they hit, particularly in the first three legs would normally have given them a chance of winning the legs, it's just they came up against an inspired home team. The Three Pigeons continue to be the form team in the top sections and are the only premier side not to suffer a defeat so far. The hold a narrow lead at the top of the table after winning 7-3 in their home fixture against Yarnton BL. It was another close match, with Yarnton being a little unlucky not to come away with more points than they did. The Pigeons' Roger Goodall had his best night of the season so far with 22 dolls to be the match top scorer. There were also two maximums hit on the night, with the Pigeons Mark Finch & Yarnton's Paul Edwards both getting their names onto the Six Hitters table. Good work chaps. Eynsham SSC B picked up their first victory of the season by winning 6-4 away at an underperforming Enstone SSC B. It was a really solid team performance by the Eynsham side, with all their players chipping in with important dolls at crucial times. Lead off man Dan Reading was unlucky not to hit more than the 18 dolls which he ended with, whilst anchorman Mark Revill had a boring night with 20 dolls - boring in the sense that he hit a 4 in every leg! I wish I was that boring!! As for Enstone, things don't quite seem to clicking at the moment and it was only Steve McAteer who would have been content with his performance after hitting 18 dolls. The Masons Arms A hosted Enstone SSC A, with both sides looking to hit back following on from heavy defeats in the last round of fixtures. It was the Masons who picked up an 8-2 win, although it was a much closer match than the scoreline suggest. Two out of the first three legs ended in ties, meaning that the Masonsa held a narrow 4-2 lead with two legs to play. They found some form in the fourth leg to wrap up the match and then did just enough in the final leg to secure the big win. The Mason's Charlie Buckingham had another good night with 18 dolls, and he was backed up well by Dean Harris, who came in with a solid 16 dolls. Finally, the rearranged match between the Oxford Yeoman A & the White Hart ended in a comprehensive 8-2 home win. The Yeoman lads remain unbeaten so far this season and had anthor good night in this fixture. They won the opening leg after setting an impresive 20 dolls before the White Hart hit back to win the second leg after they posted a score of 19 dolls. That was as good as things got for the White Hart as the Yeoman took control of the remaining legs to claim another match win. The Yeoman's Tom Lay had his best night of the season so far by a long way after coming in with an impressive 18 dolls.  

Section Two & Section Three:

The only remaining unbeaten record in the lower sections fell this week as an understrength Masons Arms B lost in their away fixture at the Red Lion. Although the Masons were missing a number of their regular players they put up a good fight in the match, taking it to a last leg decider. However, it was the Red Lion who narrowly won this final leg to claim a 6-4 victory. Special praise must be given to the Mason's side for making sure that they fulfilled this fixture instead of postponing it due the unavailability of their regular players - this is exactly what should happen and is something that other sides should use as a good example for the future. Eynsham SSC B picked up a good 7-3 home win over the White Horse, which was mainly due to an outstanding performance by their captain John Ayres. Throwing from his usual anchormans position he racked up a mighty 19 dolls on the night, which included hitting a 4 to tie in the final leg. The White Horse actually won the opening leg of the match before Eynsham took control of things by winning the next three legs. With the drawn final leg it gave the result a fair look about it, with both sides probably quite happy with how things ended. There was an intriguing match between hosts Chadlington SSC & visitors the White House A, which went down to a last leg decider. Although it wasn't the greatest match in terms of the scoring, there was certainly lots of tension as each leg could have gone either way. Within the first four legs, both sides managed to win one leg each, with the other two legs ending in draws. This set the score at 4-4 going into the final leg. The White House set in this final leg but could only put a score of 6 dolls on the board. Chad's chase was kept ticking along by everyone scoring, putting them on 6 dolls from four throwers. Penultimate thrower Drew Duncan was left with the task of hitting the winning doll, which he 'kindly' declined this opportunity and came back with a blob, meaning that it was left to Ron Hinchliffe hit hit the winner and secure the 6-4 match win.  

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

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League Round 5 - 21st May 

TOP SCORERS

Premier: 24 Dolls - Steve England (Charlbury SSC) & Barry Townsend (White House B) 

Section One: 19 Dolls - Charlie Buckingham (Masons Arms A) 

Section Two: 14 Dolls - Ray Barson (Oxford Yeoman B) 

Section Three: 15 Dolls - James Lenhart (Stonesfield SSC B) 

SIXERS

Steve England x 2 (Charlbury SSC)

Mark Poulter (Yarnton BL)

Barry Townsend (White House B)

REPORT

The weekly report will be posted on Tuesday evenings (fingers crossed!)

Please note, if your match isn't mentioned in the report then it means the hard copy of the card was late getting to me.

No point moaning at me over this, speak to who took the card away! This week's late cards so NOT making the report are:

Enstone SSC A v Oxford Yeoman A (which is a shame considering the result!)

Chadlington SSC v Stonesfield SSC A

Premier & Section One:

There were some very interesting results this week, with points being 'dropped' all over the place. Eynsham SSC A backed up their impressive win from last week by winning again this week, this time 7-3 at home against Charlbury SSC. It was Eynsham's best performance of the season so far as they racked up 98 dolls on the night (including their handicap), with their lowest scoring leg being 18 dolls. It was Charlbury who took the opening leg after posting a score of 21 dolls, but Eynsham then took control of things by winning the following three legs to move into an unassailable 6-2 lead. The match finished on a high note with the final leg ending with a high class 19-19 draw, meaning that Eynsham ended with the good match win. There was some great individual scoring from both sides, with Eynsham's Dan Reading (20 dolls) leading the way for the home side. However, it was Charlbury's Steve England who was the match top scorer after hitting an impressive 24 dolls, which included two maximums. Premier leaders the Three Pigeons were made to work hard in their away match against the White Hart. After such a strong start to the season, many people would have thought that the Pigeons would come away with a big win. This looked to be on the cards as they eased into a 4-0 lead after easily winning the opening two legs. They should have then won the third leg, but against all odds they somehow managed to lose it to let the White Hart back into the match. Chasing just 14 dolls, they were looking comfortable when needing just 6 dolls from their final three players. However a series of below par scores resulted in them losing the leg after finishing on 13 dolls. This surprise seemed to give the White Hart some extra motivation as they then successfully chased down the Pigeons set of 16 dolls to level the match at 4-4. The White Hart ran out of steam in the final leg, setting only 9 dolls which was never going to be enough, meaning that the Pigeons took the match 6-4. The Pigeon's Roger Goodall moved to the top of the individual dolls scored table after a great 21 dolls, which I've been reliably informed could have been more if he hadn't kept missing his fifth stick (also known within some circles as the diva stick!). With the Pigeons dropping some points, all eyes were on the the White House B & Enstone SSC B to see if they could close the gap at the top of the table. However, both sides failed to take advantage of this opportunity and also dropped points. The White House were defeated 6-4 away at the Masons Arms A in a high quality match. The Masons came flying out of the traps to move 4-0 ahead after hitting 21 dolls in the opening leg and then 22 dolls in the second leg. The White House hit back in the third leg to get a leg on the board after setting 22 dolls, and then narrowly won the fourth leg by just a single doll to level the match at 4-4. The match was deserving of a last leg decider to see who would take the spoils. The Masons set 18 dolls in this last leg, which proved to be enough as the White House's chase ended on 16 dolls. The Mason's Charlie Buckingham had another good night with 19 dolls, but special mention should go to Ray Grant, who's 4 in the final leg massively helping his side gain the match victory. The match top scorer award belonged to the White House's Barry Townsend as he racked up an impressive 24 dolls, which included his second maximum in successive weeks. With the above results all going the way of Enstone SSC B, they failed to gain any ground at the top of the table after being held to a 5-5 draw away at Yarnton BL. Enstone were never ahead in the match and had to rely on winning the final leg to secure the draw. Yarnton produced a solid team performance, with all their players chipping in with improtant dolls at crucial times. There was clear evidence of this in the third leg when Yarnton's anchorman Mark Poulter produced a throw of outstanding quality to hit the 6 required to tie the leg. Mark finished on 20 dolls for the night, meaning that he joined the list of big hitters for the season so far. Overall, the standard of throwing this week was excellent. If you need any evidence on how strong our league is, just take a quick look at the names at the top of the All Players Dolls Scored table, which is full of big names who are regulalry hitting big scores. I have a feeling that the Top Doll trophy is going to be a battle royal this year!

Section Two & Section Three:

There were some equally interesting results from the lower section matches, with a couple of big wins and a score draw. The Oxford Yeoman B produced a spirited performance to pick up a draw in their home fixture against the Masons Arms B. This result was made more impressive due to the Yeoman only being able to field five players. They took the opening leg with ease before the Masons took control of things by winning the second & third legs. The fourth leg was a very cagey affair, which against all odds ended in a tie. The Yeoman put a score of 11 dolls on the board, which the Masons looked like beating with ease afteer they reached 10 dolls with two players yet to throw. However, the final two throwers could only manage a single doll between them which sent to match into a last leg decider. The Masons set in this final leg but could only post a score of 9 dolls, which the Yeoman successfully chased down to take the leg and secure a hard fought 5-5 draw. It was a good team effort by the Yeoman side, with Ray Barson top scoring in the match with 14 dolls. The latest of the multiple Stonesfield derbies taking place this season saw the White Horse host rivals Stonesfield SSC B. Although the White Horse have made a promising start in their debut season in our league they were unable to prevent Stoney B from picking up a big 9-1 win. It was a fairly one sided match, with Stoney B comfortably winning four of the legs. They scored well throughout with all players chipping in with good dolls. The standout performance came from Stoney's lead off thrower James Lenhart, who had his best night of the season so far with a great 15 dolls. If my records are correct then this was his highest ever weekly score, which was backed up by a message I received from the venue stating "our worst player last year has turned into the best!" I obviously can't disclose who my source was for this info, but it was great to get a little bit of feedback on the match. There another big victory in the week's other match to report on, with Middle Barton SSC picking up an impressive 9-1 home win over Section Three rivals the Red Lion. This was also a faily one sided affair, with the Barton side comfortably winning four out of the five legs played. The one leg of particular interest was the third leg in which Barton's anchorman Wayne Hawtin knocked off the four dolls required to tie the leg. Very good shooting Wayne! This result has moved the Barton side to the top of the section, although they will be looking over their shoulders as the chasing pack is only a few points behind.

Remember, the report will be published every Tuesday evening so you know what you need to do to get into it! More importantly, none of the stats get updated with out the card being delivered so please get them to me asap.

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Competition Week: Fours - 7th May

Please see below the full results from this week's Fours competition.

The * indicates which team set in the leg

The slightly smaller numbers in some of the 3rd legs indicate the three or one stick playoffs