The bowls Oxfordshire ladies county finals will be held at Oxofrd City & County on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th August.

 

Saturday 27th August

Report 9:30am, Start 10am

 

Triples: Caroline Campion (Banbury Central) v Jeanette Berry (Oxofrd City & County)

 

Under 25 Singles: Jazzmin Alder (West Witney) v Katie Glenn (Watlington)

 

UNDER 25 SINGLES:  Jazzmin Alder    v        Katie Glenn 

 

Start 2pm (approx)

 

Fours: Katherine Hawes (Oxford City & County) v Caroline Campion (Banbury Central)

 

Sunday 28th July

Report 9:30am, Start 10am

 

4 Wood Singles: Caroline Campion (Banbury Central) v Carole Galletly (Banbury Central)

 

2 Wood Singles: Katherine Hawes (Oxford City & County) v Carole Galletly (Banbury Central)

 

Unbadged Pairs: Joy Williams/Veta Bennett (Kidlington) v Margie Ferguson/Wendy Sandy (Carterton)

 

Start 2pm (approx)

 

Pairs: Katherine Hawes (Oxford City & County) v Caroline Campion (Banbury Central)

 

Donna Knight and Katherine Hawes (Oxford City & County) and Carole Galletly and Caroline Campion (Banbury Central) have qualified for the national ladies pairs held at Leamington Spa in August.

 

Knight and Hawes faced their clubmates Jacky Gray and Carol Penson in the quarter final by 2 shots before going on to defeat Jan Gore and Caroline Bloomfield (Witney Town) by 10 in the semi final to qualify.

 

Galletly and Campion beat fellow clubmates Eloise Jones and Mo Cox on an extra end the quarter final before booking their place in the finals by beating Katie Glenn and Emma Gilkes (Watlington) by 6 in the semi final.

 

Results:

 

Qtr Final:

K Hawes 18, C Penson 16

C Bloomfield 19, B Havard (Banbury Central) 15

C Campion 21, M Cox 20

E Gilkes 23, V Bindon (Oxford City & County) 14

 

Semi Final:

K Hawes 23, C Bloomfield 13

C Campion 26, E Gilkes 20

 

Claire Soden (Watlington) and Jazz Alder (West Witney) have qualified for Leamington in the U25 pairs held at Leamington Spa in August 2019.

 

The pair defeated Emma Dixon and Zoe Pratley by 3 shots in the final which was held at Thame Bowls Club on Saturday.

 

Oxfordshire played Kent in the southern regional final of the Middleton Cup, looking for a place in the semi-finals at Leamington. After discussions with Kent a neutral green of Egham BC was agreed and a start time of 11 am.

 

With the same 24 players as in all 3 qualifying matches and a convincing win against Kent in the Home Counties league seven days earlier Oxfordshire’s hopes were high but they were aware of the strength of their opponents.

 

After 5 ends Oxfordshire trailed by 27 shots with 2 of the rinks unable to make any showing on the score card. Kent maintained their led and after 15 ends their lead was still 28 shots. With ends running out Oxfordshire conceded defeat with 5 ends unplayed. David Leighfield led his rink to the only win of the day. The rinks of Ray Gaskins and Chris Gilkes both finished without completing the 21st end and both shared the spoils.

 

A 50 game badge was awarded to Shiplake’s Jim Bland.

 

Oxfordshire 98, Kent 128

 

Rink scores

 

Jim Bland, Lee Young, Paul Comley, Ray Gaskins drew 15-15.

Joe Justin, Paul Skidmore, Kevin Alder, Baden Sparkes lost 10-25

Joe Abercrombie, Keith Holloway, Mark Sykes, A J Docherty lost 12-24                       

Ade Kemish, Orren Bennett, Will Campion, David Leighfield won 25-18 

Bradley Squires, Andy McIntyre, Shane Cooper, Paul Sharman lost 15-21

Sam Watts, James Gaskins, Remy Clanfield, Chris Gilkes drew 21-21.

 

Carterton Bowls Club was the venue for this year’s men’s semi-finals.

 

The morning see three games played, the first of which was the first singles game of the day. This was between Banbury Central’s Lee Young and Headington’s Nick Rae-Welsh. A very good start from both the players see the score at a close 9-7 in Lee’s favour after 11 ends before Nick played the perfect 12th end, picking up 4. This then aided him in stretching his lead to 17-12 over the following 6 ends. The next 4 ends see only single shots being scored, with two apiece which left it at 19-14 after 22 ends. Nick then picked up the 2 shots he required on the 23rd end to book his place in the final and a place at Leamington next month, 21-14 victor.

 

The next game was an all Headington bout between Jon Philpott, Ray Gaskins, Nathan Lewis and Howard Watts against Sam Watts, Ian Henwood, Jason King and Mark Charlett. Mark’s rink got off to a solid start, being 14-1 up after only 6 ends. 5 shots over the following 2 ends see Howard’s men reduce the deficit to only 8 shots by 8 ends. The next three ends see 3 shots scored to both teams leaving the score at 17-9 after 11. Mark’s rink then won the next 5 ends which gave them the win, 24-9 winners and booking their place at Leamington.

 

The final game of the morning was between West Witney’s Bradley Squires, Harvey Alder, David Leighfield and Kevin Alder against a Banbury Borough rink consisting of Keith Holloway, Alan Prew, Mark Sykes and A.J. Docherty. A very strong start from the Borough rink see them 13-3 up after 8 ends. Kevin’s rink then won the next 2 ends to take the score to 13-6 before 5 shots picked up from AJ’s men see their lead increase once more. 6 shots to Borough to only 4 from Witney see the Borough rink take their place in next Sunday’s final and the last spot at Leamington up for grabs in the morning, final score 24-10.  

 

After an excellent lunch and a timely performance from the RAF’s Red Arrows, the afternoon session got underway. Again, three games were played in this session.

 

The first game was the triples between Headington’s Sam Watts, Ray Gaskins and Nick Rae-Welsh against Banbury Central’s Alan Carter, Lee young and Will Campion. The first end see Nick play a fantastic running bowl to make 7 shots. After 5 ends it was 12-4 in Headington’s favour. 5 shots over the next three ends for the Headington trio see their lead extend to 17-4. The next 5 ends see 6 shots to 3 shots in Headington’s favour, once again which see the board at 23-7. A double on their last end see the Headington triple book the first spot of the afternoon to next week’s final. 

 

The next game was a pairs battle between West Witney’s Nigel Siford and Paul Skidmore against a Watlington pairing of Will Soden and Chris Gilkes. A good start from the Witney pair see their lead at 14-5 after 8 ends. The following 5 ends see the Watlington duo reduce the deficit and bring themselves right back into the game, only 2 shots off the pace at 15-13. 5 shots to each pair over the next 4 ends see the gap of 2 shots remain, 20-18 at 17. The next 3 ends see 3 singles scored leaving the Watlington pair to require 3 shots to force an extra end. Will set the head up well for Chris to roll the jack into a packet of his bowls but unfortunately for them he narrowly missed it with his last bowl, giving Nigel and Paul the game, 23-19. A big congratulations for Nigel Siford and Paul Skidmore for qualifying for the first time in their bowling careers to the National Finals at Leamington. 

 

The third game of the afternoon was another West Witney pairing, this time Andy McIntyre and David Leighfield against Headington’s Ian Henwood and Mark Charlett. A good start from both pairs see the score at 11-8 in Witney’s favour at 8 ends. The next 6 ends see Andy and David increase their lead to 17-11 before 3 good ends from Ian and Mark see them scoring 6 shots to make the board level at 17 ends, 17-17. 3 shots to 1 in Witney’s favour left Ian and Mark requiring 2 for an extra end, however they were unsuccessful and could only pick up a single shot, this see the Witney boys through 20-19 winners. Next Sunday will see a West Witney pairs final as they face Nigel and Paul.

 

After a short break the evening sessions began, this time two games were played.

 

The second singles game of the day see Banbury Central’s Will Campion up against Banbury Borough’s Keith Holloway. After 8 ends the score was level at 4 shots apiece. Will then won the next 4 ends scoring 8 shots to take the lead, 12-4. Keith then fought back over the next 5 ends, scoring 4 shots to Will’s 1. 8 shots then followed for Keith which see him take the lead 16-14 after 21 ends. Will then reclaimed the lead scoring 5 shots over the following 2 ends, score sitting at 19-16. The next 5 ends see Keith pick up 5 single shots which gave him the win, 21-19 victor in a fantastic battle right the way through. 

 

The last game of the day was the second triples match between West Witney’s Andy McIntyre, David Leighfield and Kevin Alder against Burford Town’s Alan Tuckwell, Roger Hopkins and Bob Parker. Kevin’s trio started impressively, scoring 13 shots to Burford’s 2 after 6 ends. The next 4 ends see the Witney triple increase their lead by picking up singles to go 17-2 up. Burford then scored a single on the 11th end to take the score to 17-3. The Witney triple then scored 7 shots over the following 3 ends to secure their victory, 24-3 winners.

 

That concluded the day and a big thank you to all of the spectators, Carterton Bowls Club and the markers / umpires for the day, Mick Morris and Paul Demczak. The County Finals day is at Banbury borough Bowling Club on Sunday 21st July. 

 

Bowls Oxfordshire Ladies played Surrey at Witney Town on Tuesday 16th July 2019.  A win to Surrey by 18 shots, 108; BOL 90 played over 18 ends due to another hot, sunny day.  

 

Sandra Grindrod, Pam Willoughby, Dawn Lynch, Brenda Havard 12, Surrey 19

Carole Walker, Barbara Singh, Hazel Oliver, Jeanette Berry 14, Surrey 11

Margaret Stacey, Mavis Hale, Pam Faulkner, Carol Penson 11, Surrey 23

Margaret Morris, Jenny Banton, Sylvia Blackmore, Carole Thornhill 21, Surrey 20

Anne Hale, Jane Williams, Maureen Cox, Wendy Sandy 15, Surrey 20

Jackie Stafford, Lyn Cooper, Pam Shepherd, Caroline Bloomfield 17, Surrey 15

 

On Sunday 23rd June, Oxfordshire under 25s travelled to Malden Manor to play Surrey in the Junior Home Counties league. Despite a close battle throughout the game, Surrey were victorious by a score of 8-2, and by 11 shots. 

 

Jamie Wilkinson’s rink of Luke Gilbert, Sam Kibblewhite and Brandon King were always up against it playing Junior International skip Charlie Souter. The Oxon boys applied themselves well but Charlie continued to play big running bowls to great effect, and Jamie fell to a 12-26 defeat.

 

Captain Orren Bennett’s rink of Joe Justin, debutant Brandon Appleton, and Ben Dickson started well and led throughout the game. Unfortunately, Surrey skip Eoghan Harding’s rink never let Orren get away, and with a count of 4 on the final end, Surrey took the rink 18-19.

 

Harvey Alder came into the game confident after winning their rink well in the previous game and his rink of Jonathan Dadson, Jack Kendall and Joe Glenn continued in the same vein. They led from start to finish, and while they did drop a few shots late on while chasing the overall score, they still recorded a 22-18 win. 

 

A good performance from the boys despite the result. Big thanks to Brandon Appleton of Chadlington for stepping in at short notice for his debut and he gave an excellent account of himself. Lots of positives going forward to the final JHCL game vs Kent.  

 

A shorter than normal report this week as the weekend was taken up by playing, and watching, too much sport!

 

Division 1 saw the closest match of the week, with the best, or worst, finish you could hope for depending on who you support. Carterton travelled to Banbury Central and lost on two early finishing rinks. Last end on the other two saw Tim Jupp’s rink a shot behind but Paul Sharman’s lead by ten shots; that meant they needed Tim to win and a swing of six shots over the two rinks for the match points. Tim’s men not only obliged but took a five leaving Paul needing a single shot! As Will Campion played his last bowl, Central were losing by one on the end and the match and he needed to rest on the shot bowl to win the end. Agonisingly, for Central, he missed by half a bowl and Carterton snatched points that they did not expect to get.

 

Witney Mills continue to fight for their lives, this week taking on Headington and coming away with two winning rinks, as good a result as anyone this year. All four rinks were one sided though Mark Charlett’s rink scored six shots over the last two end’s it was still not enough to catch Alan Wiggins’ men.

 

Comfortably wins on two rinks and ties on the other two meant that Watlington defeated West Witney easily. Chris Gilkes’ rink took the last three ends in their game to snatch their draw.

 

Division 2 leaders City and County went down to their first defeat of the season at Headington. Two exciting finishes in the match as Steve Gould’s rink, who were never behind until they dropped a three on end fifteen, won the last two ends but just failed to catch Omar Sharif, while Russel Edwards snatched the last end to tie his game. Alan Ley’s twelve shot win should have given the match to City and County, but Colin Whitehead’s rink won their game by nineteen shots!

 

South Oxford took full advantage of Adderbury’s bye week to move clear into second place with a big win at home to struggling Chipping Norton, while Kidlington’s defeat of Charlbury moved themselves further away from the relegation zone whilst putting almost the final nail into the visitor’s relegation coffin!

 

Bicester continue their move out of Division 3 with a good win at home to Bloxham. Highlight was the tie between Kevin Taylor and Alan Miles’ rink where the lead changed hand four times before Kevin scored the two his rink required to grab a hard earned draw.

 

Thame benefitted both from Banbury Central’s bye week and a weak Shiplake team with their comfortable win moving them into second place. Only the ever reliable Jim Bland’s rink was able to provide some comfort for the visitors.

 

A massive win for Ken William’s rink guaranteed match points for Hanborough as they hosted struggling Chadlington. In fact, their opponents failed to win a single end in the second half of the match, a feat almost matched by Phil Radbone for Chadlington but his opponents did win one end!

 

Woodstock’s lead at the top of Division 4 was reduced, despite their win at City and County, with West Oxford continuing their progress, winning at home to struggling Blackbird Leys.  Only John Parker’s rink come close to losing but their six shot lead after thirteen ends proved enough despite Paul Smith’s fight back.

 

Woodstock themselves have Brian Clark’s rink to thank for their win as their fifteen shot winning margin just swung the game to the away side.

 

South Oxford and Burford drew their match only because James Clack’s rink, for South, took eight shots on the final two ends to come from six down to win! This proved just enough to offset the shots lost by South as they could only field fifteen men and therefore lost shots on the three men rink they played!