Match Report:
BO Men v Hampshire (friendly), at Basing B C on Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Oxfordshire travelled to Basing Bowls Club to face a Hampshire side we usually struggle against. But today was different. It started well with the President winning the spider and things got better.
On rink 1 Keith Dunsby, Kenny Cooper, Chris Beard and Craig Redmond raced into a 11-0 lead before a couple of dropped 4's pegged them back and they found themselves 1 down going into the last end. Kenny took things into his own hands putting the jack in the ditch and the 1 shot pick up meant a 16-16 draw.
On rink 2 Martin Cooper, Martin Oliver, Brian Eastgate and the ever dependable Gordon Hooker were always slightly better than their opposition; winning 21-15.
Next door, Roger Oliver, President Alan Scholan, Mick Morris and John Townley were actually losing after 11 ends but a 5 on the 12th helped them on their way to a 21-15 win. Roy Radband, Geoff Smith, Tony Lynch and Alex Fleming were 8-4 down after 5 ends but 13 shots on the next 5 ends changed the game, the Hampshire players had no answer to excellent bowling from Geoff and Tony and the final score a 23-14 win could have been more, but it was enough to win the pens.
The performance of the day was on rink 5 where Geoff Roynon, Julian Horsey, Bob Wright and Keith Buckle faced an inspired home skip. Every time I looked Keith would be bowling a great wood, only for the Hampshire skip to bowl a better wood. He might have been good but not good enough, Oxfordshire were 18-15 down with 2 ends to play but a 4 and a 3 gave Keith a well deserved 22-18 win, well done lads.
Nick Baldwin, Mickey Conrad-Banks, Brian Clarke and Brian Bloomfield started badly and got worse, 19-2 down after 13 ends. It was difficult to decide which Brian looked more depressed. But out of nowhere they won the last 5 ends, picking up 11 shots to only lose 19-13.
The final score was Hampshire 97 Oxfordshire 116, well done to everyone a really good performance.
Basing Bowls Club put on an excellent 3 course meal and President Alan Scholan presented Brian Eastgate with his colts badge. Alex
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BO Men Section v BO Women's Section, at West Witney B C on 7 July 2026
West Witney hosted the Annual Men v Ladies match on a sweltering afternoon.
On rink one Geoff Roynon, Mickey Conrad-Banks, Brian Clarke and Paul Robbins lost to Jeanette Berrys rink 13-9. As always Margaret Morris as the lead, was far too good for the men.
There was a welcome break after 10 ends for an ice cream. It certainly worked wonders for the men on rink two, Sid Andrews, Bob Wright, Mick Morris and Tim Jupp picked up 21 shots against 1 on the last 8 ends to win the pens with a convincing 30-7 win. It was nice to see Tim Jupp in the team. On rink three it was David Byers, John Standen, President Alan Scholan playing against his Vice President Julia Lambert and John Hurren playing against Caroline Bloomfield, the men won 24-18.
Mike Jones, Richard Morris, Chris Beard and Craig Redmond were always behind Wendy Cross's rink losing 18-11.
Roger Oliver, Tony Lynch, Gary Panons and Gordon Hooker were playing against skip Jennie Lynch. Tony might have to make his own supper tonight as the men won 23-14. The final rink was Kenny Cooper, John Jarvis, Martin Oliver and Brian Bloomfield; they had a good 28-8 win.
The final score was the Men 125, the Ladies 78, job done. All credit must go to everyone who played today in the heat, well done. Thanks to West Witney for hosting the match, they did a really good job and thankfully put on a nice salad, not a hot meal. The dissert was really good too. Alex
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Oxfordshire v Gloucestershire (Middleton Cup) at Cheltenham BC on 4 July 2026
After 2 disappointing results Oxfordshire travelled to Cheltenham to face a confident Gloucestershire side who really thought they would pick up a lot of points.
It was a sad day in some respects, as it was Nick Rae-Welsh's last game for the County after 23 years. Nick has been one of Oxfordshire's most consistent bowlers over the years, he has also been a pleasure to deal with and will be badly missed. He is moving to the South of Scotland, I must admit to being jealous.
Onto the game, Pete Sutton, Joe Abbercrombie, Gary May and Howard Watts had read the Gloucestershire script losing 23-7 against a strong rink. Gethin Osling and Ray Gaskins both played really well together and along with Nick Rae-Welsh and Shane Cooper ran out 19-9 winners.
Keith Holloway, Joe Justin, Neil Hancock and Craig Morphet played really well for 12 ends to go 15-3 up, but the wheels fell off and they dropped 12 shots including a 5 on the last 6 ends to draw 13-13. Lee Young, Phil Gladden, Mark Sykes and A J Docherty all played well and deserved their 20-11 win.
Mick Nash, David Leighfield, Nathan Lewis and Mark Charlett lost 22-12, a harsh result in my opinion considering how well the 2 back end bowlers played for Oxfordshire.
In the prematch team talk, match secretary Alex Fleming suggested we might like to spoil the Gloucestershire party. Well Remy Clanfield, Mark Vaughan, Ian Henwood and Paul Sharman took his words to heart and produced one of the best performances seen from an Oxfordshire rink for many a year, hammering a decent Gloucestershire rink 24-4, job done.
The end result was Oxfordshire 97 (17 points) Gloucestershire 84 (5). It just shows that if we turn up, we can do it.
This is our last competive game of the season and thanks must go to Howard as captain for his hard work, along with Greg Moon, Chris Weller and Brian Bloomfield. It was also nice to see County President Alan Scholan and mens Chairman John Henwood at the matches.
Alex
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Oxfordshire v Bucks (HCL) at South Oxford B C on Sat, 27 June 2026
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Men’s section friendly v Surrey BA at Windlesham B C on 23 June 2026
We travelled to Windlesham Bowls Club in Surry on an extremely hot day on 23 June and after a very close game, on a very poor green, we emerged as winners by a single shot: 81-80. The host club were charming and produced a good meal afterwards at a near-by Theatre. Thankfully this facility had a bar, as we could not purchase alcohol from the club (no license !) but all worked well.
We won only two of the 5 rinks, but these were good wins with Mike Jones, Chris Beard, Tony Lynch & Keith Buckle achieving a 20-12 victory on rink5. They won 13 of the 18 ends proving they managed the challenging green better than our opponents. Our highest winning rink consisted of Bernie May, Mike Andrew, Mike Morris & Brian Bloomfield who managed 25 – 13 over 13 winning ends also.
Mr Late as usual (Andy Eastgate) had a tight game which could have gone either way, but losing 5 on the last 3 ends assured a 16-18 win to the Surrey side. The other two rinks failed to handle the many lumps and bumps in the green and although the surrey opponents were not home club players, they played better than we did.
A lovely Cottage pie on a blistering hot day was produced after the match and the short break at the half way stage was welcome, which included ice creams.
A minutes silence was observed before the game in remembrance of Ann Fleming, who passed away recently.
John .
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Oxfordshire v Warwickshire - Middleton Cup on 20 June at Banbury Chestnuts B C
Oxfordshire hosted Warwickshire in the 3rd Middleton cup match at Banbury Chestnuts, after last week's disappointing loss to Worcestershire, Captain Howard Watts was looking for his team to bounce back. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.
On rink 1 Ian Henwood, Mark Vaughan, Remy Clanfield and Paul Sharman dropped 12 shots on the last 5 ends to lose 10-24. Mick Nash, Nathan Lewis, Jason King and Mark Charlett were 8 down after 11 ends, but picked up 10 shots on the next 4 to go into the last end 1 up, but frustratingly dropped a 1 to draw 16-16.
Gething Osling, Ray Gaskins, Shane Cooper and Nick Rae-Welsh had a close first half but 10 dropped shots in 4 ends meant a 12-17 loss. Lee Young, Phil Gladden, Mark Sykes and AJ Docherty were 8-8 after 10 ends but faded away to lose 11-18.
Pete Sutton, Gary May, Kevin Alder and Howard Watts were 16-16 after 16 ends but 2 dropped 1's on the last 2 ends meant a 16-18 loss. On rink 6 Keith Holloway, Joe Justin, Neil Hancock and Craig Morphet were 1 down after 15 ends but won the last 3 to win 14-11, Oxfordshires only winning rink.
The final score was Oxfordshire 79 (3 points) Warwickshire 104 (19 points). Alex
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Mens section v Herefordshire (Friendly) at Charlbury BC on 16 June, 2026
Oxfordshire men hosted Herefordshire at Charlbury bowls club in one of the most enjoyable days of the season. The game proved how important reserves are. With one player not turning up Simon Hastings stepped in as first reserve. Captain of the day Alex Fleming unfortunately could not carry on after 4 ends and was replaced by Kenny Cooper.
Both sides had been hit by the mixed over 60's cup being on the same day. Herefordshire brought in some of their Middleton cup players who had played against us a couple of weeks ago, fortunately they got the same result.
Roger Oliver, Mickey Conrad-Banks, Gary Panons and Paul Robbins set the tone with an impressive 24-6 win and collected the pens. Mike Jones, Keith Dunsby, Martin Oliver and Keith Buckle despite dropping a 5 all played well against a very strong rink and won 22-18.
Andrew Eastgate, Kenny Cooper, Bob Wright and Brian Clarke had a collective bad day at the office, but never gave up against strong opposition loosing 21-8.
Bernie May, Simon Hastings (what a player to have as reserve) Chris Beard and Les Days were always too good, winning 18-13. Bernie May should be mentioned as he was exceptional.
The final score was Oxfordshire 72, Herefordshire 58 a really good performance.
The Herefordshire President read an extract from their archives about how Herefordshire had travelled by steam train in 1933 to play Oxfordshire, they had been taken by charabanc round Oxord, but fortunately things don't change they lost that day too. In response Alex Fleming said how much we enjoy our trips to Herefordshire especially Eastnor castle.
Charlbury were the real winners today, they were outstanding hosts, the green bowled well, the meal was excellent, I can't remember eating a better salad. The general hospitality from the club was first class and I can't wait for the County to play there again. Alex.
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Men's section v Worcestershire (Middleton Cup) at Broadway BC on 13 Jube 2026
Oxfordshire travelled to Broadway in good spirits to play Worcestershire in their second Middleton cup match.
On rink 1 Mick Nash, Nathan Lewis, Jason King and Mark Charlett were 1 up after 11 ends but faded away to lose 20-11. Keith Holloway, Martin Shepherd, Neil Hancock and Kevin Alder went into the last end 1-up, but dropped a 2 to lose 15-14. Ian Henwood, Marc Vaughan, Remy Clanfield and Paul Sharman went into the last end 1 behind, but a dropped 3 meant a 13-17 loss.
Andy Cross, Phil Gladden, Joe Justin and Craig Morphet were 18-4 down at one stage, but a mini revival wasn't enough as they lost 19-12. On rink 5 Lee Young, Gary May, AJ Docherty and Howard Watts were 15-4 down after 11 ends, but picked up 12 shots against 1 to win 17-16. Rink 6 was Gething Osling, Ray Gaskins, Shane Cooper and Nick Rae-Welsh , who were all square after 12 ends but pulled away to win 18-13.
The final result was Worcestershire 100 (18 points) Oxfordshire 85 (4 points).
A disappointing result, the green bowled well and the opposition played well.
There are still 2 games to win, next week it is back to Banbury Chestnuts to play Warwickshire 2 o'clock start. Alex
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Men’s section v Middlesex at Watlington BC on 9 June 2026 (friendly)
This was the first occasion for many years that The Men’s section had asked Watlington BC to host a county fixture, this time against Middlesex Bowling Association. The weather was kind to us and the green was well presented and there were copious smiling faces from the many volunteers who worked hard to ensure the bowlers enjoyed their visit. This was a game of 4 rinks and clearly Middlesex were keen to put out a good side to play us.
We had many Red Kites soaring over the area and I suspect that they had realised the average age of the bowlers competing and the chances of getting a free meal if one of the bowlers happened to expire.
Rink 2 proved to be a war zone where the home county were taking a thrashing. Although the team of Dale Thorne, Chris Beard, Martin Oliver and John Hurren played well at times, skip Tony Waller had a superb game for the visitors, making his last bowl the winning bowl on so many occasions. Middlesex won by 26-6 shots and got the pens and wine from their President. On rink 3 the Eastgate brothers (Brian & Andy), assisted by David Byers and Richard Morris won a convincing game with an impressive 24-9 total after losing 5 shots in the last two ends.
Craig Redmond skipped on rink 4, well assisted by Sid Andrew, Bob Wright & Geoff Roynon . They won 10 consecutive ends, albeit with ones & twos and finished with a 14-11 win. Our hopes were on local hero Gordon Hooker to lead his team on a rink well known to him, supported by Nick Baldwin, Mike Andrew and Gary Panons. However their opponents were 15-3 up after 11 ends and went onto win 19-9, which created the finishing scores of Oxfordshire 53 : 65 Midddlesex .
The hospitality of our hosts at Watlington BC was brilliant after the game and we enjoyed a splendid meal whilst bantering with our Middlesex friends. Vice President Julia Lambert represented the County’s men’s section in thanking our hosts and congratulating our opponents after the meal. Thanks finally for a very good raffle curtesy of club members.
The two match Secretaries agreed, at the request of Middlesex, to play mixed games in the future, both home and away next season. As with many teams, counties are receiving more applications to play mixed matches than they are getting for Men’s and women’s only events.
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Middleton Cup BO team v Herefordshire at Banbury Chestnuts BC on 6 June 2027
Oxfordshire started their Middleton cup campaign with a home fixture against Herefordshire at Banbury Chestnuts. Before the start of the game AJ Docherty was presented with his 100 game badge, when you consider all the games were Middleton or Home Counties it is a fine achievement.
Rink 1 was Keith Holloway, David Leighfield, Martin Shepherd and Kevin Alder they struggled throughout losing 20-13. In an extremely tight game Joe Abbercombie, Ray Gaskins, Shane Cooper and Nick Rae-Welsh dropped 3 single shots on the last 3 ends but held on to win 12-11. Rink 3 all played well, Paul Sutton on his debut, Nathan Lewis, Jason King and Mark Charlett won 20-7.
Ian Henwood, Mark Vaughan, Mark Sykes and Paul Sharman were always ahead but a 5 and a 6 on the 16th and 17th ends helped in a 32-10 win.
Remi Clanfield, Paul Mabbutt, Joe Justin and Craig Morphet where 17-0 up after 7 ends, the Herefordshire players must have wished they had stayed at home and had a cider as they lost 31-4. On rink 6 Lee Young, Gary May, AJ Docherty and captain Howard Watts were actually 8-4 down at the halfway stage but a good second half, meant a 21-10 win.
The final score was Oxfordshire 129 (20 points) Herefordshire 62 (2 points) We roll on into Broadway next Saturday for the next matches against Worcestershire.
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BO Men's Section v Leicestershire (Friendly) at Witney Town BC on 3 June 2026
After a delayed start due to heavy rain, the bowlers walked onto the Witney Town green for their match against Leicestershire. Most of our players had not played on the rinks going away from the clubhouse, so there was no home advantage. The green proved very tricky, but the Visitors team started to find the runs before the home side.
On rink 1, Nick Baldwin, Martin Oliver, Brian Clarke and skip Les Days, found that 2 of their opponents were Oxfordshire players helping to make the numbers up for the Leicestershire team. The home side won 11 of the 18 ends, but due to a 5 shot end from the visitors, ended up all square 13 – 13. Our rink 2 team won on the day 17-10, helped by winning the last 5 ends. Well done to Geoff Roynon, John Jarvis, Bob Wright & Neil Whiting.
On rink 3 the Presidential teams were level at the end, after what was a close game all the way through. Skip Mike Morris, was supported by Ian Fraser who stood in at short notice, President Alan Scholan and Andy Eastgate. The score was 15-15. There were less smiling faces on rink 4, as our team of Bernie May, Mick Conrad-Banks, Craig Redmond and skip Keith Buckle, struggled to find the lines unsuccessfully throughout. They lost 6-20. On rink 5, there were also glum faces for the same reasons and a loss of 9-21. This is despite the experience of our team: Mike Jones, Richard Morris, Percy Hickman & Gordon Hooker.
On rink 6, there was a good display from our team, consisting of Roger Oliver, Geoff Smith, Witney Town President – Gary Panons and Paul Robbins. Despite losing the last three ends, they won their game 17-14.
Overall, Leicestershire played better than us on a tricky green, with the final score of 77 shots for the Oxon team and 93 shots for the foxes. Brian Bloomfield, supported by other Witney members, produced a lovely meal after the game and we dominated the raffle to bring the smiles back to faces. Thank you to everyone connected with the Witney Town club for being excellent hosts.
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BO Men's Section v Berkshire (HCL) at South Oxford B C on 23 May, 2026
Oxfordshire hosted Berkshire in a Home Counties league match, at a red hot South Oxford Bowls Club.
On rink 1 Keith Holloway, Chris King, Mark Vaughan and Neil Whiting narrowly lost a tight game 16-12. On rink 2 Mick Nash, Paul Robbins, Shane Cooper and Nick Rae Welsh picked up a 3 on the 17th end to win 16-15.
Graham Box, Finn Jelfs, Gary May and captain Howard Watts all played well in a 19-7 win.
On rink 4 Paul Jelfs, Matt Osling, Jamie Wilkinson and AJ Docherty picked up a 1 on the last end to draw 17-17. Dale Thorne, Andy McIntyre, David Leighfield and Ray Gaskins all bowled well in a 20-14 win. On rink 6 Richard Green, Percy Hickman, Neil Hancock and Mark Charlett won more ends but 2 dropped 6's condemned them to a 21-16 loss.
The final score was Oxfordshire 100 (17 points) Berkshire 90 (5 points)
Still all to play for. Alex
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BO Men's Section v Bedfordshire (Friendly) at Woodstock BC on 19 May, 2026
Oxfordshire dodged the rain in a match against Bedfordshire at Woodstock Bowls Club. The selectors did a perfect job picking 5 rinks that were never behind. There was a slight delay in starting the match due to a rain storm, but apart from that it was reasonably dry and the green bowled well.
On rink 1 Dale Thorne, Bob Wright, John Hurren and Tim Stevens won a tight game 17-14. David Byers, Sid Andrews, Craig Redmond and Mick Morris where 1 up after 13 ends but a 4 and a 5 gave them the pens with a 22-10 win.
Andrew Eastgate who had an excellent game was playing with the old firm of Mike Andrew, Brian Clarke and Alex Fleming against a strong Bedfordshire Presidents rink, another 4 and 5 gave them a 20-14 win.
Julian Horsey, Kenny Cooper, Keith Buckle and Les Days looked good for the pens, but a dropped 5 on the 14th end didn't help and they finished 20-13 winners. On rink 6, the evergreen Bernie May, John Standen, John Townley and Gordon Hooker were all square at the halfway stage but pulled ahead to win 20-10.
The final score was Oxfordshire 99, Bedfordshire 61, an excellent team performance from everyone involved. At the after dinner meal captain of the day Alex Fleming thanked Richard Morris for turning up as reserve and complemented Woodstock on how well they host County matches, they are a very popular venue with opposing Counties.
It started to rain heavily as soon as the meal was finished. Alex
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BO Men's Section v Middlesex (HCL) at RosedalePark B C on 16 May 16, 2026.
Oxfordshire travelled to Rosedale Park Bowls club to play Middlesex in the opening Home Counties league fixture.
The Oxfordshire team on paper looked strong and hopes were high, but as we all know games aren't played on paper.
On rink 1 Russell Vircavs, Finn Jelfs, Neil Hancock and Howard Watts where all square after 16 ends, but a dropped 4 on the 17th killed the game in a 16-13 loss.
Rink 2 was Jonathan Dadson, Paul Jelfs, Percy Hickman and Martin Shepherd, 1 down after 16 ends, then a 4 and a 2 gave them a 17-12 win.
On rink 3, Graham Box, Dale Thorne, Ted Eley and Jamie Wilkinson were unlucky to lose 15-14.
Rink 4 was Gethin Osling, Jamie MacDonogh, Eddie Stevens and Nick Rae-Welsh, they were 15-3 down at one stage but came back to only lose 19-14.
Rink 5 was Rob Beesley, Jake Gibson, Ray Gaskins and Neil Whiting, they were always behind losing 22-9 . The final rink was Mick Jelfs, Jamie Goodwin, Andy McIntyre and Kevin Alder. They only picked up 4 single shots in a 31-4 defeat !
The final score was Middlesex 115, Oxfordshire 57, a really disappointing result, hopefully we can bounce back next week when we face Berkshire at South Oxford. Congratulations to Middlesex on an impressive performance. Alex
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BO Men's Section v Northants at Roade BC 0n 12 May, 2026
Oxfordshire travelled to Roade bowls club to play local rivals Northamptonshire. The weather felt more like November with several players wearing bobble hats.
The game got off to a bad start, when Roy Radband had a really nasty fall on the stairs coming out of the club, he was badly cut, but it could have been a lot worse. Fortunately he doesn't have as far to fall as some of the taller players. Roy played in pain for 2 ends before coming off and being replaced by County President Alan Scholan.
After a delayed start Martyn Cooper along with the old school of Mike Andrew, Brian Clarke and Alex Fleming out-played their opponents for 16 ends, decided they didn't like the rain and dropped 6 shots on the last 2 ends, but hung on to win 16-14.
Next door the reshuffled rink of Barry Hall, John Standen, Alan Scholan and Martin Oliver were leading at the halfway stage but fell away despite some good shots from Martin Oliver to lose 23-14.
Nick Baldwin, Kenny Cooper, Andrew Eastgate and Brian Bloomfield started slowly with Brian looking for the nearest bus back to Oxford, they were 15-0 down, but a 6 and a 5 put them back in the game and they only lost 23-18.
The rink of the day was Roger Oliver, Mickey Conrad-Banks, Gary Panons and Paul Robbins, they were slightly behind in the first half of the game, but won 5 ends in a row to win 16-11, a good performance.
In a very tight game that swung one way to the other Bernie May, Martin Heath, Chris Beard and John Hurren went into the last end all square, but picked up 2 shots to win 17-15. The final rink of Julian Horsey, Richard Morris, Tony Lynch and new skip John Townley were only 2 behind after14 ends but dropped four 1's to lose 16-10.
The final score was Oxfordshire 91, Northamptonshire 102. It was an encouraging performance from Oxfordshire in a very enjoyable game that could have gone either way. Roade is a very friendly club, the green was good and the rain stopped and the sun came out as soon as we came off the green. Alex
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BO Men's Section v Essex BA (friendly) at Oxford C & C BC on 5 May 2026
Oxfordshire opened their mid week friendly programme with a home fixture at Oxford City and County Bowls club against Essex.
The home side started slowly on a heavy green and were 18 shots down at the halfway stage. But it isn't how you start it, it is how you finish. The rink of Martyn Cooper, Sid Andrews, Bob Wright and John Hurren were 11-5 down but picked up 15 shots on the last 5 ends to win 20-11. John Standen, President Alan Scholan, Tony Lynch and Mick Morris were always just behind in a tight game and lost 18-16.
Bernie May, John Jarvis, Chris Beard and Paul Robbins came back from 13-4 down to draw level on the 17th end, but a dropped 2 on the last end meant a 18-16 loss. Mike Jones, David Byers, Craig Redmond and Andrew Eastgate on his own green won 22-13, Andrew also won the spider, so had a good day.
Dale Thorne, Richard Morris, Ian Jackman and Alex Fleming were out in the country on rink 6 and were always behind, a dropped 6 on the 7th end was the difference in a 19-13 loss. The rink of the day was Geoff Roynon, Martin Oliver, Brian Clarke and Gordon Hooker, who were 5-2 down after 3 ends. But they only dropped 1 more shot and romped home 27-6 winners.
The final score was Oxfordshire 114, Essex 85, a great start to the season.
Alex