Under 25 Game reports

        Match Reports and general communications for the 2025 Season 

 

Match report - Sunday 4th May 2025  - Home Vs Mixed Section.

Next up this season for the juniors was a 5 rink Friendly against the Bowls Oxfordshire’s Mixed Section.

Unlike the events of last week, the format of this one was simple. 5 Rinks, 18 ends, accumulative score wins! As a result, this report is a bit shorter. Happy days!

Rink 1 saw Elise Robinson, Ted Lyons, Hollie Ormond and Zoe Pratley representing the juniors. Special mention to Jospeh Ormond who stepped in towards the end as Ted had to shoot off. Up against them was Roger the Dodger, Sue Markham, Grandad Jelfs and the Chief BO Secretary Chris Weller. This game was one that neither team seemed to get away, with 2 ends left and winning by 1. The juniors conceded a 3. They were just messing though as Zoe got a cheeky edge with the last bowl, picked up a 3 and won by 1. By the way the game was going, it’s clear to see Zoe has been practicing with Paul Sharman as she had full use of his wickalator arsenal!

Juniors win 20 – 19

Rink 2, we had a super sub skipping. Jake Gibson stepped in as Joe The Beak Justin had family commitments. Although Jakes beard is older than most of the juniors he did a fantastic job leading and encouraging the players on the rink. Leading for Jake we had, The One, The Only…….. Billy Ray Nye Osling. At 2 we had Sam Lawrence the Tall making his debut for the juniors, and at 3 we had everyone’s favourite fisherman’s friend Fin Goodwin. Up against them the mixed section put out, Roger Hopkins, Caroline, John The Banker Hurren and Tracey Richens. Everyone played well in this game. Even though the Mixed Section took a little bit of a lead of 16 – 8 at 11 ends, The juniors battled back and just missed out, with Tracey bowling a bomb to win it on the last as the kids were holding 1 and a draw as it stood.

Juniors lost 16 – 18

Rink 3 saw Mini Biscuit, Alex Cooke making his debut (Who will forever be named Short Round from this point forward). Owen Marsden and The Welsh Wizard Gethin Osling. Even though the juniors played so well. It was such a fantastic performance from the mixed section. Margret Morris, Richard Turner, Richard Morris and Chris Beard all played brilliantly. The Welsh Wizard and team couldn’t muster enough magic and the mixed section ran out comfortable winners.

Juniors lost 10 - 22

Representing the juniors of rink 4, we had one half of the Jelf Twins. (Which half? Who knows?). We do, it was Jasper. Gracer Young, Alfie Acock and Bam Bam Ronnie Marson. For the Mixed section, Ron Smith, Nick Baldwin, Helen Young and Matt Osling rolled out. Pretty close at 12 ends with the Adults winning 12-9. They stepped on the gas, Helen decided she was going to smoke her daughters bowls out the head a few times and the adults ran away in the end.

Juniors Lost  12 - 19

Finally on Rink 5, We had Dyllan and Rufus both from Charlbury, Rufus making his debut for the juniors. Jon Mustache Dadson and another late sub Stuart Marsden. Up against them was our favourite Bowls England Rep Alan Scholan, Terry Boswell, Jamie Goodwin and Mike Morris. In a game where the juniors were always a bit behind, they stuck in there and in the end missed out by 7. Some great shots from all players on both rinks. We have heard murmurs that the result would have been different if it wasn’t for the Bowls Royce. We will never know.

Juniors lost 12 – 19.

Overall, the juniors Lost 70 Shots to 97. Considering we played 5 rinks of established bowlers in this game it is clear to see how quickly we are improving. We also want to give a shout out to the debutants we have had over the last couple games. You guys never looked out of place once and again it just shows the level that some of these players are coming into the fold at. Very exciting stuff for the county.

The next fixture is the White and Amy Rose games, Teams for that will be out ASAP as we understand the big commitment. It’s going to be tough to pick this as it’s the national comp the juniors play in each season.

A final note, best of luck to our players who are playing at Leamington this weekend in the junior U18s national Singles competition. If time allows, we will be up there to support!

Once again,  awesome stuff.

Craig Morphet & Zoe Pratley.

4th May 2025.

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YB Section - Match report  -  Sunday 27th April 2025  -Home Vs Gloucestershire.

Second game of the Season for the Juniors and we rocked up for a home fixture at Oxford City and County Bowls Club for again, an early season Friendly.

There were 35 junior players involved in the game between the two counties — an unbelievable turnout considering its still only April and most bowlers haven’t even laced up their shoes yet. Absolute Scenes

Due to the numbers we had at our disposal, we decided to do an Amy Rose Game, a White Rose Game and 2 additional rinks playing in the same format. (2 sessions, 2 sets per session).

As a result, this report may be a bit hard to follow, sorry not sorry. Blame Bowls England 😊

In the first game of the first session we had Grace Young and Zoe Pratley in the Amy Rose Pairs. After Grace’s Dad was given his barking orders (A cup of tea for Helen and a jug of encouragement) Grace really zoned in and played awesome. Even with some great follow up bowls from Zoe, Hannah Smith and partner proved a little too much. It probably helped Hannah won two indoor national titles last week. Just saying. Grace and Zoe lost 2 sets to 0.

In the next game we had the Amy Rose Triple consisting of, Elise Robinson, Mini Biscuit (Harriet Turner) and Ruby Steffens. Even though the opposition were top class, in their bowling ability and encouragement. To see the confidence on the green shown by these three was incredible. With Mini Biscuit and Ruby making their debuts for the junior section, it was like they had all been playing for years. Great to see. Gloucs won 2 sets to 0.

Third up we had the middle Triple. Representing Oxon we had Aflie Acock, Fisherman Fin Goodwin and Ronnie Marson. As with last week, Ronnie and Co had a tight start, just loosing out on the first set. But again, It’s a cold Tuesday Night in Stoke. David De Gea says ‘Nah not today’, and the boys ran out 9-2 Winners in the second set. Just to put the Icing on the Cake, they won the tie break end. The white and Amy Rose doesn’t have a tie break, but we decided to add one to give the game a bit more flavour. As my man Gordon Ramsay says. ‘Flavour is King’. The Middle Triple Ran out 2-1 Winners.

Next was the Middle 4. Leading for Oxon. We know him! We love him! He has an achy breaky heat. It’s Billy Ray Nye Osling! He was followed by one half of the Jelf Twins, Jasper, Owen Marsden and Kibbsy Junior.

Again, these lads were playing top opposition and after drawing the first set, they struggled to build on that, losing the second. What we do want to say, is this was such a young rink. They were so unlucky to lose, we were so impressed by the Individual Performances and how they played together. All played some really big bowls. Gloucs won 1.5-0.5

The first White Rose Representatives was the triples. Chip and Charge Noah PJ lead the line, with the Benson Boone brothers following on. (Lucas and Brandon King. Get a hair cut lads).

Definitely a game of 2 halfs and sets. After a shaky start settling on to the rink. The boys took the game by the scruff of the neck. Banged some Jacks back (shock), drew a few and managed to turn the first set loss of 1-7 to a second set win of 6-3. They also snuck the tie break. Oxon win 2-1.

Finally in the first session we have the Welsh Wizard Gethin Osling and The Beak that is Joe Justin. Well they start the game like Rory’s 13th hole on the final day of the open. You know the one. The double bogey. Well going into the last end of the first and down by 1. They decided that actually they were on to the 15th whole. Banged a beauty around the trees. Picked a 4, won the set and never looked back. 3 up on the last end of the second set, Glouc fell short (Justin Rose) and the boys ran out 2-0 winners.

I did warn you guys this would be long and now we are in to the second session. So congrats, you made it half way.

Mini Biscuit (Still making her debut) Played the Amy Rose Singles. And what a performance. Harriet was fantastic and even though she lost 2 sets 0. Erin from Gloucs would have beaten us all on our best day. Not only did Harriet stick in there, but she gave a player in fantastic form with a wealth of experience a real run for her money. Gloucs win 2-0

Second game in the second session was the Amy Rose fours. We had Grace Young and Elise Robinson playing front end. What a platform they provided. Playing their second game they kept their concentration and played excellently. Playing 3 was Ruby (Again making her Debut) with Zoe Skipping.  Playing Hannah (Double National Title Winner from a week ago Hannah) These super quartet won the first set, lost the second and lost the tie break on the last bowl. Great effort from the girls. Gloucs win 2-1.

For the Middle Triple we had Alfie, Fisherman Finn and Ronnie De Gea keeping their team together. After winning the first set convincingly, they couldn’t keep it going. The boys lost the second and got unlucky on the tie break. Great effort boys. Gloucs wins 2-1

The Middle four was the OG 4 from the first session, in a very tight affair and some exceptional bowls from all 4 lads, they just lost the first set and just won the second, again getting unlucky on the tie break. Gloucs win 2-1

In the penultimate game we had the White Rose Four. Chip and Charge Noah, The Welsh Wizard Gethin and the Benson Boone Brothers. For this session writing this is becoming a habit. After losing the first set convincingly. The boys responded and won the second set convincingly. Again, getting unlucky and losing the tie break end. Getting sick of these tie breaks. Gloucs win 2 – 1.

Last, and in this game definitely least. We had The Beak playing the White Rose singles. All we can say about this is, JJ was a bit unlucky, not his finest hour but Louis for Gloucs played very well and deserved to run out a 2-0 winner.

 We would normally single an exceptional performer out for really impressing us. However, for this game it can’t be done. Gloucestershire are one of the strongest counties out there for the junior section. We went toe to toe with them. We had debutants and players that are still gaining experience.  If we take out the tie breaks (Which aren’t included in the Nationals and are one end shootouts) We only lost 4 sessions out of 12. This is a team that is full of internationals and national title winners at every level. What a performance from everyone. If we carry on as a unit the way we are, we will have national title winners and internationals at every level.

Keep it Young-Uns!

Our next game is against the adult sections of the county at Kidlington Bowl Club, Sunday the 4th May. 10:30 am start.

Can’t wait for you all to give the adults a hiding!

Craig Morphet & Zoe Pratley.   20th April 2025.

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YB Section Match report - Sunday 20th April 2025 - Away Vs Wiltshire.

First game on the Season for the Juniors and we travelled to Royal Wotton Bassett for an early season Friendly.

Due to the changes in format for the Amy and White Rose Competition we decided to play this fixture in a similar format.

So, let’s start off with the singles. Carterton’s own Ronnie Marson represented Oxfordshire against Liam Tucker from Wiltshire in a race to 21.

After a bit of a nip and tuck start with some great bowls from both players, Ronnie had a moment of reflection and slightly reminiscent of David De Gea on a cold Tuesday Night in Stoke thought to himself. ‘Nah not today’. He proceeded over the next 10 ends to drop 4 shots but pick up 16 to run out a 21-8 winner. Very good display with elements of his banger racing encroaching into his bowls tactics.

Next up in the Pairs, was Jonathan Mustache Dadson with Zoe Pratley from Oxon taking on Louise Rose and Zoe Fletcher from Wiltshire. We are all very disappointed that JD’s Mustache has gone so we are thinking less Poirot and more Colombo. Just like a detective show it seems these two were lost in the first half and were falling behind 14-6 at 11 ends. But we all know that the final third is the most important and all the pieces start to come together. They both started seeing the clues and after a spirited comeback were unlucky to draw 17-17. At least they caught the bad guy.

Moving on to the triples. Representing Oxfordshire we had, Billy Ray Nye Osling, Aflie Acock and Sam Kibble-White (Kibbsy Junior). They played Louis Gough, Amelia Yeoman and Alfie Holland. For those that don’t know who Alfie Holland is, this was always going to be a really tough game. After racing into a 12-2 lead at 7 ends. The game then became a bit nip and tuck. With 4 ends left and Oxon 17-10 up at 14 ends. Alfie Holland took a page out of Ronnies book. ‘Nah not Today’ Proceeded to play 4 great conversions shots and managed to sneak the win for Wiltshire 19-18.

A special mention goes to Billy Ray Nye Osling. Exceptional performance. Constantly putting the other team under pressure is what you need to be doing at lead. Out of 18 ends. Nye did this 18 times. Great stuff.

The fours was a little bit unorthodox, as it ended up being a Oxfordshire vs Oxfordshire affair. To get some more game time we loaned Wiltshire Jasper and Finlay Jelfs, even though they are cousins you’d never tell them apart. AKA the Jelf Twins. As well as David Leighfield rolling back the years in two ways. 1) Got his Wiltshire shirt out. 2) Rolled back 8 years to qualify for the age group. Representing the OG Oxford four we had Chip and Charge Noah PJ, Charlburys Finest Dylan England, Georgie and Gething Osling. A very tight nit affair with the Jelf Twins and Dave trying to usurp Oxfordshires chances. Gethin manged to lead from the back and turn a 7-4 loss at 8 ends to a 14-7 win at 15 not dropping another shot. Everyone was really impressed with everyone on this rink. Rink 5 at Bassett isn’t the easiest, very easy to go to high. But overall all of our players found the lines bowl after bowl.

Due to the new points system for the Amy and White Rose, Oxfordshire ran out winners 7.5 points to 4.5 point. (3 points for a win. 1.5 for a draw).

A really good start. Well done to everyone. A big shout out goes to Dave and Georgie for stepping in and helping us fill the numbers out for Wiltshire and being fantastic on the green with the junior players.

The next game is Sunday the 27th at Oxford City and County against Gloucestershire. The names of the players we would like to attend will be out soon.

Again awesome stuff.

Craig Morphet & Zoe Pratley.

20th April 2025.

 
 
Match Reports and general communications for the 2024 Season   
 
Under 25's Singles Competition 2024

The OBA Under 25s singles competition was played on Sunday 23rd June under the bright sunshine at Chipping Norton BC. The club looked after us very well and provided excellent facilities, numerous markers and an excellent bowling surface that allowed for some gripping matches and a few upsets! With two spots at Leamington Spa up for grabs, those who qualified would really have to earn it.

The first round of games started at 10am with 4 prelims.
The early exchanges were close between Carterton teammates Ronnie Marson and Nye Osling, and an excellent bowl from Nye to make 3 kept him in the game at 9-6. But Ronnie found another gear to take a 21-7 victory.
Toby Earp of Headington and Kaylem Curley of Carterton had an excellent tussle, which was close all the way through, with Kaylem leading 15-10. However, Toby played a couple of big bowls and fought his way back, finishing the game with a pair of threes to win 21-17.

Noah Pearce-Jones of Carterton met Dyllan England of Charlbury in a game in which Noah was always in control, winning 21-8.

Finally, another all-Carterton tie with Joe Justin taking on Gethin Osling. The excellent drawing bowls of both players made for a terrific battle, with a two for Gethin taking the score to 14-14. However, Joe then showed his experience to romp away to a 21-14 victory.

 

In the quarter finals, the 4 prelim winners were joined by 4 more players entering the competition.

In an all-Headington battle between Brandon King and Max Earp, in was the younger who found the pace of the green much better than his teammate, with Max winning 21-5.

Kidlington’s Jonathan Dadson met Carterton’s Abel Curley in a cagey tie which Abel drew level at 9-9 after 10 ends. However, Jonathan upped his game, and 4 ends later had taken a 21-9 victory.

Ronnie Marson continued how he finished his prelim and never looked back, in a 21-3 victory over Toby Earp.

Finally, Noah Pearce-Jones and Joe Justin met in another all-Carterton game. The first half of the game Noah kept Joe honest, and both were bowling excellent bowls, Joe leading 11-4 and 17-12. 10-year-old Noah then moved the jack for 4 to suddenly get right back into the game and every end seemed like it could go either way. 17-16. 19-16. 19-18. 20-18. 20-20. Noah held the shot on the final end with one bowl to play, and when Joe’s final bowl narrowly missed removing it, the victory was secured. Joe was magnanimous in defeat and young Noah progressed.

 

Into the semi-finals, and both winners would be qualifying for the first time.

Jonathan Dadson and Max Earp traded ends for the first half of their game, with Jonathan leading 9-6. His experience then told, and he pulled away to win 21-8.

In their third game of the day, and yet another all-Carterton tie, Noah Pearce Jones was clearly still riding the high of his previous result, taking an early lead against Ronnie Marson at 7-3. Ronnie then fought his way back into the game and the lead changed hands throughout and the game was finely poised at 15-15 at 19 ends. The high standard continued all the way to the end, with Ronnie getting to the line in a 21-16 victory.

 

Well done to all 12 competitors, and congratulations to Jonathan Dadson and Ronnie Marson on qualifying for the National U25 singles finals. They will play in the county final on Sunday 28th July, then represent Oxfordshire on Monday 19th August, Ronnie as “Oxfordshire A” and Jonathan as “Oxfordshire B”. I would like to thank Chipping Norton for hosting and to Tony Wright, Percy Hickman, Martin Acock, Russell Box, Alex Fleming and Paul Killacky for marking. I think all those in attendance will have been impressed with the standard of bowling on offer from the county’s young bowlers, which will continue at the U25 pairs competition on 30th June at South Oxford.

 

Prelim:

Noah Pearce Jones (Carterton) bt.Dyllan England (Charlbury) 21-8

Joe Justin (Carterton) bt. Gethin Osling (Carterton) 21-14

Ronnie Marson (Carterton) bt. Nye Osling (Carterton) 21-7

Toby Earp (Headington)bt.Kaylem Curley (Carterton) 21-17

 

Quarter Finals:

Noah Pearce Jones (Carterton) bt. Joe Justin (Carterton) 21-20

Ronnie Marson (Carterton) bt. Toby Earp (Headington) 21-3

Jonathan Dadson (Kidlington)bt. Abel Curley (Carterton) 21-9

Max Earp (Headington)bt. Brandon King (Headington) 21-5

 

Semi Finals:

Ronnie Marson (Carterton) bt.Noah Pearce Jones (Carterton) 21-16

Jonathan Dadson (Kidlington) bt.Max Earp (Headington) 21-8

 
JHCL vs Bucks - Bletchley Town BC, Buckinghamshire - 9 June 2024
 
It's a strange feeling to be in a losing position but be immensely proud of your team, especially from someone as competitive as myself, but here I am, 24 hours after our game against Bucks, which we lost 9-1 (57-44), still filled with pride from the performance and attitude of our team; such is deserved response from how they conducted themselves in, for most, unfamiliar circumstances.
 
As I said to them before the game, this was a vision to the not so distant future, as we went into the game without our two most experienced bowlers in Joe & Brandon, and 8 of the 12 being Under 15, and several making their first competitive start for Oxfordshire; and if this is a vision to the future, then my prediction of a bright future for Oxfordshire is going to be very accurate.
 
All three rinks had very different games and outcomes, but all should come away with a sense of accomplishment and pride.
 
Captain for the day, Zoe Pratley's rink of Dyllan England, Fin Jelfs, (both playing their first competitive game) & Kaylem Curley (playing his game at three), probably came up against Bucks strongest rink. But despite this they very much kept themselves in the game, with their worst end dropping a 3, and fantastic communication and shot decisions throughout and several individually brilliant woods from all, they performed a spirited fightback over the last 3 ends to finish a respectable 12-18 down. Zoe, we know, is already starting to fulfil her potential with her strong leadership and maturity at backend, and her 3 young teammates all showed a great deal of talent and maturity.
 
Ronnie Marson's (skipping his first County rink) rink of Jonathan Dadson, Abel Curley & Noah Pearce-Jones, performed a brilliant fight back from 14-5 down at 12 ends, to win 7 of the last 9 to finish with a very impressive 16-16 draw.
Again, a strong display across the rink and the mix of the experience of Jonathan at Lead (in his penultimate season), and the calm and steady nature of the 3 younger bowlers, plus some brilliant individual performances from all, again left a strong impression upon all those watching.
 
And finally Lucas King's rink, (skipping his first county game after a few years away from Oxfordshire), of Georgie Fuszard, Fin Goodwin & Gethin Osling, had a very different morning to the others. After getting off to a flyer, and again after some brilliant bowling by all, they found themselves 14-5 up after 12 ends. However a strong fightback from an experienced Bucks backend got them right back in, and with the momentum very much in our opposition's favour, an impressive 6 from the home side on the 18th end really took the wind out of our rink's sails and they finished 16-23. But as I said to them afterwards, game management and experience are things you learn in bowls the hard way, and this was that time for them unfortunately, and I'm sure will be able to navigate themselves out of that situation in the future.
 
As I said to the team afterwards though, this was very much the difference throughout the match, experience.
A team of talented young bowlers with little experience came up against a team of talented bowlers with more experience, and all it proved to us is that giving them that experience as early as possible, is the best chance for them to learn and then grow from that.
But, what I was the impressed with is the level of maturity, resilience and spirit everyone had, and the atmosphere it created for the game, which is the best I've experienced yet as manager, and that is something you can't teach, and it is so brilliant to see that many of our young bowlers have that in abundance.
 
I keep saying our future is bright in Oxfordshire, and yesterday made me believe that even more. Keep investing in the talent we have, and help them to believe it too, and we will only get stronger.
 
 
White Rose Cup v Sussex at Kidlington on 2 June 2024
Now to the White Rose match we played on Sunday, and unfortunately Sussex got their much sought after revenge on us from last year, beating us 52-30 across both rinks.
After a slow start by Oxfordshire on a particularly heavy and tricky green, we fought back in the early stages to be down by 1 overall at 9 ends, and seemingly with a bit of momentum.
However a strong showing by Sussex against Brandon King's rink, saw them drop a 7 on the 10th end and unfortunately, despite the boys best efforts never recovered. Joe Justin's rink, despite picking up a fantastic 6 on the 10th end to counter, held their score close, but as the scores got away from them, and Sussex grew in confidence and unfortunately a few heads started to drop, and in the end it was a comfortable victory for Sussex who wish we all the best in the next round.
 
As I said to the lads after, no excuses, they just played better than us, and showed their greater experienced throughout the side to get the win. But that is now what we need to do with our Under 25s, give that experience, the chance to try things, make mistakes and learn lessons, which is what they will have done from Sundays game. 
It is not mine, or anyone else’s job to make them think they’ve played their best every time, but rather the job is to make them constantly work their games and themselves and look how they can improve.
I am a big believer that we learn much more through our failings and weaknesses than our strengths, and Sunday would’ve been a big lesson in that. The futures still bright for us, but their were always going to be some tough days along the way.
 
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Hi Gang, (13 May, 2024)
 
I hope you're all going well, and nice weather last week has sped the greens up!
Just a quick update on the weekend just gone and the one coming up.
 
This weekend just gone we had the Under 18 Singles at Oxford City & County, with four Oxfordshire bowlers, Gethin Osling, Nye Osling, Ronnie Marson & Noah Pearce-Jones, all bowl out of Carterton.
All four represented their clubs and county exceptionally well, and did themselves very proud.
 
After the first day in a strong field, Ronnie had won 2 out of 3 games and qualified for the main knockout draw after some excellent bowls, and being drawn against an established England Under 18 bowler performed very well, and kept himself in the tie throughout, but unfortunately losing after two close sets that went down to the last end of each.
 
Gethin, Nye and Noah all performed well on the first day also, but ultimately qualified for the Plate draw on the Sunday.
 
Nye, despite another strong and spirited performance unfortunately went out in the first round to another lad from the England set up.
His older brother, Gethin, following on from his final victory on the saturday, performed a brilliant comeback in the first round to progress to the last 16, where he lost a close run game to one of the semi finalists.
Where he was joined by our own semi-finalist in Noah, who after some brilliant bowling and composure well above his years, only lost out on place in the Plate final on the final end of the tie break, all that and he's only 10! Bravo Noah, a brilliant achievement, you should be very proud!
 
But all four lads should be proud of their respective experiences, as we all are too.
 
Competitions like this throw you into the spotlight, and the pressure to succeed and impress those in the England set up are very much on. All of which can be daunting, especially at a young age, but what our young bowlers from Oxfordshire keep showing, time and again, is that this pressure only fuels them to greater success next time, and is what drives them to perform.
 
Well done lads, you've done us all very proud.
 
Look forward to seeing you all soon
 
Best
 
Ryan Alexander Full
OBA Under 25s Manager

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A message from Ryan Full (Team Manager):

 
Firstly a huge thank you to those of you there on Sunday, for your patience and dedication at getting the game started as quickly as possible, after having to move clubs at 10.15 to City & County, who I again thank for so graciously letting us use their club at such short notice.
With all that and handing out new kit we only started the game 40 minutes late so thank you!
 
On to the game, which despite the terrible wet and chilly weather was still a competitive and compelling fixture, and featured some brilliant bowling from our more seasoned veterans of the team now, all the way down to those making their Under 25s debuts.
 
The game itself we won by 1 shot, which itself is progress over a team who have gotten the better of us in recent years in this friendly; however the real triumph yesterday was the sheer amount of juniors we now have. 24 playing yesterday, with at least another 10 missing, and not losing any to age for another 2 years, we have a really solid foundation to build from and a structure forming to build from, it’s fair to say the future is looking very bright for Oxfordshire.
 
But as we know the outdoor season comes at us fast, and we turn our attention already to our next game, which was supposed to be away to Warwickshire at Little Compton BC.
However, unfortunately Warwickshire could not raise a team, and have had to cancel the game.
We did not want to cancel the game from our side, having 20+ juniors available again, so we arranged a new fixture 
 
OBA UNDER 25s vs OXFORDSHIRE INVITATIONAL
 
SUNDAY 5th MAY
10.30AM
KIDLINGTON BOWLS CLUB
 
Thankfully, 20+ bowlers from across Oxfordshire have kindly agreed to come and play us instead. 
This will be a fantastic opportunity for our young bowlers to test their skills against a wealth of experience and expertise, and to really feel apart of the county set up.
 
I won’t be doing a team sheet, as we plan to mix the teams up, with our juniors bowling with the adults, which will be sorted once we have final numbers from the adults.
 
The match fee will be £2 still, with half going to the junior fund and half going to the charity of choice of the Kidlington Club President.
We’ve had such an overwhelming support and interest from the adults across the county, that the plan is to make this a regular fixture, as we feel it is something that will bode Oxfordshire well in the future, and give a better insight to those across the county of the talent we have in the Under 25s.
 
Please find attached a match sheet with all the available names I have for Sunday.
If you do find yourself now available please let me, or of course if you can no longer play.
 
And as always, please make sure you arrive with a positive attitude, a drive to succeed, and a willingness to do your best, and nice and early of course!
 
 
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Under 25 team - White Rose trophy - 11 June 2023
 
A massive congratulations to our White Rose team yesterday, who did themselves, their respective clubs, and Oxfordshire very proud.
As with our previous round against Bucks, we showed up yesterday very much as the underdogs, with nothing much expected of us, but our lads were very much underestimated, as they took on a loud and confident Sussex on their home turf, of Horsham Bowls Club, in the regional semi final of the White Rose.
 
For a majority of the boys, this was there first taste of this level of bowls, but you have thought them all seasoned pros, as by the second end both were 3-1 up, and that very much set the tone, and by the fourth end both 7-1 up.
From here Both rinks had very different battles, but they handled them brilliantly.
Joe Justin's rink of Gethin Osling, Sam Kibblewhite, and Brandon King, dominated from start to finish, winning 20-9 and never dropping more than a 1, with some expert individual bowls by all to add their strong performance as a rink.
Our other rink of Ronnie Marson, Jonathan Dadson, Luke Gilbert &, captain, Ben Dickson, subsequently lost the next 7 ends to go 12-7 down at 11 ends. But of these 7 ends most were tight and they were still very much in it, as the next 3 ends showed as they rallied back to 12-12. However again, due to a touch of fortune and a wonder bowl by the Sussex skip, they were 19-12 down at 17 ends.
By this this point, Sussex were back within 3 shots overall, and growing louder still, thinking they'd get their far less experienced opponents against the ropes. But how wrong they were. Our lads stayed calm, composed and after some top draw bowling by Ben's rink got back to 19-16 with 2 ends left.
With both rinks conveniently starting their final end at the same time, Oxfordshire were 5 ahead, and after some very mature and composed bowling by all 6 bowlers from lead to three on our rinks, we were 3 down across both rinks, with just the skips to play, but some massive bowls needed by Sussex to turn it around.
But with our skips last woods, they superbly put the game game to bed, with Joe Justin drawing an inch perfect bowl to turn away their shot and take 2, and Ben Dickson drawing a brilliant second wood an inch of the Jack, forcing their skip to try to kill the end with his last bowl, instead sending the Jack 6 feet in the air and landing a yard back in the melee giving us 4, bringing the final rink score to 20-20, and Oxfordshire a deserved 40-29 win over Sussex, to progress to the regional final that afternoon against last years White Rose National Champions, Kent.
 
After a well earned break, after a tense game, in very hot and muggy conditions, they lads set out with confidence to take on the seemingly flawless juggernaut of Kent.
And at 10 ends we were only 2 behind, with Ben 6-9 down and Joe 11-10 up.
But, unfortunately, a mix of fatigue, heat, and Kent just shifting through the gears, meant the second half of the game was a one sided affair, and Kent progressing on to the National Finals later in the summer, where we wish them the best of luck.
 
However, the future in very much a bright one for Oxfordshire bowls, and these aren't just the thought of myself, but of everyone else watching our up and coming team yesterday. Not least the manager of Kent, and the England National Under 25s manager, who were very impressed with what they saw.
With Kent manager likening our team to his own four years ago, and the National boss stating this had very much put Oxfordshire very much back in the conversation; and it's nothing more than they deserve.
 
The boys were very much down after the final, but as I said to them after, I was glad they felt that way, because the mark of success is how you come back from defeat, and how you use that feeling of frustration and loss, to fuel you to victory the next; and I am certain that victory will come, very soon.
 
Because it's not just the sensational eight we had yesterday, but all the other seemingly ever growing amount of talent, in our small but strong county, pushing them on, giving them competition, constantly raising the bar; and the higher that bar goes, the (even) harder we'll be to beat.
 
Thank you so much to everyone who came to support yesterday, it was a long way to go, and even though we didn't get the final result we wanted, I'm sure, as I did, you left with a great deal of optimism for the future.
So let's keep supporting our young players across the county, and giving them the chances they need to progress even further.
 
I really couldn't of been prouder of the lads yesterday, it was a huge honour to be their manager.
Let's keep the momentum going for rest of the season, we still have Junior Home Counties to win!
 
Under 25 team v Hampshire - 31 July 2022
 
Congratulations to those who played on Sunday in the victory over Hampshire - we won on 2 of the 3 rinks by a total of 64-57 and by 8 points to 2. I'm very proud of the performance and the atmosphere it created.

 

This puts us through to the final of the JHCL, to play against the winner of the "East" group, which will be the winner of Kent vs Surrey (who play on 14th August).

 

Under 25 Singles Competition

The under 25 Singles competition was played on Sunday 4th July at South Oxford.

Because of late withdrawal of entrants for various reasons only two quarter finals needed to be played, with two participants having byes to the semi-finals and meeting the winners of the two quarter finals.

The first quarter final saw Lucas King, (Bicester) play Dan Swanson (Watlington). Lucas began well, drawing well to medium length jacks which saw him 6-1 up after 5 ends. The next 7 ends were evenly matched with Dan beginning to find some form and gradually reducing the deficit, but at 13 ends Lucas still led 12-10, however Dan then really hit his stride, and a burst of scoring over the next 5 ends which read 3,1,4,2 and 2 saw Dan win the game comfortably, 22-12

In the other quarter final, the more experienced Joe Justin found form instantly and was just too much for his opponent Monty Simpson, 18-1 up after 10 ends, Monty did well to rally briefly, but the result was never in doubt and eventually saw Joe winning the game 23-7.

These two results saw Joe playing Sam Kibblewhite in the first semi-final and Dan playing Johnathan Dadson in the second.

Joe was again always in control again of his match racing to a 12-3 lead after 9 ends despite Sam playing some very good drawing bowls, but almost anything he did was bettered by Jo , including a 4 on the 12th end which saw all of Joes bowls, two behind , two in front , in a straight line up the green, with the jack in the middle and not visible, covering a distance of no more than 2 feet! Splendid bowling which saw Joe home as the first finalist by a margin of 20-6 after 15 ends.

The final game between Dan and Johnathan was a very high-quality game indeed, lasting 2 hours and 22 ends and fortunes fluctuating end after end, with some excellent heads of bowls and superb drawing. With the score 10-9 in Dans favour after 12 ends he then picked up 6 shots over the next 4 ends to see him lead 16-9, again Johnathan rallied, and pulled back 5 shots in 3 ends to close to 16-14, a 4 on the 20th end to Dan seemed to decide the match, but on the next end Johnathan scored a 3 to make the score 20-17 to Dan. Another fine wood saw Dan trail the jack which Johnathan could not dislodge, and the result 21-17 to Dan, and him taking his place as the other finalist.

Thanks go to South Oxford for the use of their facilities and green, Keith Morbey for cutting the Greens and President Tony Lynch for manning the bar and other activities, Ben Dickson for acting as marker at short notice and fellow OBA office John Henwood for attending as well of course as all the participants!