Oxford City & County A beat league leaders Headington A 4-2 to reignite the race for top spot in the Oxford & District League, sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries.

Both sides won two rinks each in a close battle, but the 18-shot margin of Alan Ley’s 27-9 victory was enough to swing the result to the away side.

Big wins for Headington’s Jason King and Mark Charlett kept the scoreline respectable, but they couldn’t catch City & County after Ley’s impressive victory.

Fine victories for Banbury Central A and Carterton mean that the gap between first and fourth has been cut to just five points.

Banbury Central’s comprehensive 6-0 victory over bottom of league Banbury Chestnuts closed the gap on the top two, Central enjoying a 64-shot winning margin.

Carterton and West Witney may be separated by just a single league place, but the former’s one-sided 5-1 victory served to highlight the gulf between the top four and the rest.

Bicester leapfrogged South Oxford A at the top of Division 2 in a tight clash, the hosts coming out 4-2 winners with just six shots splitting the two teams.

A 12-shot winning margin from Paul Hooley’s rink ultimately proved the deciding factor in separating the top two.

Thame beat Kidlington comfortably, while Shiplake’s spectacular 105-55 success over Witney Town effectively relegated their opponents, who have just seven points and a -113 shot difference.

Oxford City & County B moved up into second in Division 3 despite losing to Oxford Bowls Club due to Chipping Norton’s surprisingly heavy defeat at the hands of Blackbird Leys.

That paved the way for Watlington to move clear at the top of the table with a 5-1 victory at Bloxham.

Headington B also won easily at Woodstock.

In Division 4, Banbury Central B beat South Oxford B in a match which ended after just 15 ends.

However, Banbury were unable to close the gap at the top because of wins for Chadlington, over Oxford University Press, and Adderbury against Florence Park.

Hanborough’s match at West Oxford was abandoned just eight ends in due to poor weather with the two teams sharing three points each.

RESULTS CHECK

OXFORD & DISTRICT LEAGUE
Division 1
Banbury Central A 122 (6), Banbury Chestnuts 58 (0) (Banbury skips first): I Whelpton 39, J Denbow 10; G Schwab 28, B Ray 18; M Andrew 28, R Marks 17; J Tee 27, D Munslow 13.
Carterton 87 (5), West Witney 74 (1) (Carterton skips first): P Sharman 17, K Alder 26; G Walker 22, G Coombs 16; D Clanfield 24, H Williams 13; R Clanfield 24, P Skidmore 19.
Headington A 76 (2), Oxford City & County A 80 (4) (Headington skips first): I Snowdon 16, M Hancock 26; H Watts 9, A Ley 27; M Charlett 26, P Comley 12; J King 25, C Earl 15.
Division 2
Bicester 74 (4), South Oxford A 68 (2) (Bicester skips first): K Taylor 17, K Mobley 19; P Hooley 23, G Young 11; G Wood 20, H Payne 18; A Hall 14, R Claridge 20.
Shiplake 105 (5), Witney Town 55 (1) (Shiplake skips first): G Kennedy 27, T Ludlow 15; J Bland 14, V Comley 24; B Lambourne 35, M Jones 5; B Evans 29,  B Bloomfield 11.
Thame 87 (5), Kidlington 71 (1) (Thame skips first): A Twinn 24, M Brain 10; L Lewis 23, C Cox 17; R Slater 23, J O'Shea 19; J Timms 17, C Weller 25.
Division 3
Blackbird Leys 90 (5), Chipping Norton 73 (1) (Blackbird Leys skips first): A Fleming 19, P Rathbone 14; R Brain 26, W Jarvie 16; G Roper 24, D Barnes 27; J Baldwin 21, K Field 16.
Bloxham 62 (1), Watlington 83 (5) (Bloxham skips first): D Morse 16, H Franklin 18; T McKenna 11, S Gilkes 22; J Lucas 20, G Hooker 19; T Gardner 15, B Gilkes 24.
Woodstock 64 (2), Headington B 85 (4) (Woodstock skips first): R Collett 20, S Gould 14; D Coleman 6, A Peters 30; J Stone 17, R Edwards 26; B Clarke 21, M Kershaw 15.
Oxford City & County B 82 (3), Oxford 84 (3) (City & County skips first): G Kerr 9, M Bracewell 33; N Satchell 23, P Ilott 19; G Powell 30, A Louch 13; C Pollard 20, G Watts 19.
Division 4
Chadlington 76 (4), Oxford University Press 55.5 (2) (Chadlington skips first): R Arthur 19, P Tweddle 7.5; C Smart 23, G Giles 11; P Rathbone 15, P Cornish 17; J Benfield 19, M Kirby 20.
Florence Park 37 (1), Adderbury 70 (5) (Florence Park skips first): I Gray 8, P Gladden 18; P Booth 7, C Skidmore 17; A Thomas 7, T Ely 22; C Dawson 15, J Dancer 13.
South Oxford B 43 (1), Banbury Central B 75 (5) (South Oxford skips first): B Edmondson 10, R Cox 17; P Woodville 15, G Gerry 12; D Walker 7, R Wilkins 18; T Hookman 11, J Pickering 28.
West Oxford v Hanborough – match abandoned. 3 points each.
KENNET LEAGUE
Hagbourne 90 (10pts), Burghfield 83 (4) (Hagbourne skips first): P Ryman 19, G Belcher 20; J Heapy 30, A Parsons 21; R Moore 27, R Hill 21; J Beardsley 14, K Belcher 21.
Hagbourne 97 (12), Abingdon 80 (2) (Hagbourne skips first): R Moore 28, J Davie 12; J Heapy 11, W Turner 36; P Ryman 32, R Pyniger 13; S Gibson 28, P Rogers 19.
Hagbourne B 86 (10), Abingdon B 68 (4) (Hagbourne first): M Randell 33, B Stewart 12; J Chedzey 15, R Ethridge 19; P Heapy 19, C Turner 11; I Hickman 19, P Baskerville 26.
Trentham A 89 (12), Kingston Bagpuize & Southmoor (2) (KB&S skips first): F Abraham 8, J Bampton 28; T Blackler 17, D Freeman 25; S Fraser 16, B Turner 17; P Mortel 20, B Lambert 19.
Island Bohemian A 71 (3), Harwell 81 (11) (Island Bohemian skips first): T McDonnell 17, D Morgan 21; G Thorne 20, J Govans 17; L Hillier 18, J Lawson 18; P Cowen 16, J Pigott 25.
KENNET LX LEAGUE
Hagbourne 40 (2), Newbury 62 (10) (Hagbourne skips first): P Ryman 11, T O’Neill 19; I Hickman 10, D Chivers 26; J Beardsley 19, R Collins 17.
Abingdon B 66 (6), Harwell 60 (4) (Abingdon B skips first): G Powell 35, J Pigott 15; N West 19, D Morgan 22; G Edwards 12, A Bowler 23.
ASHLEY BAKER LEAGUE
Kingston Bagpuize & Southmoor 56 (9), Kintbury 42 (1) (KB&S skips first): F Abraham 26, A Elliott 13; S Fraser 17, J Brbon 17; C Lee-Tuffnell 13, J Tayler 12.
FRIENDLIES
Hagbourne 98, Oxford City & County 69 (Hagbourne skips first): J Heapy 20, H Winstone 12; M Marriott 11, L Lacey 13; D Rose 22, M Gleeson 16; S Gibson 27, N Satchell 8; A Bowler 18, G Kerr 20.