OXFORD & District were foiled in their bid for glory at the English Indoor Bowling Association’s ladies’ fours national finals at Melton & District.

Donna Knight’s side of Pat Rist, Carole Galletly and Katherine Hawes bowed out 23-13 in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Boston, after a bad start saw them trail 8-1 after five ends.

In the first round, Oxford needed an extra end to squeeze past Penny Cresswell’s Dolphin four from Poole 17-16.

Banbury Cross’s Mark Sykes missed out on a place in the men’s national singles finals following an agonising 21-10 defeat by Desborough’s Simon Jones in the area final.

OXFORDSHIRE SHORT MAT ASSOCIATION RESULTS South Oxfordshire Division 1 Drayton Dynamos 19 (0pts), Didcot Barn Owls 26 (8) – 1st leg: Drayton (I Norris, P Mitchenson, L Locke, V Locke) 11, Barn Owls (F Clarke, J Cole, N Davies, N Cole) 14. 2nd leg: Drayton (J Pimm, F Bray, J Mitchenson, J Bray) 8.

Barn Owls (J Bradbury, G Smith, M Cole, K Dickson) 12.

Wootton Chiefs 27 (8pts), Wallingford Regals 14 (0) – 1st leg: Wootton (G Cross, S Faulkner G Davies, R Wiggins) 13, Wallingford (D Sirett, S Gallagher E Hasker, D Hancock) 5. 2nd leg: Wootton (B Cummings, T Cross, R Claridge, AJ Brown) 14, Wallingford (R Hasker, A Sirett, P Biggs, C Hasker) 9.

Hanney 19 (2pts), Warborough 22 (6) – 1st leg: Hanney (P Carter, F Martin, V Simpson, B Anderson) 12, Warborough (E Hodgson, J Blackstone, M Davies, D Wiggins) 10. 2nd leg: Hanney (E Herbert P Simpson, A Savage, T Zanker) 7, Warborough (P Dunn, B Bland, S Dyke, L Woodward) 12.

Afternoon League Astons 20 (8pts), Harwell Eagles 18 (0) – 1st leg: Astons 9 (C Miller, D Sirett, R Knight) 9, Harwell (J Smith, P Tait, R Evans) 8. 2nd leg: Astons (B Ritchie, E Knight, C Robbins) 11, Harwell (J Payne, R Lewis, B Barnard) 10.