OXFORDSHIRE’S Kevin Lowe claimed the scalp of former world champion John ‘Boy’ Walton, but could not save his county from a 20-16 defeat by a star-studded Yorkshire in their Premier Division match.

Fans packed into the Ex-Services and Bicester Families Club to see a brave display by Oxon, who won two of the four matches against the league leaders.

Pride of place went to Oxon’s men’s and ladies’ A team, but they could not quite overcome the heavy loss suffered by their men’s B team on the first day.

The result leaves Oxon bottom of the table and facing relegation from the top flight, but their spirited performance will give them heart for the rest of the season.

Oxon started well with their lad-ies B team earning a draw thanks to wins from Shirley Castle, Tasha Borton and Kim Ledbury.

But the hosts had a reality check, as the men’s B slumped to a 10-2 defeat, the only successes coming from Geordie Grant, on his debut, and Les Radford, who won his second man-of-the-match award in a row.

Amazingly, the second day belonged to Oxfordshire with an 11-7 scoreline.

In the ladies A contest, Sandra Cox lost to world- ranked Lorraine Farlam, but successes from Rebecca Rose, Casey Gallagher, Clare Bywaters and world championship runner-up Deta Hedman saw Oxon home 4-2. With Yorkshire leading 15-9, they extended their advantage by winning the first three clashes in the men’s A match.

Aaron Stevens put a point on the board for Oxon, while John Newland, Sean Holley and Nick Cobb also triumphed.

Preben Krabben lost out to world No 2 James Wilson, but 17-year-old Josh McCarthy (27.52) overcame England international Garry Thompson.

This was followed by a man-of-the-match display from Jon Jukes which put Oxon 6-5 up in the men’s A match.

Finally, Lowe saw off Walton to earn the A side a famous 7-5 win over the best outfit in the country and give the home fans a day to remember.