OXFORDSHIRE’S outside promotion hopes were ended when they suffered a crushing 25-11 defeat away to Dorset in Division 1 of the BDO Inter-Counties Championship.

Following this heavy loss, Oxon had to settle for fifth place in the table.

The one consolation for Oxon was that their Men’s A team still topped their Division 1 table, despite suffering a 10-2 hammering from the in-form hosts.

Starting off, Oxon Ladies’ B team drew with Dorset, who already topped their section, thanks to wins from Laura Ross, Cath Birch and Anita Daly-Warwick.

The Men’s B lost 5-3, with David Fowler producing the top performance with a 3-2 win and average of 24.74, as Oxon trailed 10-8 overnight.

The second day was a disaster.

England captain Deta Hedman picked up Oxon Ladies A team’s only point.

Then came the heavy defeat for the Men’s A team, who won just one of the six ties that went to a deciding seventh leg.

Their only victories came from Jon Jukes and man-of-the-match Stephen Wright, who had an average of 28.37.

So Oxon will again be in Division 1 next season, which starts on September 16 & 17.