OXFORDSHIRE’S Premier side stayed on track for glory in the English Short Mat Association Inter-County Competition with a hard-fought 30-10 (203-142) victory over Wiltshire at Wallingford.

But they had to do it the hard way before pulling away in the later stages of the match.

Needing a good win to stay in contention for the group title, Oxon started sluggishly on the first run of the mats.

AJ Brown battled hard to win his singles 12-10 and the pair of Julian Bradbury and Les Woodford also won 14-9, but the other two games were lost, leaving the match all-square.

On the second run, the home side were unable to shake off a determined fight by the Wiltshire side.

In the triples, Anne Sirett, Chris Hasker and Bob Barnard showed the way with a comfortable 16-3 win, while Geoff Cross, Gareth Davies and Roger Wiggins squeezed through 9-7.

However, with both fours losing, the match was still level at 8-8.

On the third run, Oxon at last found their form with wins from David Wiggins 12-10, AJ Brown 15-13, Julian Bradbury and Les Woodford 21-4 and Marilyn Davies and Adam Dickson 13-12.

This gave the team a much-needed lift and the last run of the mats saw them continue in the same vein.

Further victories came from Anne Sirett, Chris Hasker and Bob Barnard 20-2, Geoff Cross, Gareth Davies and Roger Wiggins 15-8, David Sims, Ted Mills, Ray Claridge and Paul Skidmore 13-8 and Luke Sims, Helen Skidmore, Tim Cross and Denis Wilson 13-4.

Scorers: D Wiggins 8-15, 12-10; AJ Brown 12-10, 15-13; J Bradbury & L Woodford 14-9, 21-4; M Davies & A Dickson 10-20, 13-12; A Sirett, C Hasker & B Barnard 16-3, 20-2; G Cross, G Davies & R Wiggins 9-7, 15-8; D Sims, T Mills, R Claridge & P Skidmore 4-10, 13-8; L Sims, H Skidmore, T Cross & D Wilson 5-7, 13-4.