Oxfordshire gave the leading county in the land a run for their money over the weekend before going down 19-17 to BDO Inter-Counties Championship Premier Division leaders Yorkshire.

After a thrilling two days at Rileys in Cowley, they had to give best to the champions, but had the satisfaction of inflcting a sensational 6-0 victory over the Tykes’ ladies A team.

The home ladies B team started with a win from Belinda Grant, Yorkshire hitting back to take the next two.

Lady-of-the-match Nicola Curzon stopped the rot, only for the visitors to capture the last two.

Oxon men’s B team found themselves 2-0 down before Andy Thomas picked up a point.

The next two legs went to Yorkshire, Roger Haines and man-of-the-match Antony Barrett hitting back to reduce the arrears.

Oxon then lost five on the trot before Eamon Lilly and John Russell (25.88) repaired some of the damage.

The visitors’ 7-5 win saw them ahead 11-7 at the end of day one.

Rileys was packed on Sunday to see a Yorkshire team included six internationals.

Oxon had their own international and world championship runner-up in Deta Hedman and she did not disappoint against Lorraine Farlam in a repeat of the world championship semi-final.

Hedman triumphed 3-0, taking the lady-of-the-match award with a brilliant 30.06 average.

Karen Williams made it 2-0 and other wins followed from Nicola Curzon, on her debut, Kim Ledbury, Fiona Car-michael and Linda Jones, which put Oxon 13-11 in front and six points from victory.

The men’s A team lost the first game before man-of-the-match Nick Cobb pulled one back.

Ian Moss then took on one of Yorkshire’s big names, Martin Atkins, and gained another point by winning 4-2.

Former world champion John ‘Boy’ Walton grabbed the next for Yorkshire, before Preben Krabben triumphed to extend Oxon’s lead to 16-13.

Jon Jukes put up a great fight against Word Masters champion Scott Waites before losing in the final leg.

Waites’s average was an impressive 30.29.

That prompted a match- winning run of six wins for Yorkshire, before Pete Hall captured the final game to end a memorable contest.