Docherty leading the way for Cross

Banbury Cross bowler Nigel Galletly is progressing well in the national competitions

Carole Galletly and AJ Docherty travelled to Westlecot IBC in Swindon to take on Neil Smith and Katie Smith in the national mixed pairs and came away with an excellent 19-9 victory. They will play either Central’s Kath Hawes and Nigel Galletly or Westlecot’s Mike Titchcombe Lucy Smith.

In the national pairs, Mark Sykes and AJ Docherty have already played two rounds, narrowly beating a pair from Slade on an extra end and then a pair from Brackley. Docherty has also progressed to the next round in the singles after convincingly beating Slade’s Don Savage 21-6.

In the triples, Galletly, Sykes and Docherty were beaten 21-19 at Chipping Norton by Steve Witcombe, Shane Cooper and Martin Shepherd.

In the men’s Champion of Champions competition, Tom McKenna beat Sam Watts from Oxford City & County 21-6. In the ladies’ section Carole Galletly beat Brackley’s Linda Upton 21-15 and now plays Central team-mate Kath Hawes so Banbury are guaranteed a representative in the area semi-finals.

Central beat Foxhill IBC 37-33 in the over-60s men’s double rink competition.

Chick Boyd, Terry Ulph, Keith McNeil and Tom McKenna won 21-11 at Foxhill while Ray Hopkins, Jim Gow, Dave Pridmore and Nigel Galletly hung on after dropping six shots on the penultimate end to lose by 16-22.

Banbury Cross beat Oxford City & County 93-92.

Eloise Jones, Sue Winter, Ron Havard and John Stephens won 28-11 while Kay Oliver, Chris Derry, John Hart and Sue Waring won 21-13.

Sylvia McKenna, David Drinkwater, Dave Gardner and Tom McKenna lost 23-17 while Andy Winter, Dennis Roberts, Jill Hart and Margaret Simpson lost 25-12, and Margaret Morris, Pete Buzzard, Mick Morris and Gerald Fountain lost 20-15.