At the recent group stage round robin of the Men’s Over 35’s Inter County Masters, Oxfordshire narrowly missed out on progressing to Final’s Day later in the year. In the first match, against warm favourites Avon, they succumbed 5-0 despite early leads in three of the ties.
In the afternoon, Berkshire were the opponents. Ash Stanton and Mark Cairns were victorious at 1 and 2 respectively but with Ross Gore (3) going down in three it was left to either Francois Louw (4) or Johnny Stephenson (5) to steer the side across the line. However, they both lost out agonisingly in five set thrillers and the chances of progressing further in the competition receded.
The next day and with County Coach Jason Varrie back in the line up, the County secured a compensatory 5-0 win over Warwickshire – a case of a little too late, however.
The full results can be found at https://sportmgr.co.uk/tc/detail/999234
A colourful Ash Stanton
Ash receiving advice from Skipper and County Coach, Jason Varrie
L-R: Ross Gore, Ash Stanton, Jason Varrie, Francois Louw and Mark Cairns
Ross Gore
Mark Cairns offering his hand to his defeated opponent