Winter 1 Season – Review
The curtain has now come down on Winter 1, the first half of the Winter Season. Brackley 1 booked their place in the Play Off Finals in April 2025 by finishing a commanding 39 points clear of University 1 in the top division. Back end of the campaign heroics by Harwell 1 and Hithercroft 1 enabled both to maintain their status amongst the elite but also spelled the end of long tenures at this level for Abingdon 1 and Thame 1.
After a dismal showing in Winter 2 earlier this year, Defence Academy 1 recruited well and expertly led by Nev Buckle catapulted themselves back into Division One. 13 wins from 14 outings saw them finish a massive 55 points clear of Nuffield 1 who will join them in the next tier come the new year. Such is the renewed vigour at DA, they will be fielding a second team for the first time in a long while come January. It was a season to forget for Banbury West End who saw their courts obliterated by Storm Bert whilst the temporary move to Bloxham School didn’t arrest their troubles on court. They will be joined in Div 3 by fellow strugglers Harwell 2 who never recovered from an injury ravaged poor start back in September.
Hithercroft 2 and University 2 will replace the Banbury and Harwell outfits in Division Two after a nail-biting three-way tussle resulted in Brackley 2 narrowly missing out. The former will now take their place in the Play Offs after their closest rivals failed to overhaul them in their final fixture. Nuffield 2 and University 3 were cut adrift weeks ago and both now drop into Div 4.
In the bottom division, Andy Bissell’s Spiceball Platypuses (from Banbury) were totally dominant winning all 12 of their matches. Henley 2 will join them in the rung above whilst Carterton 2 and 3 fought to avoid the ignominy of ending up bottom of the pile. The ‘honour’ eventually fell to the latter in what nevertheless was a commendable effort in their inaugural season.
To find all the Results and Standings, please visit County Leagues Results/Tables