Honours were shared between Oxford and Didcot in Sunday’s Oxfordshire Inter-League Tournament held at South Moreton School. The Oxford 1 senior side, consisting of Karl Bushell, Jingyu Sun and Laurel Christer dominated proceedings, beating Didcot 5-2, Oxford 2 6-1 and Banbury 7-0. Karl and Jingyu both kept up an unbeaten record in singles, although Jingyu had close calls against Tony Gorman (Banbury) and Joe Cheong (Didcot), while Karl was also taken the distance by Craige Campbell (Didcot). On the ladies’ side Jessie Cao (Didcot) beat Lianne Fisher (Oxford 2) 12-10 in the 5th and went on to win all her singles matches, with Lianne winning 2/3 and Laurel 1. In the Mixed Doubles, Laurel had the best record with 5/6, while Joyce Witney, coming in as a last minute substitute for Banbury, partnered Tony Gorman to a fine 3-1 win over Oxford 2, who finished 2nd overall.

The junior trophy was reclaimed by the Didcot trio of Charlie Lane, David Smart and Nathan Cheong, who competed consistently throughout the day and were inspired by Charlie’s maximum 6/6; a sign of their excellent teamwork was winning 3/3 doubles using different pairings. They beat Banbury 5-2, Oxford 1 4-3 and Oxford 2 4-3. Charlie scored a notable victory over County no 1 Michael Harrison (Banbury) at 11-8 in the 5th but was also taken the distance by Banbury no 2 Jack Shardlow. Last year’s winners, Oxford 1, finished 2nd after a slightly disappointing performance, overshadowed by the end of the day by Oxford 2 (Lewis Sumner, Simon Price and Niall Harris – average age 13), who enjoyed some notable individual victories and were all set to defeat Banbury in their last match, when it had to be abandoned as a draw, having lasted far too long! Lewis Sumner (14) has improved phenomenally in his first year in the game and here took the scalps of Michael Harrison (3-1), Anthony Howgego (3-0) and David Smart (3-2), though losing to Charlie Lane, Jonah Stott and Jack Shardlow (all 1-3). Top scorer for Oxford 1 was Jonah Stott (13) with 4/5.

By John Birkin