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ABINGTON 'A' GAVE themselves a tremendous shot in the arm this week. A 4-1 win over Kingsthorpe B hauled them up two places, and at the halfway stage they now again sit in their customary midtable position, three points above the drop from Division 1.​

 

​​​​​​​ Captain John Freeman's rink didn't concede a shot until the eighth end, by which time they were 13 up. By the close of play though Iain Walker's trio had surpassed them as the top winning rink. Abington were but one end away from a complete haulage of five points. Simon David's triple were 14-13 up going into the final end but suffered a disastrous turn to drop six.

 

In the immediate context though, it was a mere blip on an otherwise satisfying evening. Despite the last-second two-point swing in Kingsthorpe B's favour, our As still did enough to put themselves back in front of a potential relegation rival. Hopefully that dreaded spectre will be vanquished before the return fixture at the climax of the campaign.

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It was likewise for the C-team on the other side of the green, including the final points tally. For both sides, wins have been thin on the ground, but the Cs were determined to enjoy themselves against Brackley. And though, unlike the As, they haven't advanced any places in the Division 2 table, they now sit in the r-zone only on shot difference.

 

And that particular statistic received a great correction with this match. Captain Reg Jones and Pete Botterill dueled for most of the night as to whose rink would be the highest scoring, an honour eventually taken by the skipper, 24-6, with Botterill triumphing 22-6. The emphatic 56-30 aggregate scoreline suggests the Cs are eminently capable of surviving in the second tier by the time they travel back to Brackley in late August.

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The B-team's aim is to rejoin them there from Division 3, and they still currently sit in a promotion spot. However, to complete the wholescale reversal of the usual fortunes so far this year, the Bs have had top spot wrestled from their grasp by Roade A, who not only beat Abington 4-1, but also won their game in hand against Harpole A the following night. Even here though there were straws of comfort to grasp. The Bs were just four shots from two points, and a fifth from an overall win and three points.

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06/07/2026: THE MONDAY TRIPLES B and C teams were on the green for a second time this week, as the league's Knockout Trophy whittled 16 down to 8. Each played an opponent from the other's current division, and the fortunes were similarly mirrored.​

 

​​​​​​​ The Bs march on into the quarter-finals with a dominant display over Northampton Express B. All three rinks won with minimum fuss, Abington outscoring their visitors by exactly two shots to one, declaring at 60-30. Although according to league placing this was an upset, the B-side gave every suggestion with this perfomance that they would be at home in Division 2, should they achieve promotion.

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However, the dream of an all-Abngton final has been extinguished. The C-team are never far from drama, and lost their 2nd round match to Roade A, the B-side's main rivals for 3rd Div supremacy, in agonising fashion. Just a single shot seperated the two at close of play.

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04/07/2026: TWO COUNTY SEMI-FINALISTS raised hopes of a guaranteed Abington qualifier for the national championships in the women's senior fours, even before the final had been played. Sadly, neither of them made it beyond the last four.

 

Lis Milburn's rink spent the first half exchanging scoring ends with their opponents from Rushden, skipped by Joy Gordon. But a dropped six at halfway was the catalyst for disaster. Milburn and company gamely kept going until it was a mathematical certainty, but the situation only got more irretrievable, ending 7-29.

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By contrast, Gill Crossley's four - skipped by Barbara Astle - began a clear second best to Linda Warren's high-powered unit from Northampton Express, 5-17 down by the halfway point. However, they finished with a commendable rally to take the match to the very last end and a respectable final score of 15-19. Ultimately though, it was the same result for both as another pathway to Leamington closes for 12 months.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​