Banbury discus thrower Perriss Wilkins made a winning return to competitive action as he turned out for Oxfordshire against a university team at Iffley Road on Wednesday night, Wilkins, who was returning from a four-year drugs ban, was a comfortable winner, launching the discus 53.01m in the third of four rounds.

It was, by a considerable margin, the best throw of the evening, with Oxford City's Paul Kelsey finishing second but 12 metres adrift.

Oxfordshire AA spokesman Barrie Strange said: "It was a good return for Perriss, but I know he was actually disappointed with the distance.

"He expected to throw over 60m, but when you consider he had a four-year lay-off, it was a promising performance.

"I was only too happy to see him in the county side as soon as clearance came through that his ban was complete.

"He had various tests, and they all came back negative, and as far as I'm concerned, his throw was the highlight of the evening."

Wilkins's coach, Mike Hughes, said: "It was a bit less than I thought he could do. I'd hoped he could get around 56 metres, but hopefully we'll see a bit more distance at his next event."

Wilkins travels to London tomorrow for the South of England Championships at Crystal Palace.