Derbyshire v Berkshire
After what was a very disappointing start to their campaign in division three of the BDO Inter County Championships whereby Derbyshire played and lost the opening four games a 22-14 win in their home tie with Tyne and Wear in the fifth fixture put them back on the road to recovery as they followed that up with wins over Gloucestershire and Leicestershire, then with confidence boosted in their penultimate fixture of the season held divisional leaders Berkshire to an 18-18 draw at home.
The Berkshire game however didn’t get off to the best of starts as the ladies ‘B’ went one down when Hayley Watts beat Emma Varnam 3-0 and although Dee Fenn restored parity when she won 3-0 against Amy Smith the visitors went ahead again in the third when Julie James won 3-1 against Sara-Jane Harrison.
Once again the game was squared in the fourth with a 3-1 win for Derbyshire’s lady of the match Terri Bellamy who made it two such awards for the season with her 3-1 win over Jackie Walford with a 16.74 average.
A 3-1 win by Berkshire’s Christine Ruffell against Emily Jones set up a result decider between Carol Western (Derbyshire) and Carole Holroyd. The tie went the full five legs distance but with the 3-2 result going to Carole Holroyd the final score was 4-2 to Berkshire.
The men’s ‘B’ with four wins and three defeats were on the plus side with their results and began to show that as after they initially lost the first two games when Andy McNeil-Aitken beat Connor Hodgkinson 3-2 and Paul Upson won 3-0 against Benjamin Holmes Scott McCabe had a straight 3-0 win over Simon McGuinness for Derbyshire’s first win and with a 3-1 success for Andrew Gillott over Roy Barton the score was level at two each. Gillott was in superb form beating Barton with a man of the match average of 28.93 for his first award of the season.
From 2-0 down Derbyshire then took the lead for the first time in the fourth when Andy Whittington won a five legs affair against Andy Sturton 3-2. Keeping the momentum going were Timothy Rippon, Paul Williams and Ian Allcock who in turn accounted for their respective opponents Mark Humphries (3-0), Lee Hussey (3-1) and Andy Saunders (3-2) to put Derbyshire well and truly in the driving seat with a 6-2 lead.
Berkshire pulled one back in the ninth game when Clive Drinkwater beat Andrew Baker 3-1 but the all-important seventh win was added to Derbyshire’s tally when Steve Thompson won 3-2 against Robert Carr. The penultimate game also went the full five legs distance, the result this time going to Berkshire’s Richard Stride who defeated Adrian Asprey.
To round off the day’s games Henry Coates made it 8-4 for Derbyshire when he handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Robert Bowers.
The ladies ‘A’ were coming off the back of two 5-1 wins with confidence at a high and that really showed as they stormed into a winning 4-0 lead. Samantha Marshall gave the team a fantastic start when she kicked the game off with a lady of the match performance beating Debbie Shadwell 3-2 with a 20.97 average. Doubling Derbyshire’s lead was Rachel Ayres who won her tie with Angela Hogan 3-1 and taking the score along to 3-0 was Jackie Sweet who beat Priscilla Cummings 3-2.
Derbyshire chalked up their winning game as early as the fourth encounter when Louise Rawson added her straight 3-0 win over Debbie Connors to their account.
Berkshire got their first winner in the fifth, Ally Judge beating Jennifer McCormick 3-1 and taking the final score to 4-2 was Berkshire’s Carol Bowers who won 3-0 against Rebecca Hoyland to give Derbyshire’s ladies ‘A’ their third consecutive win.
The men’s ‘A’ team have not enjoyed the best of season’s with just one win, one draw and five defeats in the first seven games nevertheless they held their own in the opening games as all of the first five encounters went with the first throw advantage. Jason Heaver was Berkshire’s first winner as he got the better of Stephen Paling with a 4-2 result. Paul Baker replied for Derbyshire with a 4-1 success against Simon Purvey. The visitors took the lead for a second time when Kevin Morley won 4-0 against Lee Stanley, only to see David Fritchley win a seven legs tussle with Justin Webb 4-3 to level the game once more. Game number five was another seven legs affair this time going to the away team as their Steve Rose accounted for Gary Fenn in yet another very close game. At this point with Berkshire leading 3-2 the sequence was broken and the away side opened up a two games buffer to lead 4-2 at the halfway stage thanks to their Paul Snowsill beating Tim Daniels 4-1.
The second half of the match began in style for Derbyshire as they added their third winner in the form of Richard Hanson who not only beat Terry Stubbs 4-2 but also won the team’s match award for his very creditable 28.62 average.
Berkshire then moved into a 6-3 lead as James Turner won 4-2 against Nigel Daniels and Paul Hogan beat Ian Clarke 4-0. Keeping Derbyshire in the hunt for a draw was Ryan Hassell as he won his tie with Paul Self but a draw was not to be as Paul Croucher and Joe Lacey in turn won against Sean Lambert and Keith Cooper to give Berkshire the 8-4 result.
Although there was further disappointment for the men’s ‘A’ team the overall result for the weekend was a tremendous 18-18 draw, however it still leaves Derbyshire in the relegation zone with 151 points just one more than bottom of the table Leicestershire but more importantly with one last fixture to play, a home tie against Wiltshire their destiny is in their own hands as despite the four teams above them all have one more game to play the points are Tyne and Wear 151, Wiltshire 153, Gloucestershire 156 and Norfolk 158 so Derbyshire have everything to play for, a win could well preserve their division three status.
Full Results:Derbyshire v Berkshire (18-18)🙁Derbyshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Stephen Paling 2 Jason Heaver 4, Paul Baker 4 Simon Purvey 1, Lee Stanley 0 Kevin Morley 4, David Fritchley 4 Justin Webb 3, Gary Fenn 3 Steve Rose 4, Tim Daniels 1 Paul Snowsill 4, Richard Hanson 4 Terry Stubbs 2, Nigel Daniels 2 James Turner 4, Ian Clarke 0 Paul Hogan 4, Ryan Hassell beat Paul Self, Sean Lambert lost to Paul Croucher, Keith Cooper lost to Joe Lacey, Men’s ‘B’:- Connor Hodgkinson 2 Andy McNeil-Aitken 3, Benjamin Holmes 0 Paul Upson 3, Scott McCabe 3 Simon McGuinness 0, Andrew Gillott 3 Roy Barton 1, Andy Whittington 3 Andy Sturton 2, Timothy Rippon 3 Mark Humphries 0, Paul Williams 3 Lee Hussey 1, Ian Allcock 3 Andy Saunders 2, Andrew baker 1 Clive Drinkwater 3, Steve Thompson 3 Robert Carr 2, Adrian Asprey 2 Richard Stride 3, Henry Coates 3 Robert Bowers 0, Women’s ‘A’:- Samantha Marshall 3 Debbie Shadwell 2, Rachel Ayres 3 Angela Hogan 1, Jackie Sweet 3 Priscilla Cummings 2, Louise Rawson 3 Debbie Connors 0, Jennifer McCormick 1 Ally Judge 3, Rebecca Hoyland 0 Carol Bowers 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Emma Varnam 0 Hayley Watts 3, Dee Fenn 3 Amy Smith 0, Sara-Jane Harrison 1 Julie James 3, Terri Bellamy 3 Jackie Walford 1, Emily Jones 1 Christine Ruffell 3, Carol Western 2 Carole Holroyd 3.
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