Devon v Warwickshire
Warwickshire’s last away game in the premier division of the BDO Inter County Championships was against Devon a fixture they lost 20-16 at home last season but fortunes have changed for the hosts this campaign and they find themselves in a relegation position so Warwickshire looked odds on to return with a win.
Despite Devon’s lowly position the weekend began well for them as their ladies ‘B’ team stormed to a 5-1 win. Karen Matthews set the mood coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to Donna Pinch she went on to win 3-2. Jode Hawton made it 2-0 to the home side when she beat Angela Jones 3-0 before Warwickshire got their one and only winner in the game in the form of Chloe McKivett who chalked up a 3-1 win over Mo Mortimer, Chloe’s 19.68 average plus the fact she was the sole winner earned her the lady of the match award.
Devon then went into an unassailable 4-1 lead with 3-0 wins from Chrissie Kinnard and Lisa Hughes who in turn accounted for Helen Rigg and Denise Keyte. With a 3-1 in the last game for Kelly Gabriel over Melanie Jones the final score was taken to 5-1 for the hosts.
The first five games of the men’s ‘B’ match all went with the first throw advantage, Mark Carter Warwickshire’s first winner as he beat Billy Evans 4-2. Devon’s reply was a 4-1 win from Keelan Kay over Jack Wareing only to see Ian Shaw restore the away teams lead when he won 4-2 against Mark Vellacott. Levelling the score for a second time was Mark Turner who twice had to come from behind against Robert Comben before securing his very close 4-3 win.
Karl Reynolds (Warwickshire) was made to fight all the way by Mike Pearce but fight he did and came out of the tussle with a 4-3 win after Pearce had squared the game in the fourth and sixth legs.
The last game of the first half saw the sequence broken as Dave Hill gave Warwickshire a two games buffer when he won 4-3 against Daniel Belsten, Belsten going 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 up before Hill won the last two legs.
As the second half got underway the away team increased their lead to 6-2 and assuring them of a share of the spoils at the worst were James Hykin and Gareth Braham. Hykin whose straight 4-0 victory over Scott Hutchinson included winning legs of 21,18,19 and 15 darts won the man of the match award for a winning average of 27.45. Braham lost his first leg to Kevin Elliott but bounced back to go on and win 4-1 to take the score to 6-2.
Devon managed to reduce the arrears in the ninth game when they chalked up their third win thanks to Scott Lawrey who went 2-1 up, 3-1 up and then 3-3 before winning 4-3 against Tom McGlone.
Warwickshire’s win came in the tenth when Ashley Hykin with a 4-1 scoreline accounted for Owen Bates and with a similar 4-1 result Antony West defeated Shaun Dring to put the visiting team 8-3 up.
The final game of the day saw Thom Humphrey beat Richard Foster 4-1 to take the result to 8-4 in Warwickshire’s favour.
What better opener could Warwickshire have wished for other than Sue Gulliver who had already this season won five of the seven match awards, Sue in double quick time registered a straight 3-0 win over Maria O’Brien and once again with a 20.59 average she lifted the match award.
Caroline Pike went two up against Cat Callard and although Callard came back to two each it was Warwickshire’s Pike who got the 3-2 result to double her team’s lead. Taking the advantage along to 3-0 was Nina Bolt with a 3-1 success against Sarah Brown.
Hayley Grant looked as though she was going to be Devon first winner when she took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 against Kat Spanswick, however Spanswick hung on in there and with wins in the last two legs not only won 3-2 but at the same time took the score to 4-0 to give Warwickshire their win.
Wendy Adams went one up against Anna Johnson but it was Johnson who got the 3-1 result for Devon’s first win and doubling their tally was Merryl Dennis who after leading 2-0 was pegged back to 2-2 by Marian Conway before taking the last leg for a 3-2 win and make the score a little more respectable for the home side as they lost 4-2.
A 7-5 defeat would now be good enough to ensure an overall Warwickshire win but with five wins, one draw and only one defeat so far this season they were looking to make those statistics look even better. Opener Mark Westgarth went two up in 18 and 20 darts before his opponent David Matthews replied with two wins in 19 and 24 darts. Westgarth rounded off a 4-2 win with a further two winning legs both in 18 darts. Although Simon Power came from 3-0 down to 3-3 against Liam Goyne it was Devon’s Goyne who won the decider for a 4-3 win. Anthony Allen took Warwickshire’s score along to 2-1 with a clear cut 4-0 win over his namesake Danny Allen and was followed by a 4-1 win from Dean Stewart against Mark Shears to open up a 3-1 lead.
Neil White with a 3-0 lead was well on his way to secure Devon’s second win but Steve Hine had other ideas and with wins in the next four legs won the tie 4-3. At the midway point of the match the score was 4-2 to the away team after David Witt had added his 4-1 win over Kevin Dowling to the home teams account.
Kicking off the second half for Warwickshire was their man of the match for the two previous fixtures Nigel Heydon and once again he didn’t disappoint as he recorded a 4-2 win over Paul Palmer in 14,28,16 and 16 darts to give him his third successive award for his 28.88 average, Palmer had won the second and fourth legs in 15 and 14 darts.
Glyn Wells (Devon) took the lead three times only to see Tom Aldridge cancel it out on each occasion and the deciding leg could easily have gone to either player but it was Wells with double two who got the 4-3 verdict after Aldrdige had missed his finishing doubles.
Impressive 4-0 wins from both Mark Carter and Charlie Symons over respective opponents Shaun Dring and Andy Aspinall took Warwickshire’s score to a winning 7-3 lead before the hosts had their best run of the match as in the penultimate game Matthew Dickinson came from 3-1 down against Noel Grant to win 4-3 and anchor man Paul Milford beat Carl Green 4-1 to take the final score to 7-5 for Warwickshire.
Full Results: Premier Division:Devon v Warwickshire (16-20)🙁Devon names first):Men’s ‘A’:- David Matthews 2 Mark Westgarth 4, Liam Goyne 4 Simon Power 3, Danny Allen 0 Anthony Allen 4, Mark Shears 1 Dean Stewart 4, Neil White 3 Steve Hine 4, David Witt 4 Kevin Dowling 1, Paul Palmer 2 Nigel Heydon 4, Glyn Wells 4 Tom Aldridge 3, Shaun Dring 0 Mark Carter 4, Andy Aspinall 0 Charlie Symons 4, Matthew Dickinson 4 Noel Grant 3, Paul Milford 4 Carl Green 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Billy Evans 2 Mark Carter 4, Keelan Kay 4 Jack Wareing 1, Mark Vellacott 2 Ian Shaw 4, Mark Turner 4 Robert Comben 3, Mike Pearce 3 Karl Reynolds 4, Daniel Belsten 3 Dave Hill 4, Scott Hutchinson 0 James Hykin 4, Kevin Elliott 1 Gareth Braham 4, Scott Lawrey 4 Tom McGlone 3, Owen Bates 1 Ashley Hykin 4, Shaun Dring 1 Antony West 4, Thom Humphrey 4 Richard Foster 1, Women’s ‘A’:- Maria O’Brien 0 Sue Gulliver 3, Cat Callard 2 Caroline Pike 3, Sarah Brown 1 Nina Bolt 3, Hayley Brant 2 Kat Spanswick 3, Anna Johnson 3 Wendy Adams 1, Merryl Dennis 3 Marian Conway 2, Women’s ‘B’:- Karen Matthews 3 Donna Pinch 2, Jodie Hawton 3 Angela Jones 0, Mo Mortimer 1 Chloe McKivett 3, Chrissie Kinnaird 3 Helen Rigg 0, Lisa Hughes 3 Denise Keyte 0, Kelly Gabriel 3 Melanie Jones 1.
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Congratulations to Warwickshire’s Nigel Heydon on being selected for the six nations England darts team to play in Selsea in June, he has also been selected for the European Team to represent England In Hungary in September well done and well deserved Nigel.
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The Warwickshire youth squad played their final home game of the season against Shropshire, the visiting team only able to muster eight players with some of them having to play twice. Nevertheless that shouldn’t detract from the final 9-6 win for Warwickshire to secure the title.
The Under 18’s won 5-2 thanks to wins from George Ross, Jake Liggins, Jordan Ainsworth, Joe Pitchford-Morris and Mackenzie Nixon. Wins from Laura Bowley, Courtney Hine and Lucy Keyte gave the ladies a straight 3-0 victory but the Under 21’s suffered a 4-1 defeat as Tom Mills supplied their one and only win.
In their penultimate fixture of the season Warwickshire Youth played away to Merseyside, another fantastic performance from the Bears cubs running out 10-5 winners with wins in all three sections, the fifth time they have achieved this this season. The win made it seven wins in as many games,
Winners for the Under 18’s were Xander Meek, Matthew Cain, Joe Pitchford-Morris, Will Rattigan and Mackenzie Nixon, for the ladies it was Courtney Hine and Lucy Keyte while Jake Liggins, Charlie Symons and Lewis Bayliss all won for the Under 21’s.
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