What a great start to the new season as West Midlands made it three wins in as many games in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships when they won 23-13 away to Sussex.
The weekend got off to a fine start with the ladies ‘B’ winning 5-1 Heather Wright (20.88) their lady of the match, following up with a 7-5 win were the men’s ‘B’ side their top player being Ashe Khayat with a 28.18 average.
The ladies ‘A’ match saw all of the games go with the darts advantage and finished all square at 3-3 with Sarah Roberts claiming her second match award with a top average of 23.48. The men’s ‘A’ for the second consecutive fixture won 8-4 Mark Craddock the man of the match with a 27.96 average.
The result sees West Midlands hold on to pole position in the promotional table and increase their slender lead over London by one more point giving them 75 points as opposed to their rivals 70.
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For the first time in five games Crown at Olton lost in the premier division of the Sheldon and District Winter League. Playing away to bottom of the table The Pirates, who prior to the game were pointless having lost all three of their games Crown went down 5-4 and as a result drop two places in the table to third and their hosts move off the foot of the table to be replaced by EBAHA who lost 7-2 to The Lyndon.
A 5-4 win at Mackadown Social has seen Saltley Amateur Gardeners take over the number one spot with 10 points from six games, Crown at Shard End are second with 8 points from four games and are now the only undefeated team in the division.
In division one Iron Horse made it five straight wins with a 5-4 win over Willclare Sports and Social who drop from third to fourth in the table, Highwood KB’s move up two places to second following their 7-2 home win over Holy Souls.
Crown Arrows are going strong in division two their 5-4 home win over Shirley RBL Misfits taking their 100% win record to six games and giving them a four points advantage over second placed Ridgemere Social Flights who beat Maggies 6-3 leaving them with a game in hand on the leaders.
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The preliminary round of the Brian Goodman Cup was on the fixture card for the Four Oaks and District League and the biggest win of the round was 8-1 achieved by both Golden Hind and The Beehive who in turn defeated Boldmere Tap and Red Lion. In contrast the lead changed four times in the match between Bishop Vesey and Golden Hind Arrows before the Arrows took the final game to win 5-4. Another nail biter saw Old Oscott Arrows beat Plough and Arrows 5-4 again the final game deciding the issue. Boldmere St Mikes won 6-3 at The Boot with 180’s from M.Wild and B.Linnecor. Erdington Arrows outscored their visitors Old Oscott WMC but we unable to match their opponents finishing power and lost 6-3.
J.Dempsey (Bishop Vesey) and P.Opelier (Plough and Arrows) also recorded maximums this week.
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Highwood enforced their bid for the Shirley and District Monday Night League title with a 5-4 win over third in the table Shirley Red Lion, second placed Crown Jewels are on the same 30 points as Highwood their 8-1 win against Shirley Legionnaires reducing the deficit on average to just three legs and after sixteen games a gap of eight points has now opened up between them and the rest of the teams.
Bottom of the table Shirley Spartac had a good week as they chalked up their first win on 16 games when they won their home tie with next to bottom Blue Bell 6-3.
Dan Rycroft was on the mark for Strawberry Fields hitting two maximums in their 8-1 win over Baldwin Bears. Matt McCallion (Cider House) was another player to find the three treble twenties while Mark Gwalchmai (Shirley Red Lion) recorded a 140 finish.
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The South Birmingham League staged the first round of their Roy Parry Cup and three of the five games finished with 7-2 wins for St John’s, Raven and Coleshill Social who in turn defeated Family Tree, The C’s and The Bell. Kingfisher and The Dog both won 5-4 against their respective opponents Toby Jug and The Gate.
A few late results saw Banbury Flights beat The Dog and Smithswood Social 5-4 to go top of division two with a perfect six points from their opening three games, for former leaders The Dog it was their first defeat and as a result go two points behind Banbury and drop to second place.
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The Forest of Arden Winter League had their divisional cups on the agenda and in round one in division one second in the table Olton Crown beat third placed Sheldon Marlborough Arrows 6-3 while in the division two encounters there was a shock for the divisional leaders Chelmsley Town who despite being unbeaten in the league were knocked out by Ivy Leaf with a 6-3 scoreline. Highwood KB beat bottom of the table Greville Arms with a convincing 8-1 result.
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What Are Thooose had a setback to their title aspirations in the Winmau Centre Monday Night League played at Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Stadium when for the first time this season they lost, a 31-17 defeat at the hands of the Misfits who have taken over pole position with 276 points seven more than their opponents who drop to second in the table.
In third place are What’s The Point who won 34-14 against Keep It In The Family to put them on 255 points. Reigning champions The Untouchables who are currently fourth had a bye this week and are on 246 points with a game in hand on the three teams above them.
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Just one fixture played in the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League this week which saw league leaders Old Hop Pole beat third placed The Vine 5-2 to open up a four points lead at the top of the table, plus they have a game in hand on second placed Dewdrop with just three fixtures remaining. So apart from a massive upset Old Hop Pole do look to have the title in the bag with Dewdrop runners up as they in turn are twelve points to the good on third placed The Vine.
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The Aston league played off the first round of their 10-A-Side Cup with league leaders Kingstanding Ex Serviceman’s Club winning 6-1 against Old Oscott WMC while second in the table Sportsmans Rest suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of third placed Erdington Club.
In the other two games Mitre beat Aston Flights 5-2 and Red Lion won 4-3 at Safe Harbour.
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The latest of the Winmau First Thursday of The Month Knockouts at the Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Stadium was won by none other than the American number one Larry (The Bald Eagle) Butler who finished as runner up to Glen Durrant in this year’s Winmau World Masters in Hull. In the quarter finals Butler was held to a very close 4-3 win by Richard Hosey but then had a more convincing 5-1 success in the semis against Lee Craig. From the other half of the draw a previous winner Mick Baker accounted for Simon Meredith with a 4-1 verdict to reach the last four and then booked his final place with a straight 5-0 win over Sam Guest
The final saw Butler clinch the top prize with a 6-2 win over Baker.
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Six games into the new season and there are still three teams unbeaten in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League and three of the top five teams won 9-0 in week six. Leaders Bird ‘A’ (Stourbridge) beat their visitors Queens 9-0 to stay top of the table on average from reigning champions Ashwood who won their home tie with The Fox (Lye) 6-3. Third placed Britannia also had a home game against The Swan in which they were 9-0 winners while fourth placed Ten Arches ‘B’ who are two points behind the leading trio won 8-1 at The Crestwood. Brickmakers Arms make up the top five and they were the third side to win 9-0 in a home game against The Cat Inn (Wordsley). Ten Arches ‘A’ are on the same ten points as their ‘B’ team and Brickmakers, they won 5-4 against Stourbridge RBL.
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The Cradley Tuesday Night League played the finals of the doubles knockout and the final turned out to be an all Crown affair with A.Ghaley and M.Tedstone (Crown ‘A’) beating J.Sharratt and R.Humphries (Crown ‘B’) 3-1. Ghaley and Tedstone won 2-0 in the last eight against T.Nock and A.Dimmock (Wheatsheaf) and booked their final spot with a similar straight legs win over R.Duncan and M.Greenwood (Vine) in the semis. Sharratt and Humphries had a bye in the quarter finals and then won 2-0 against J.Lowe and L.Eaves in the last four.
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With only three fixtures remaining in the Brierley Hill Monday Night League Dudley Sports ‘C’ edged closer to the title when they won 6-3 at the Blue Brick to maintain their four points lead at the top of the table over their nearest rivals Bridge ‘B’ who won 7-2 at home against the Griffin, in fact Dudley Sports ‘C’ now have to lose their last three games and Bridge ‘B’ win all three for them to lose the title as in addition to their four points lead Dudley Sports ‘C’ also have a massive average advantage. The two teams are guaranteed first and second places and it now looks as though it will be Dudley Sports ‘C’ as winners with Bridge ‘B’ runners up.
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There was a first defeat of the campaign for Roebuck in the Brierley Hill Friday Night League a crushing 9-0 reversal away to second in the table Brickmakers Arms, the loss seeing Roebuck drop two places to fourth.
Reigning champions Miners (Wollescote) once again lead the way their 7-2 home win over Pensnett Welfare Club making it three wins in as many games and six points while second and third placed Brickmakers Arms and Netherton Cricket Club are both on four points, the cricket club winning their home tie with The Bell 6-3.
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Abbey slipped from second to fifth in the Harborne League table following their 5-4 defeat at Amber Tavern Pirates who are one place above them and two points to the good. Court Oak are top with a perfect eight points from four games the latest of which saw them win 8-1 at home against Avenue Social. Hillyfields ‘A’ are second their 9-0 win over Sportsman leaving them just two points behind the leaders while third in the table Avenue Flights had a close 5-4 win over Hillyfields ‘B’ but the win kept intact their unbeaten run of three games and together with Court Oak they are the only unbeaten teams in the league.
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After eleven games there is nothing separating the top two teams in the Netherton Thursday Night League, Rose and Crown and White Swan are locked together on the same points and average. The latest round of fixtures saw Rose and Crown win 7-2 at Fairfield and with the same scoreline White Swan won at Delph Bell. Third in the table Bulls Head (Netherton) have played two games fewer than the two teams above them, wins in both of those would take them level on the same 30 points and if they can get fifteen or more winners in those games they would go top of the table.
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White Horse (Quarry Bank) have taken over the number one spot in the Halesowen Monday Night Ladies League after a 5-2 win over Hare and Hounds while Black Horse suffered a damaging 5-2 defeat at Haden Cross which could lose them their third place.
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There were 6-1 wins for the top two teams in the Camp Hill League this week leaders Cotterills Lane Club beat third placed Holy Gulp while their nearest rivals HMS Lions beat Lady Westminster to keep them level on the same 14 points as Cotterills. At the other end of the table the bottom two teams played each other next to bottom Wagon and Horse beating bottom team Devil’s Club 4-3, this was Wagon’s second win in eight outings while Devil’s Club are left still seeking their first points of the campaign.
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The West Midlands Men’s Super League is four games into its new season and leading the way is Landywood ‘A’ who handed out a 5-0 whitewash to their hosts bottom of the table Griffin to give them 27 points. In addition to Landywood ‘A’ having won all four games so too have Crown ‘A’, Greets Green and Allens Bar and there are only four points separating the top four teams. Wednesfield FC lost third place and their unbeaten record as they finished on the wrong side of a 4-3 result at Staffordshire Knot and drop to fifth.
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No change at the top of division one of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League with all of the top seven teams recording wins in week 29.
In division two long time leaders Pheasant lost their home tie 4-3 to Emerald who are in the bottom half of the table and as a result of their defeat drop to third two points behind Roebuck who have taken over second place by handing out a 7-0 whitewash to Red Lion. Whitmore Reans WMC continue to lead the table their 6-1 win at Three Crowns giving them 46 points and a four points breathing space between themselves and Roebuck.
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The Tamworth League played off the first two rounds of their Three Tuns Trophy and winning through to the last four teams were Prince of Wales ‘A’, Fox and Dogs, Mile Oak Rovers and Belgrave Club.
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