Some time ago former West Midlands star Paul Hogan moved south and nowadays plays for Hampshire in the BDO Inter County Championships but he must really look forward to his returns to the Midlands especially the Winmau Centre in the Wolverhampton Indoor Community Sports Stadium as he never fails to go home without extra cash in his pocket.
Back in August Hogan successfully defended his Winmau BDO Wolverhampton Open title at the centre taking home a cool £1,000 and more recently in October he added a further £500 when he not only took part in but won the Winmau Centre Open beating Jamie Robinson 6-3 in the final.
Left Paul Hogan with Dharam Jagpal (Arena Owner)
Runner up Jamie Robinson with Dharam Jagpal
Hogan won his last four game against Dave Walker 5-4, Robinson had a more clear cut 5-2 against Richard Hosey.
Dave Walker (Losing semi finalist) with Dharam Jagpal
Richard Hosey (Losing semi finalist) with Dharam Jagpal
With three big wins at the centre is anyone going to stop Hogan’s tremendous run?
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The preliminary round of the Presidents Cup was on the agenda for the Forest of Arden Winter League and possible the biggest shock of the round was the 5-4 win by division two reigning champions Journeys End Flights over their division one opponents Ivy Leaf. Division one’s Journeys End had a convincing 8-1 win over their second division challengers Chelmsley Town, while another division one side Kingshurst Knights beat Highwood Exiles from division two 6-3.
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The top two teams in division one of the South Birmingham League took their unbeaten runs to three games, leaders Mackadown Social winning 7-2 at Banbury Arrows and Erdington Members Club having a 6-3 home win over Crown at Shard End. The leading duo have a two points lead over Coleshill Social and Raven, the former beating Crown Arrows 8-1 while the latter won 6-3 against The Trident.
In division two there is a similar situation where The Dog and Toby Jug lead the way with a perfect six points, their latest wins being in turn 7-2 at The C’s and 6-3 at home against The Bell to put them both two points ahead of Banbury Flights and The Gate.
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There was a top of the table clash in division one of the Four Oaks and District League when top team The Boat hosted second placed Golden Hind, both teams undefeated in the opening three games. The result was a clear cut 7-2 to Boat who now have a two points lead at the top of the table, however Boldmere St Mikes with M.Ashton’s second maximum in two weeks have taken over second place form Golden Hind after a 7-2 win at Old Oscott Arrows and they have a game in hand on Boat.
Drakes Drum chalked up their first win in four when they won their home tie against Old Oscott WMC 8-1.
In division two just one leg of average separates the top three teams Red Lion with a 6-3 home win over The Boot are in pole position with Erdington Arrows and The Fox hot on their heels with the same six points from four games. The Fox missed the opportunity to go top, despite outscoring their opponents they slipped to their first defeat of the campaign going down 6-3 at Erdington Arrows.
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Just three division two fixtures played in the Kings Norton League, one very vital one being the Kings Norton Ex Serviceman’s Club versus Rubery RBL as prior to the fixture they were first and second in the table respectively.
The outcome of the game was a 5-2 win for Rubery to take them into pole position and almost certainly giving them the title as Kings Norton have now completed their programme and are two points behind Rubery, but third placed Grant Arms, who won 5-2 against Kings Heath are four points adrift of the leaders with two games still to play and mathematically could still steal the tile but to do that it would mean Rubery would have to lose their final game 6-1 to finish just one leg of average behind Grant.
The only other fixture was a lower division tie between Cotteridge Social and Billesley which saw Cotteridge win 4-3.
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With the season almost finished the race for the Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League title is still being hotly contested. Louis Burley added a 5-2 win over Les Marson to keep him in the number one spot with 214 points from 41 games while reigning champion Mick Baker in second place beat Paul Walters 6-1 to put him on 202 points from 37 games. Kevin Harris who has topped the table a number of times this season now appears to be out of the race as his 6-1 win against Mick O’Neill leaves him thirteen points short of Burley after he has played 39 fixtures.
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The Brierley Hill Monday Night League staged their singles finals and taking the title with a final 3-0 win over Glyn Underwood (High Acres) was Dudley Sports ‘C’ representative Stuart Skidmore. Both of the semi final games finished with a 2-1 result Skidmore beating Adam Neale (High Acres) and Underwood winning against George Peters from The Bell.
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Although Paul; Higgins lost 3-1 to Steve Sidwell in the Shirley Red Lion Premier League he holds on to the top spot as a 3-0 win against Stuart Dixon took his total points to 39 from 16 games. Mick Gorst moves up three places to second following a 3-1 win over Mick Bown, who drops two places to fourth, and a 3-0 win over former leader Chris Thomas who now lies in sixth place in the table. With 38 points Gorst is just one short of Higgins but has played one game fewer and on the same 38 points as Gorst is Andy Hoy whose 3-1 wins over Steve Sidwell and Dave Fisher have seen him move up the table from to third.
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After the opening six games of the season What’s The Point with a 37-11 win over Matt’s Team have opened up a massive 67 points lead at the top of the Winmau Centre Monday Night League. The Outcasts take over second place following their 39-9 win against Make Mine A Double the biggest win of the week, while the former second placed team Smash It drop one place after a more modest 29-19 success against Here For The Beer to leave them eight points adrift of Outcasts. Outcasts and Smash It both have a game in hand on the leaders.
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No change at the top of either the 301 or 501 leagues in the Bilston and District League as The Nutan in their 301 game handed out a 7-0 whitewash to their hosts Darlaston Conservative Club and followed up with a 2-1 success against them in the 501 league.
With a perfect score of twenty points from the first ten 301 games Nutan have a lead of four over second placed Lanesfield RBL who have played nine the latest of which saw them win 5-2 at home against The Orange Tree to keep them four points ahead of Tilted Barrel, Bilston Conservative Club ‘C’, Allens Sports Bar ‘A’ and Rocker Pool.
In the 501 league again it’s Nutan top and Lanesfield second and again the lead is four points, however Tilted Barrel are on the same 16 points as Lanesfield trailing by just two legs of average.
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Round one of their Open Cup was the order of the day for the Pip Club League which saw wins for Progressive Club, Globe Trotters, Bulls Head, Belgrave Club and Birchmoor Club who in turn accounted for Wigginton Arms, Royal Oak, Queens Head, Sports Bar ‘180’ and Globe (Wilnecote).
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Dave Howlett has replaced Paul Brown at the top of the premiership division of the Sheldon Marlborough Cricket Club Singles League after winning 2-1 against Richard Franklin and Brown losing 2-0 to Franklin. Howlett with 20 points has a four points lead over both Brown and third placed Dave Humphries with Humphries having three games in hand on the two players above him.
Alan Wale and Ray Turner top the championship table both on 18 points from 12 games with Matt Murrin third on 16 points with a game in hand.
Kevin Salsbury tops not only the division one table but also the overall table with 24 points from his thirteen games.
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Emerald Club were the only losers in the top five teams in the Camp Hill League in week eleven, playing away to second in the table Hay Mills Social Club they lost 4-3, Hay Mills remaining four points behind leaders Cotterills Lane Club as they won 5-2 at Tyseley WMC.
Station Wagon are without a win in ten games, their latest 6-1 defeat coming from the hands of the Holy Gulp team who are third in the table on 16 points six fewer than Cotterills and two behind Hay Mills.
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With just one week remaining in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League the title is being so fiercely contested that it could go to any one of the top four teams. Ten Arches ‘B’ and Ten Arches ‘A’ are both on 70 points in the top two positions the ‘B’ team way ahead of the ‘A’ on average, then comes Brickmakers Arms in third place just two points behind the leaders and currently lying fourth is Bird ‘A’ (Stourbridge) who are on the same 68 points as Brickmakers and have two more games to play. It should be a very interesting and tense final night.
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East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association took their unbeaten run in the Small Heath League to four games as they handed out a massive 9-0 whitewash to their visitors Cob’s Bar to keep them top of the table and two points to the good on second placed Gulp Tribe who had a close 5-4 verdict away to Wagon and Horses.
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Week nine of the Brierley Hill Friday Night League saw Pensnett Welfare Club ‘A’ the final undefeated team in the league lose that record when they lost 4-3 away to fifth in the table Netherton Cricket Club ‘B’. In spite of the defeat Pensnett Welfare ‘A’ remain in pole position but only by one leg of average over Brickmakers Arms who won 5-2 at home to Ten Arches. Also on the same 16 points as the top two teams is Pensnett Welfare ‘B’ who won their home tie with The Gate (Colley Gate) 6-1.
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Dudley Sports continue to lead the Netherton Thursday Night League their most recent 6-1 home win over Delph Bell ‘A’ keeping them three points ahead of their nearest rivals White Swan who were also 6-1 winners against Delph Bell ‘B’, not a good week for Delph Bell!
Third placed Bulls Head lost ground on the top two as they lost their home game with White Horse 4-3 and have now played one game more than the top sides and trail by three points.
At the other end of the table The Widders moved off the foot of the table with only their second win in sixteen as they beat The Crown 6-1 to push their opponents into the bottom spot.
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The final of the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League’s Black Country Windscreens Trophy saw league champions Dewdrop narrowly miss out on a double as they lost 4-3 to The Vine who after playing 31 fixtures are three places and fourteen points behind of Dewdrop.
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Cup finals were on the fixture card for the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League and in the division one semi finals the divisional leaders Riley’s ‘C’ beat third in the table Wednesfield Conservative Club and second placed Gilberts Bar won against Ashmore to set up a top of the table encounter between the top two teams in the division. The result of the final was a conclusive 4-0 win for Riley’s ‘C’.
The division two semis saw Bird in Hand beat Riley’s ‘A’ and Lanesfield RBL win against Wednesfield Legion ‘C’. The final was a very close affair with Bird in hand just getting the 4-3 verdict.
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The West Midlands Men’s Super League produced a top of the table clash between the unbeaten leaders Landywood ‘A’ and second in the table Crown ‘A’. The outcome could not have been closer with Crown ‘A’ getting the 3-2 result, inflicting on Landywood their first defeat in eight games, but they still have a five points lead on Crown ‘A’ who have a game in hand on their rivals.
Chillington’s 5-0 win over Hasbury has put them within one point of Crown ‘A’ and two ahead of fourth placed Bridgtown Social who won 3-2 at home to Staffordshire Knot.
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Whitmore Reans WMC extended their lead at the top of the Tettenhall Wednesday Night League to four points when they beat former leaders and their nearest rivals Cleveland Arms 4-3, the win could easily prove to be the one that ultimately decides where the winners silverware will go.
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The Tamworth League are up to week two of the new season and of the eleven starters only three of them are able to boast a 100% win record. Sports Bar head the table on 20 points their 7-0 win against Dolphin Inn helping their points tally and putting them four points clear of second placed Wigginton Arms ‘B’ who won 4-3 against their ‘A’ team.
Fox and Dogs are the only other unbeaten team in the league as they haven’t played so far.
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