After the opening three fixtures in the premier division of the BDO Inter County Championships Warwickshire County Darts Organisation are currently in a strong fourth position and only three points behind third placed Nottinghamshire, this coming weekend they will play hosts to bottom of the table Lincolnshire, a fixture which could on present form see them chalk up a big win to move them up into third place.
The team selections for this weekend’s games are Men’s ‘A’:- Tom Aldridge, Ted Evetts, Mark Westgarth, Dean Stewart, Jamie Hughes, Noel Grant, Antony Allen, Bob Nixon, Richard Foster, Mark Carter, Mark Strong, Nigel Heydon, Men’s ‘B’:- Simon Power, Graham Hall, Rob Hawker, James Hykin, Ian McFarlane, Anthony West, Carl Green, Tom Ryan, Luke Kennedy, Ian Shaw, Mike McFall, Simon Fairbrother, Reserves:- Matt Edgar, Peter Hughes, Mangal Singh, Tom McGlone, Jamie Atkins, Andrew Foulkes, Charlie Symons, Tom Martin, Women’s ‘A’:- Trina Gulliver, Sue Gulliver, Donna Pinch, Marian Conway, Kerry Bambridge, Melanie Hill, Women’s ‘B’:- Caroline Pike, Denise Keyte, Kat Spanswick, Helen Rigg, Chloe McKevitt, Nina Bolt, Reserves:- Lisa Deslandes, Angela Jones, Wendy Adams, Natalie Gilbert.
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West Midlands are riding high in division one of the BDO Inter Counties Championships in second place with 70 points only two behind leaders Hampshire and this coming weekend they will be playing at home against Cornwall who with 57 points are in fourth place in the table a big win could see West Midlands take over in pole position.
Lining up for the West Midlands will be Men’s ‘A’:- Gavin Baker, Michael Baker, Shaun Carroll, Mark Craddock, Matthew Dicken, Nick Fullwell, Ian Jones, Ash Khayat, John Morris, Lewis Venes, Gary Watts, Men’s ‘B’:- Scott Baker, Sam Guest, Mark Hampton, Glen McGrandle, Dean Mills, Danny Nicholls, Richard Platt, Paul Price, Dave Robbins, Mark Rollason, Robert Smith, Paul Wells, Reserves:- Danny Coyle, Glen Cullen, Mark Dyke, Michael Hoult, John Mycock, Neil Pointon, Dave Redding, Jack Routledge, Mark Watkiss, Women’s ‘A’:- Sarah Roberts, Lisa Badger, Debbie Loon, Kath Jenkins, Gemma Barrett, Sophie Singh, Women’s ‘B’:- Jacqueline Maiden, Samantha Maiden, Claire Hobbs, Shannon Hall, Shellbie Simmons, Heather Wright, Reserves:- Kim Fellows, Lizzy Arnold, Kirsty Shaughnessy, Wendy Waine.
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A 5-3 defeat away to Crown at Olton has seen The Lyndon drop from the number one spot in the premier division of the Sheldon and District Winter League to fourth while their opponents move up one to third. Mackadown Social are the new leaders their 6-2 home win over Castle Vale Residents giving them a slender two legs of average lead over second in the table Langley Hall Sports and Social Arrows who beat The Harvester 5-3. Mackadown and Langley both have five points as do Crown at Olton who are a further one leg of average behind Langley. At the other end of the table Saltley Amateur Gardeners chalked up their first point of the season when they finished all square at 4-4 with Pavillions to lift them off the foot of the table.
Iron Horse have lost the top spot in division one following their 5-3 reversal at Crown Arrows and are now two points behind Willclare Sports and Social who have taken over at the top of the table with their 5-3 win against Crown-Forget-Me-Not. Willclare have a two point’s advantage over Iron Horse, Crown Arrows and Sheldon Marlborough Flights.
Lyndon Old Boys lead the way in division two their convincing 7-1 home win over Meadway Sports and Social giving them a one point lead over their nearest rivals Ridgemere Social Flights and Shirley RBL Misfits who in turn beat Small Heath Amateur Gardeners 6-2 and Maggies 5-3.
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It was League Cup week in the South Birmingham League and the biggest winners of the round were Crown at Shard End who handed their visitors The C’s a 9-0 whitewash. The Dog, Coleshill Social and The Bell in turn all won 7-2 against The Kingfisher, The Gate and Banbury Flights. Other teams to win through to the next round were Macakdown Social, Banbury Arrows and Smithswood Social.
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Just two results from the Forest of Arden Winter League, one from each division, in division one reigning champions and current leaders Journeys End extended their lead to six points with a 6-3 win against Ivy Leaf and at the same time take their unbeaten run to four games.
In division two Crown Arrows inflicted a first defeat on Highwood Arms when they beat them 7-2 to take them into pole position with an unbeaten six points, however defending champions and second in the table Journeys End Flights have a game in hand on the leaders and with a 100% win record so far are just two points behind them.
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More woe for Plough and Arrows who are bottom of division one of the Four Oaks and District League losing four of their nine games 2-1 and eventually going down 9-0 to The Boat who now lead the division with a perfect ten points from their first five games. In a hard fought match Boldmere St Mikes with 180‘s from A.Kimberley and R.Hawker won 6-3 away to third placed Golden Hind to keep them level on points with The Boat and trail by just two legs of average. J.Cronin recorded his first maximum of the season for Bishop Vesey as they just scraped a 5-4 win at Old Oscott Arrows.
There were defeats for the top two teams in the second division, leaders The Fox despite losing for the first time in six games when they went down 5-4 at Erdington Club remain in pole position and Erdington Arrows as a result of being beaten 6-3 at home by The Boot drop to third in the table behind Red Lion who had a bye this week. St Thomas’s Social Club had an 8-1 win against The Duke whose G.Chamberlain with breaks of 115 and 120, plus scores of 134 and 136 was Duke’s highest scorer.
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The Sheldon Marlborough Cricket Club Singles League were involved in their two Husky Cup competitions the Main Cup seeing Paul Sunner with top shots of 131 and 100 beating Matt Murrin 2-0 in the final.
The Husky Small Cup was won by Paul Brown, Brown beating John Young 2-1 in a very close fought final.
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The Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League have completed their season and after 6,468 legs in 924 games Mick Baker with 22 wins from 24 games and from a field of 22 players not only retained his title but also collected the winners £300 top prize. Runner up Louis Burley in his first season with 217 points was just seven short of Baker and received £250.
There was top prize money paid out from first to last as Rhys Langford, who finished at the bottom of the table picked up £40.
The new season will get underway tomorrow night but there is still time to enter, however with a limited entry you will have to be quick, to confirm your interest visit www.wics.org.uk or for further information contact the centre on 01902-420827.
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Mick Gorst didn’t play in week eleven of the Shirley Red Lion Premier League and as a result lost the number one spot and dropped to third in the table. With a 3-1 win over Tony Daly followed by a 3-0 success against Ken Hopton Paul Higgins has once again returned to pole position with a total of 49 points from 20 games. Mick Bown was in top form hitting a 180 in his 3-0 win over Steve Heeks and checking out on 101 for a similar 3-0 win against Mark Cater, two wins that see Bown move up two places to second with the same 49 points as Higgins but from 22 games.
Biggest climber of the week was Anthony Daly who went from tenth to fifth with a 3-0 win over Stuart Dixon and a 3-1 victory against Mark Gwalchmai in which he recorded a sixteen darts leg.
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For the first time in thirteen games Cotterills Lane Club lost in the Camp Hill League. Playing away against fourth placed Eagle and Ball Cotterills lost 4-3 but they do hang on to their top of the table position with a two points lead over second placed Hay Mills Social Club who had a 5-2 home win over Tyseley WMC and in turn stay four points to the good on third placed Holy Gulp who also 5-2 in their game at Wagon and Horses.
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The Outcasts suffered their first defeat in eight games in the Winmau Centre Monday Night League when they lost 31-17 to league leaders What’s The Point who have a ten points lead over their nearest rivals Smash It who also won 31-17 against Keep It In The Family, Outcasts are a further twelve points behind Smash It.
Top performances this week from Rachel Burden (Double Trouble), Jimmy Handley, James Owen (Smash It) and Dave Lewis (Keep It In The Family) who all hit a maximum, also John Bate (Here For The Beer) who hit two. Outcasts Chris Marshall recorded a thirteen darts game,
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The Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League completed their domestic fixtures and league champions Dewdrop ended the campaign on a high beating Hayes Social 6-1 to finish eight points clear of Old Hop Pole who with a final 4-3 win against New Talbot secured the runners up spot by the narrowest of margins just one leg of average over Island Inn whose last game saw them win 5-2 against Sportsman to put them on the same 50 points as Old Hop Pole.
Horseley Tavern took the wooden spoon after playing and losing all 33 games.
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The Brierley Hill Friday Night League staged the early round of their doubles competition at five venues and winning through to finals night were J.Batham & C.Penzer, N.Walters & M.Watson, C.Hart & A.Floyd, R.Colley & R.Pierce, G.Cartwright & S.Oakley, D.Male & A.Apati, M.Hadley & B.Lewis, J.Churchill & C.Davies, M.Rollinson & J.Rollinson, G.Churchill & K.Breeze.
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East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association made it six wins in as many games in the Small Heath League when they won their home tie with Mitre 6-3 to keep them four points ahead of second placed Gulp Tribe who had a 7-2 win away to bottom of the table Emerald Club.
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The Pip Club League are up to week four of their new season and Bulls Head ‘A’ (Polesworth) not only lead the division one table with four points from their two games but also the Master League table in which they have played three and won three, however in the Master table they only lead on average as Winning Post, Queens Head, Sports Bar ‘180’ and Belgrave Club are all on the same six points, Bulls Head and Queens Head have both only played three games as opposed to the other teams having played four.
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An impressive 8-1 home win over bottom of the table St Thomas has taken Kingstanding Ex Serviceman’s undefeated run in the Aston League to six games, but despite their big win they have not improved their situation at the top of the table as Erdington Club in second place had a similar 8-1 home win over Mitre to keep them within two points of the leaders but trailing massively on average. St Thomas remain the only team without a win so far.
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The final results in division one of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League did not affected the league table at all and Riley’s ‘C’ with a 6-1 win at the Royal added to their tile winning season’s tally to give them a total of 38 points six more than runners up Gilberts Bar who won their last game at Wednesfield FC 4-3.
In the second division Sunbeam with a final 7-0 win over Red Lion took the title with 38 points, Riley’s ‘A’ whose similar 7-0 win over Wednesfield Legion ‘B’ saw them leap up the table from fourth to finish as runners up with 36 points, Pavilions who were second lost their final game 5-2 playing away to the Bull and ended the campaign in joint third level on points and average with Bird in Hand who won 5-2 against the Boat.
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Any hopes Cleveland Arms had of winning the Tettenhall Wednesday Night League have now diminished as in week 37, with only two more games to play they lost their home game with sixth placed Moreton 6-1 to leave them four points behind leaders Whitmore Reans WMC who won 5-2 at the Bull.
The only movement in the table was near the bottom where Dog and Partridge after a 4-3 win over bottom team Jones Road moved up one place from next to bottom over ECC ‘B’ who lost 4-3 at home to Riley’s ‘B’.
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With only one fixture remaining in the Rowley Monday Night League it appears that Springfield Social Club have thrown the title away after losing 5-4 at The Bell who move up one place to second level on 54 points with new leaders Ex Serviceman’s Club ‘A’ who won 5-4 away to Haden Cross ‘Z’. Springfield drop to third in the table and are two points behind the top two teams.
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