This coming weekend Warwickshire will complete their programme in the premier division of the BDO Inter County Championships with a home tie against Devon and a decent win would see them equal their highest finish in the premier table since gaining promotion in the season 2008-2009 which was a lofty third place in the 2013-2014 campaign.
Lining up for Warwickshire in this final game of the season will be Men’s ‘A’:- Mark Westgarth, Jamie Hughes, Dean Stewart, Antony Allen, Tom Aldridge, Anthony West, Nigel Heydon, William Naylor, Noel Grant, Ted Evetts, Bob Nixon, Simon Power, Men’s ‘B’:- Richard Foster, Ian Shaw, Graham Hall, Carl Green, Charlie Symons, Mark Carter, Matt Edgar, Simon Fairbrother, Tommy Ryan, James Hykin, Pete Hughes, Luke Kennedy, Reserves:- Rob Hawker, Mark Strong, Mangal Singh, Tommy McGlone, Andrew Foulkes, Tom Martin, Women’s ‘A’:- Trina Gulliver, Sue Gulliver, Natalie Gilbert, Melanie Hill, Chloe McKevitt, Caroline Pike, Women’s ‘B’:- Nina Bolt, Donna Pinch, Angela Jones, Wendy Adams, Lisa Deslandes, Kerry Bambridge, Reserves:- Helen Rigg, Denise Keyte, Marian Conway.
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The West Midlands will be playing their final game of the season in division one of the BDO Inter County Championships this coming weekend and it will be the most crucial game they have played all season as their opponents are London.
As the two teams go into battle the divisional table sees West Midlands second with 179 points and their opponents third on 178, the outcome of the fixture will almost certainly decide who will gain promotion to the premier division with current leaders Hampshire.
Fourth in the table Oxfordshire are just nine points behind West Midlands but have a tough away game against Dorset who are fifth in the table on 168 points, just two short of their opponents, so it does appear that the winners of the West Midlands versus London clash will be the team to play in the premier division next season.
Selected to play in this vital fixture are, Men’s ‘A’:- Gavin Baker, Scott Baker, Shaun Carroll, Mark Craddock, Nick Fullwell, Ian Jones, Ash Khayatt, Danny Nicholls, Jonathan Platt, Gary Watts, Men’s ‘B’:- Michael Baker, Danny Coyle, Matthew Dicken, Sam Guest, Mark Hampton, Dean Mills, John Morris, Neil Pointon, Paul Price, Mark Rollason, Robert Smith, Paul Wells, Reserves:- Mark Dyke, Michael Hoult, John Mycock, Richard Platt, Dave Redding, Dave Robbins, Jack Routledge, Avtar Singh, Lewis Venes, Mark Watkiss, Women’s ‘A’:- Lisa Astbury, Gemma Barrett, Kath Jenkins, Debbie Loon, Sarah Roberts, Sophie Singh, Women’s ‘B’:- Elizabeth Arnold, Shannon Hall, Claire Hobbs, Jacqueline Maiden, Shellbie Simmons, Heather Wright, Reserves:- Kim Fellows, Kirsty Shaughnessy , Wendy Waine, Samantha Maiden.
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With the domestic issues all sorted in the Four Oaks and District League it’s all down to cup finals and the latest has been the Coronation Shield and the Norman Day Cup. In the former Old Oscott Arrows started well against The Boat taking the first game 2-1 but it was a lead they would lose and never recover as the newly crowned league champions and last year’s runner up in the competition dropped just three legs in the following three games, rounding off their win with a 3-0 success in the final game for a 10-5 victory.
Playing Drakes Drum in the Norman Day Cup, Erdington Arrows matched their opponents in scoring but struggled to find the finishing doubles. They lost the first two games 2-1 and would not win another leg until the final game, giving Drakes Drum a 12-3 win.
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The Forest of Arden Winter League played off the finals of their divisional cups and it was all about Journeys End. In the division one play off champions Journeys End beat bottom of the table Ivy Leaf 7-2 and in the division two game it was again champions Journeys End Flights who won by the same 7-2 scoreline against divisional runners up Highwood Arms.
Division One Cup Winners Journeys End
Division Two Cup Winners Journeys End Flights
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With 7-0, 6-1 and 5-2 wins over respective opponents Charlie Burley, John Edwards and Mark Bayliss, Louis Burley has taken over pole position in the Winmau Centre Thursday Night Champions League with 141 points from 27 games. Chris Williams was in top form beating John Porter and John Edwards 7-0 and Mark Bayliss 5-2 to put him second in the table with 133 points but from three games fewer than table topper Burley.
Sam Guest and Mick Baker didn’t play in week sixteen and are currently in fourth and fifth places respectively. Guest is on 116 points after playing 21 games and reigning champion for the past two seasons Baker has amassed 111 points from 20 games, both having games in hand which could see them take over the top spot.
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Bottom of the table Emerald Club chalked up their first win in four games in the Small Heath League when they won by a massive 8-1 at home to Wagon and Horses who were next to bottom. The win puts both teams on two points and despite the big win Emerald are now only level on average with Wagon and Horses and they share the bottom place.
Leaders East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association added a 6-3 win over Foaming Tankard to their account to make it four straight wins and a two point’s lead over second placed Gulp Tribe who won 5-4 at Cob’s Bar.
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Week seven in the Shirley Red Lion Premier League saw leader Mark Gwalchmai take seven of a possible eight points from his games as he followed up a 3-1 win over Luke Coles with a straight 4-0 success against Mikey Harris to continue his unbeaten run and give him a total of 44 points from fourteen games.
Lee Harris chalked up 3-1 wins over Jack Sidwell, Adam Stuart and Tom Bent to move up into second place, one point short of Gwalchmai with a game in hand, Harris taking over from Chris Thomas who lost his second place when after winning his opener against Trevor Carter 4-0 he lost 3-1 to Tony Daly, his second defeat in fourteen games.
In addition to Gwalchmai and Harris Paul Higgins is the only other player not to have suffered defeat so far.
Highlights of the week saw Dave Fisher record 160 breaks against Brian Lawton and Mikey Harris while Dave Heighway also broke with 160 in his game with Brian Lawton. There were 180’s for Jack Sidwell and Mick Gorst and Lee Harris had a 158 finish in his win over Jack Sidwell.
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Round one of their League Cup was the order of the day for the Camp Hill League which saw wins for the league’s top four teams Holy Gulp, Cotterills Lane Club, Hay Mills Social Club Lions and Wagon and Horses who in turn took out Tyseley WMC, Devil’s Club, Eagle and Ball and Station Wagon. Also winning through were Emerald Club who defeated New Inn.
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Dave Humphries with 36 points has a four points lead over second placed Dave Howlett in the Sheldon Marlborough Cricket Club Singles League. Humphries latest win was 2-1 against third in the table Paul Sunner while Howlett lost ground as he was beaten by the same 2-1 margin by Paul Brown.
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Queens Head held on to their two points lead at the top of the Main League in the Pip Club League with an 8-1 win against Pip Club, however their nearest rivals Bulls Head ‘A’ (Polesworth) went one better to increase their huge average advantage by handing out a 9-0 whitewash to their hosts Wigginton Arms.
Third, fourth and fifth placed Winning Post, Birchmoor Club and Belgrave Club were 7-2 winners against their respective opponents Globe Trotters, Progressive Club and Globe (Wilnecote).
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The Bridge (Kingswinford) were the only losers in the top five teams in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League going down 5-4 at home against second in the table Gate ‘B’. Leaders Ten Arches ‘A’ won 6-3 away to Quarry Bank Conservative Club to stay two points ahead of Gate ‘B’ who in turn are two to the good on third placed Brickmakers Arms who had an 8-1 home win over Garibaldi. Ten Arches ‘B’ in fourth place are on the same 22 points as Brickmakers their win being 7-2 against Starving Rascal.
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The Brierley Hill Monday Night League produced a top of the table clash in week ten when leaders Bulls Head (Netherton) entertained second in the league Mount Pleasant, both teams on 16 points prior to the encounter.
The result was a 6-3 win for Bulls Head to open up a two points lead at the top over both Mount Pleasant and Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club who after their 7-2 home win over Roebuck take over second place from Mount Pleasant on average.
Delph Bell, Dudley Sports ‘B’ and Portway make up the top six teams all three of them winning to put them on 14 points, four off the top.
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With the end of the season fast approaching the titles for both division one and two in the South Birmingham League are still up for grabs. In division one a 5-4 win at Crown Arrows keeps Erdington Members Club in pole position with 22 points from 13 games and one to play while second placed Mackadown Social had a 7-2 win at Coleshill Social to keep them within two points of the leaders with two games remaining.
The division two title could go to any one of the top three teams as The Gate are on 20 points, The Dog and The Bell are both on 18, all three teams have just one remaining fixture.
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Dewdrop have fallen four points behind Island Inn, leaders of the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League after going down 4-3 away to eighth in the table Ivy Bush. Island Inn took their unbeaten run to nine games with a 5-2 win at Old Court House while Old Hop Pole join Dewdrop on 14 points with a 4-3 home success against Horseley Tavern and trail Dewdrop by just one leg of average.
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The Silver End Sunday Morning League staged their Mickey Kelly Memorial Knockout and clinching the title with a final 5-0 win over Jamie Rollinson was Mickey’s son Liam Kelly.
In the semi finals Kelly won 4-1 against Rob Pierce while Rollinson had a much closer 4-3 verdict over Rob Powers.
Losing quarter finalists were G.Jackson, G.Davies, M.Davies and I.Mathers.
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Ex Serviceman’s ‘A’ march on in the Rowley Monday Night League taking their unbeaten run to thirteen games with a 6-3 home win over Tividale FC and at the same time keeping intact their two points lead over second in the table The Bell who were 8-1 winners away to next to bottom of the table Windmills End.
One time leaders and now third in the table Cradley Liberal Club fell a further two points behind the leaders, now trailing by eight points after a 6-3 defeat at Whiteheath Tavern.
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Week two of the Netherton Thursday Night League has seen week one leaders Fairfield ousted from the top of the table and drop to fourth after a 6-3 defeat away to second placed Townsend Club. Taking over at the top of the table is Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club who move up from fourth following their 8-1 win at The Crown.
In addition to Dudley Ex Serviceman’s and Townsend, The Bell are the only other undefeated team in the league, their latest win being 5-4 over Bulls Head.
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Landywood ‘A’ leaders of the West Midlands Men’s Super League won a vital game when they beat their nearest rivals and reigning champions Crown ‘A’ 3-2 to open up a nine points gap between the two teams. With games fast running out the result could well be a title decider. Crown ‘A’ do have a game in hand but a 5-0 win would only net them seven points and still leave them trailing by two.
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In the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League Dog and Partridge, leaders of division two, are the only team able to boast a 100% win record as they added a 6-1 win over Pendulum to their tally in week eight to give them a two points buffer over both Wednesfield Legion and Shed.
In division one Riley’s ‘C’ suffered their first defeat in eight when they lost 4-3 away to middle of the table Jack’s Bar but hold on to the number one spot with a two points advantage over second placed Riley’s ‘B’ and third in the table Sunbeam who have a game in hand.
In the division one doubles league Riley’s ‘B’ top the table and have a four points lead over a chasing pack of four. Division two is close with Riley’s ‘D’ and Wednesfield Legion both on 14 points with Riley’s just one leg of average to the good.
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A 4-3 home defeat by Brewood British Legion has seen Swan Compton lose the top position in the Tettenhall Wednesday Night League and drop down to third place. Whitmore Reans WMC won 4-3 at home against Village Inn to replace Swan in pole position with a two points lead over ECC ‘A’, Swan Compton and Riley’s, ECC ‘A’ beating Moreton 4-3 and Riley’s winning 6-1 against ECC ‘B’.
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The Wednesbury and Darlaston Wednesday Night League played off round one of their George Mitchell Cup, Black Horse with an 8-1 result over Churchills ‘B’ the rounds biggest winners while The Nutan and Staffordshire Knot won 7-2 in turn against Horse and Jockey and Red Lion, English Oak had a more moderate 5-4 win over Churchills ‘A’
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