After a good start to their promotion season in the Premier Division of the BDO Inter County Championships West Midlands are beginning to wake up to the reality that the Premier is a tough division.
With two wins, one draw and only one defeat in their opening four games West Midlands had possibly their toughest trial in their fifth fixture when they took on Yorkshire. The result was a 26-10 win for the reigning champions, West Midlands next fixture, an away game against Cheshire.
Opening for the ladies ‘B’ was Shellbie Simmons who after going 2-0 down to Andrea Hunt pulled back to 2-2 before losing the deciding leg. Rachel Bird put Cheshire 2-0 up with her 3-0 win over Grace Angell before West Midlands recorded their first winner. That win came from Jacqueline Maiden, another straight 3-0 win as she accounted for Nicola Roebuck.
The hosts went 3-1 up with a further 3-1 win from Chrissie Halliday at the expense of Kath Jenkins but had their lead cut once again when in the penultimate game Elizabeth Arnold, who had her lead cancelled out twice by Dawn Williams, went on to win 3-2 and take the match award for her 18.52 average.
Any thoughts of a 3-3 draw were erased in the final game when Debbie Davies beat Sophie Singh 3-1 to give Cheshire the 4-2 victory.
The men’s ‘B’ team have turned into the county’s draw specialists as in the last three games they have finished all square after recording one defeat and one win in their first two games.
The first two games were shared as first Shaun Carroll gave West Midlands the lead with his 4-0 win over Mark Tirrell, Carroll in superb form with winning legs of 12,17,14 and 19 darts to give him a fabulous 32.32 average and the team’s match award. Perry Harley replied for Cheshire with a similar 4-0 win over Richard Platt.
The third game was a see saw game with Avtar Singh (West Midlands) going 3-0 up then John Speed winning the next three legs to make it 3-3. The deciding leg was a convincing win for Singh in 21 darts with Speed left nursing 262. The away team went further ahead in the fourth when Robert Smith with a copy of Singh’s game in which he won the first three legs his opponent Andrew Rose won the next three and Smith won the decider for a 4-3 win.
Taking the vsitors advantage to 4-1 was Neil Pointon when he won 4-1 against Andrew Green, the score at the halfway mark then taken to 4-2 when Joe Rowland with a 4-1 scoreline defeated Matthew Tedstone.
The first three games of the second half went one way then the other as West Midlands man Christopher Williams lost 4-2 to Jeff Fisher then Christopher’s team mate Alfie Jacques won 4-2 against Chris Sharp. Cheshire reduced the arrears again when Lee Moffat beat Paul Price 4-0 before the sequence was broken in the tenth game when Shaun Walshe won 4-3 against Gareth Watts to put the home team level at 5-5.
The last two games proved to be convincing 4-1 wins both going to West Midlands as Adam Edgar and Jordan Singh beat respective opponents John Cooper and Frazer Hill to give their team a 7-5 win.
After a 4-2 defeat for the ladies ‘B’ the previous day could it get any worse for the ladies? The answer was it actually did as the ‘A’ team lost 5-1.
The first two games were 3-0 wins for Cheshire’s Emma Pearce and Ros Davies as in turn they won against Shannon Hall and Sarah Roberts. The third game was another 3-0 result but this time in favour of the West Midlands as Lisa Badger beat Lynn Marsden and being the sole winner took the match award for her 16.52 average.
As it turned out Lisa’s winning three legs were to be the only legs the West Mdilands ladies ‘A’ would win on the day as the last three games, all 3-0 went to Cheshire’s Jane Stubbs, Anastasia Dobromyslova and Jane Densley, winning against respective counterparts Debbie Loon, Heather Wright and Gemma Barrett, all six games ended with a 3-0 result.
After recording three wins in the opening four games the men’s ‘A’ team suffered a 10-2 defeat against Yorkshire in the fifth fixture and after the first six games against Cheshire looked as though they could be well on the way to another big defeat as they trailed 5-1.
The opening 4-0 win went to Cheshire’s Paul Blythe against Ash Khayatt and although the lead was quickly wiped out by Paul Wells when he won 4-2 against Tony Richardson the next four games all went in Cheshire’s favour. Winners for the hosts were Steve Lomas, Michael Haynes, Andy Cope and Peter Boughey defeating in turn Gavin Baker (4-2), Jonathan Platt (4-2), Glen McGrandle (4-1) and Nick Fullwell (4-1).
The second half began with more promise for the West Midlands as Daniel Nicholls opened up with a 4-1 win over Patrick Lynskey in which Nicholls had winning legs og 22,13,18 and 18 darts to earn him the match award for bis 29.14 average. Next on was Mark Craddock who won 4-2 against Mal Barrow and taking the away team to within one game of their hosts was Liam Kelly with his 4-2 win against David Bird.
Now only trailing 5-4 West Midlands were still in with a chance of a draw or maybe even a win but thoughts of any such result were dismissed as first David Smith-Hayes beat Keith Allman 4-1 then Robert Paine won 4-3 against Michael Baker and rounding off an 8-4 win for Cheshire was Carl Dennel with his 4-1 success against Scott Baker.
The overall result was 22-14 to Cheshire, West Midlands second successive defeat, and the question now has to be would they be able to bounce back in their next fixture at home to Lincolnshire who are one place above them and on the same 106 points?
Full Results:Cheshire v West Midlands (22-14)🙁Cheshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Paul Blythe 4 Ash Khayatt 0, Tony Richardson 2 Paul Wells 4, Steve Lomas 4 Gavin Baker 2, Michael Haynes 4 Jonathan Platt 2, Andy Cope 4 Glen McGrandle 1, Peter Boughey 4 Nick Fullwell 1, Patrick Lynskey 1 Daniel Nicholls 4, Mal Barrow 2 Mark Craddock 4, David Bird 2 Liam Kelly 4, David Smith-Hayes 4 Keith Allman 1, Robert Paine 4 Michael Baker 3, Carl Dennel 4 Scott Baker 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Mark Tirrell 0 Shaun Carroll 4, Perry Harley 4 Richard Platt 0, John Speed 3 Avtar Singh 4, Andrew Rose 3 Robert Smith 4, Andrew Green 1 Neil Pointon 4, Joe Rowland 4 Mathew Tedstone 1, Jeff Fisher 4 Christopher Williams 2, Chris Sharp 2 Alfie Jacques 4, Lee Moffat 4 Paul Price 0, Shaun Walshe 4 Gareth Watts 3, John Cooper 1 Adam Edgar 4, Frazer Hill 1 Jordan Singh 4, Women’s ‘A’:- Emma Pearce 3 Shannon Hall 0, Ros Davies 3 Sarah Roberts 0, Lynn Marsdon 0 Lisa Badger 3, Jane Stubbs 3 Debbie Loon 0, Anastasia Dobromyslova 3 Heather Wright 0, Jane Densley 3 Gemma Barrett 0, Women’s ‘B’:- Andrea Hunt 3 Shellbie Simmons 2, Rachel Bird 3 Grace Angell 0, Nicola Roebuck 0 Jacqueline Maiden 3, Chrissie Halliday 3 Kath Jenkins 1, Dawn Williams 2 Elizabeth Arnold 3, Debbie Davies 3 Sophie Singh 1.
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Despite the adverse weather West Midlands still managed to stage their Premier Division BDO Inter County Championship fixture with Lincolnshire, full marks going to the away side for making the long journey to the West Midlands in such horrendous conditions as such was the weather that this was the only fixture played on the allotted date.
The opening four games of the ladies ‘B’ match all went against the first throw advantage with Jacqueline Maiden chalking up the home team’s first stripe when she came from one down to Julie Lambie to win 3-1. Heather Lodge levelled for the visitors with her 3-0 win over Elizabeth Arnold but it was the hosts who took the lead again in the third when lady of the match Shannon Hall handed out a straight 3-0 defeat to Michelle Creasey and at the same time clinch her team’s award for her 22.77 average with winning legs of 23,23 and 20 darts.
Rebecca Brouse was Lincolnshire’s second winner, taking the score to two each when she accounted for Shellbie Simmons with a 3-2 win after Simmons had won the first two legs.
Like Simmons Kath Jenkins also won the first two legs in her game against Lee Bingham but also like Simmons she lost 3-2 to see the match sequence broken and the away team move to within one game of victory.
A win for Lincolnshire was not to be as Grace Angell won in three straight legs against Jude Johnson to put the final score all square at 3-3.
The men’s ‘B’ were undefeated in their previous five games and level at 3-3 by the midway point of the game in what was a somewhat mixed bag of a half as Thomas Lovely gave Lincolnshire the early lead when he came from 3-1 down against Jordan Singh to win 4-3. Gareth Watts opened up a similar 3-1 lead against Lee Williams and although Williams took him to a deciding leg it was Watts who won 4-3 to level the game at one each.
The away team went ahead again in the third when Adam McQueen beat Danny Coyle 4-0, again only to see the running score levelled as Robert Smith beat Tony Dyke 4-0 before the home team took the lead for the first time in the fifth when Richard Platt emulated Smith’s 4-0 result against Nathan Smith. However like Lincolnshire West Midlands were unable to hold on to their lead as Jock Watt’s 4-1 win over Shaun Carroll made it 3-3 at the break.
As the second half got underway it was West Midlands who got first blood as Alfie Jacques won 4-1 against Adam Ward but then Lincolnshire stepped up a gear as they went from 4-3 down to an unassailable 7-4 lead with wins from Jon Bywater, Micky Taylor, Neil Ward and Anthony Hill who in turn won against Avtar Singh (4-2), Neil Pointon (4-1), Matthew Tedstone (4-1) and Adam Edgar (4-1).
Making the score a little more respectable and taking the result to 7-5 to Lincolnshire was West Midlands man of the match Shane Price who handed out a 4-1 defeat to Martin Richards with winning legs of 13,19,17 and 20 darts for a 26.88 average.
The ladies ‘A’ had lost their two previous games 5-1 and unfortunately this current fixture against Lincolnshire turned out to be no different.
The first two 3-0 results went to Lincolnshire’s Trina Gulliver MBE and Dawn Armstrong who in turn accounted for Heather Wright and Sarah Roberts. The visitors looked all set to go three up when Heather Lodge twice took the lead against Gemma Barrett but Gemma hung on in there and with wins in the last two legs earned herself a 3-2 win plus the match award for her 16.87 average.
That turned out to be the only highlight of the ladies ‘A’ game as their opponents stormed to a 5-1 win with three more 3-0 results from Tammy Montgomery, Shelley Bontoft-Gash and Paula Jacklin who beat respective opponents Lisa Badger, Kath Jenkins and Debbie Loon.
From their six games played the men’s ‘A’ had recorded three wins and three defeats and to achieve an overall win for the weekend required a 10-2 victory which would be their best of the season so far.
From 1-0 up to 3-1 down and then win 4-3 what what Mark Craddock achieved against Geoff Heath to give the home side the start they were hoping for but despite Liam Kelly coming from one down to 2-1 up and then 3-2 up he eventually lost out to Kevin Tomlinson 4-3 to level the game at one each.
Shane Lowe gave Lincolnshire the lead for the first time in game three when he won 4-2 against Paul Wells, however a similar 4-2 win for Daniel Nicholls against Chris Fidler took the score to 2-2. The visitors got their noses in front again in the fifth when Steve Hamill beat Jonathan Platt 4-3 but by the halfway mark the match was level at 3-3 with a 4-1 success for Glen McGrandle over Ross Twell.
Adam Beck put the overall win beyond West Midlands reach when he opened up the second half with a 4-1 win against Gavin Baker and with another 4-1 win for Lloyd Pennell over Michael Baker the away side had opened up a 5-3 lead.
Craig Hill (Lincolnshire) took the lead twice against Keith Allman but with a never say die attitude Allman fought back to win 4-2 and with a close 4-3 win for Ash Khayatt in the tenth against Paul Brown West Midlands had come back to level terms.
Ensuring a draw in the best possible way was Scott Baker whose straight 4-0 win over Simon Stainton in 22,19,15 and 17 darts, which included a terrific 141 game shot in the third, earned himself the team’s match award for a 27.45 average.
The result now hinged on the final game between Nick Fullwell (West Midlands) and Mark Forman. Apart from a slight hiccup in the third Fullwell never looked in danger of losing and went on to seal a 4-1 win to give his team their fourth victory of the season.
The 7-5 win from the men’s ‘A’ took the overall result to 20-16 in favour of Lincolnshire and although West Midlands lost and actually moved up two places in the table to fifth with 122 points it’s a little bit of false economy as they have played seven games as opposed to all of the teams below them having played six.
Full Results:West Midlands v Lincolnshire (16-20)🙁West Midlands names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Mark Craddock 4 Geoff Heath 3, Liam Kelly 3 Kevin Tomlinson 4, Paul Wells 2 Shane Lowe 4, Daniel Nicholls 4 Chris Fidler 2, Jonathan Platt 3 Steve Hamill 4, Glen McGrandle 4 Ross Twell 1, Gavin Baker 1 Adam Beck 4, Michael Baker 1 Lloyd Pennell 4, Keith Allman 4 Craig Hill 2, Ash Khayatt 4 Paul Brown 3, Scott Baker 4 Simon Stainton 0, Nick Fullwell 4 Mark Forman 1, Men’s ‘B’:- Jordan Singh 3 Thomas Lovely 4, Gareth Watts 4 Lee Williams 3, Danny Coyle 0 Adam McQueen 4, Robert Smith 4 Tony Dyke 0, Richard Platt 4 Nathan Smith 0, Shaun Carroll 1 Jock Watt 4, Alfie Jacques 4 Adam Ward 1, Avtar Singh 2 Jon Bywater 4, Neil Pointon 1 Micky Taylor 4, Matthew Tedstone 1 Neil Ward 4, Adam Edgar 1 Anthony Hill 4, Shane Price 4 Martin Richards 1, Women’s ‘A’:- Heather Wright 0 Trina Gulliver MBE 3, Sarah Roberts 0 Dawn Armstrong 3, Gemma Barrett 3 Heather Lodge 2, Lisa Badger 0 Tammy Montgomery 3, Kath Jenkins 0 Shelley Bontoft-Gash 3, Debbie Loon 0 Paula Jackson 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Jacqueline Maiden 3 Julie Lambie 1, Elizabeth Arnold 0 Heather Lodge 3, Shannon Hall 3 Michelle Creasey 0, Shellbie Simmons 2 Rebecca Brouse 3, Kath Jenkins 2 Lee Bingham 3, Grace Angell 3 Jude Johnson 0.
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The Nuneaton Darts Grand Prix sponsored by Carlsberg Tetley consists of ten monthly knockouts being played off at the Stockingford Sports and Social Club with players eligible to enter as many or as few as they wish. There is a £5 entry fee which is all paid out as prize money with every player that turns up getting one point per Grand Prix and five points for every round they win. After completing the ten knockouts the top 32 players with the highest points will then qualify for the grand final in December where a prize pot of £1,000 is on offer.
The first of the scheduled ten knockouts produced a final between Daniel Gadsby and Darren Burdett with Burdett getting the 4-1 result to become the the initial leader of the competition but with nine more rounds to go that position could quickly change and possibly will before the final league table is finalised.
Left winner Darren Burdett with Daniel Gadsby
Preliminary Round:- Daniel Gadsby 4 Mark Baker 0, Adam Marziano 4 Craig French 0, Colin Giddings 0 Noel Grant 4, Dean Sanders 4 Stephen Brennan 2, Andy Blackwell 2 Miro Horacek 4, Jimmy Hill 4 Dave Rich 1, Kevin Taylor 0 Darren Burdett 4, Chris Gallagher 4 Mick Smith Neale 3, Last Sixteen:- Adam Ayers 2 Daniel Gadsby 4, Mark Livock 4 Adam Marziano 1, Walker Chalker 0 Noel Grant 4, Dean Sanders 4 Danny Humphries 1, Steve Giddins 4 Miro Horacek 1, Jimmy Hill 4 Simon Taft 1, Simon Witherford 0 Darren Burdett 4, Chris Gallagher 1 Adam Smith Neale 4, Quarter Finals:- Daniel Gadsby 4 Mark Livock 2, Noel Grant 3 Dean Sanders 4, Steve Giddins 4 Jimmy Hill 2, Darren Burdett 4 Adam Smith Neale 3, Semi-Finals:- Daniel Gadsby 4 Dean Sanders 3, Steve Giddins 2 Darren Burdett 4, Final:- Daniel Gadsby 1 Darren Burdett 4.
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Taking the South Birmingham League’s Singles Knockout title with a final 2-0 win over Simon Edwards was Nigel Groves.
Left winner Nigel Groves and right Simon Edwards both with organiser Sue Kingdon
In the last eight Groves won 2-1 against T.Whitehouse while Edwards with a 180 beat Mark Birch 2-0. The semi final saw Groves have a convincing 2-0 win over Jim Frost while Edwards was taken to a deciding leg by Glen James.
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A 5-4 home win over Quarry Bank Conservative Club in the penultimate fixture of the season gave Ten Arches ‘B’ the league title in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League with 76 points two more than their local rivals and second placed Ten Arches ‘A’ whose 8-1 win at Hare and Hounds ‘B’ gives them 74 points.
In the final games of the season the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams played each other, the result was a 6-3 win for the ‘B’ team to finish on 78 points, four more than the ‘A’ side who were runners up.
With the domestic fixtures all completed the league played off the finals of their League Cup. In the semi-finals Ten Arches ‘A lost 5-2 to Brickmakers Arms who finished the season in fourth place eight points behind their opponents. In the other last four game fifth placed Bridge (Kingswinford) lost 5-3 to Stourbridge RBL who ended their season in eleventh place.
The final went as expected with Brickmakers Arms winning 7-2 against Stourbridge RBL.
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The Four Oaks and District League played off their Richard Winslow Pairs Knockout sponsored by K & B Installations, an individual doubles knockout played at the Red Lion, Erdington.
A total of 38 pairs contested the title with Bishop Vesey having three representative teams in the quarter finals where they all made their exits.
Last season’s semi finalists R.Hawker and S.Paling and last year’s winners K.Reynolds and K.Deeley once again made the semi-finals and were joined by K.Shorthouse and C.Turnbull plus M.Partridge and J.Prince.
The first of the semis saw Shorthouse and Turnbull lose 2-0 to Reynolds and Deeley while Hawker and Paling won 2-1 against Partridge and Prince.
In the final Reynolds and Deeley beat Hawker and Paling 3-0, to lift the trophy for a second successive year.
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The Forest of Arden Winter League staged the final of their League Cup which was a local derby between Journeys End Flights and Journeys End the league’s top two teams.
The outcome of the game was a close 5-4 win for Flights in what was a very high scoring affair.
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This month’s column ends on a sad note as the Forest of Arden League reported with regret the passing away of Andy Howell. Andy played many years for the Journeys End team in the league and will be sadly missed by all of his team mates and everyone who knew him.
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