Warwickshire v Lincolnshire
Following victories over West Midlands and Cheshire, Warwickshire ended 2018 on somewhat of a low as they lost their home fixture against Lincolnshire making it three consecutive seasons they have gone down to the same opponents.
The ladies ‘B’ team got off to a great start as Angela Jones opened up with a 3-1 win over Sharon Barnard after Barnard had won the first leg. Taking the score along to 2-0 was Donna Pinch who not only beat Heather Lodge 3-1, recording a fantastic 148 outshot in her second fifteen darts leg, but she also took the team’s match award for her 19.61 average.
At the worst Warwickshire were assured of a draw as early as the third game when Melanie Jones moved their advantage along to 3-0 with her 3-2 win over Layla Bontoft, Melanie coming from 2-0 down to beat Bontoft.
A win looked to be on the cards when Denise Keyte kicked off her game against Dawn Armstrong with a 118 game shot but Armstrong quickly replied with a 100 checkout to level the game and then went on to win the next two legs for a 3-1 victory.
Keeping Lincolnshire in the game was Heather Draper who from 2-0 down against Marian Conway took advantage of the home players missed doubles in the third leg to win the game and narrowed the deficit to 2-1, and then levelled the score at two each. The deciding leg could easily have gone to either player as both had throws at finishing doubles but it was Draper with double ten who got the very close 3-2 verdict.
The result now hinged on the final game between Chloe McKivett (Warwickshire) and Julie Lambe, Lambe won the first two legs and although McKivett pulled one back in the third Lambe won the fourth and the game 3-1 to put the final score all level at 3-3 leaving the home side still without a win in four games.
The men’s ‘B’ side had had a terrific start to their season having won all three of their opening fixtures against Yorkshire, West Midlands and Cheshire but unfortunately they were unable to make it four wins in a row against Lincolnshire.
Tommy Ryan was first on for the hosts and quickly found himself trailing 3-0 to Neil Ward. Ryan fought back in style to level the game at 3-3 with a 121 game shot in the third but unfortunately it was to no avail as his opponent won the decider with Ryan left nursing double eighteen.
Lincolnshire went two up when Dan Warrington beat Karl Reynolds 4-2, Reynolds drawing level in the second and winning the fifth but unable to stop the visitors opening a 2-0 lead, then taking the score to 3-0 was Gary Blades who won 4-1 against Jack Wareing.
Mark Carter looked as though he may stop the rot when he went 1-0 and 3-2 up against Dave Crossland however with wins in the last two legs it was Crossland who got the 4-3 win. Lee Williams took the away teams lead to 5-0 with his 4-1 win over Richard Foster and with a further 4-3 win for Callum Wilson who came from two down against Tom Martin, the visitors were 6-0 up at the halfway stage.
The second half began on a brighter note as James Hykin chalked up Warwickshire’s first win when he beat Jonathon Bywater in straight legs and in the process take the man of the match award for his 27.08 average. The shortfall was further reduced when Mark Strong added his 4-2 win against Andrew Bingham, Bingham drawing level at 2-2 after Strong had won the first two legs.
Ashley Hykin cancelled out Kevin Leadenham’s lead three times before Leadenham won the seventh leg for a very close 4-3 win to put Lincolnshire into an unassailable 7-2 lead.
Carl Green lost his first leg to Mark Forman and then opened a 3-1 lead. Forman pulled one back in the fifth only to see Green clinch his 4-2 win in the sixth. Robert Comben (Warwickshire) made Rick Afford fight for his 4-3 win as he reduced the arrears from 2-0 to 2-1 in the third and then drew level in the sixth before losing out in the final leg.
The result was taken to 8-4 in Lincolnshire’s favour when in the last game of the day Warwickshire’s David Hill beat Leighton Bennett 4-2.
The ladies ‘A’, like the ‘B’ side were still seeking their first win of the campaign but after three draws in their first three games they suffered their first defeat.
Nina Bolt opened leads of 1-0 and 2-1 against Tammy Montgomery but it was Montgomery who got the 3-2 result. Paula Jacklin made it 2-0 for the away side as she handed out a rare defeat to Sue Gulliver, the margin a somewhat surprising 3-0.
Natalie Gilbert (Warwickshire) made it two consecutive match awards when she accounted for Laura Tye with a 3-1 result, Natalie averaging 22.41.
Alas as it turned out Natalie Gilbert’s win was to be the only win that the hosts would get as Kat Spanswick after taking a 2-0 lead against Julie Lambe lost 3-2 and Wendy Adams who also went two up against Shelley Bontoft-Gash went down by the same 3-2 margin.
The final ladies game of the weekend saw the return of Warwickshire’s former “Golden Girl” Trina Gulliver, now playing for Lincolnshire and in her usual precise manner she won 3-0 against Caroline Pike to take her team’s match award with a 25.47 average and at the same time take the result to 5-1 to Lincolnshire.
After losing their opening game of the season away to Yorkshire the men’s ‘A’ have chalked up convincing 8-4 wins over West Midlands and Cheshire and hoping to make it three in a row they began their game with a confident straight 4-0 win from Ian McFarlane over Simon Stainton.
After winning the first leg against Shane Lowe, Charlie Symons then lost 4-1 to see the score levelled at one each and with a 4-2 win for Anthony Hill over Kevin Dowling Lincolnshire had turned the game around and were leading 2-1.
The away team’s lead didn’t last long as Dean Stewart after winning the first leg against Dan Warrington with a 127 checkout then lost the next two but levelled the game in the fourth. He trailed again in the fifth, nevertheless with wins in the last two legs Stewart won the tie 4-3 to restore parity to the game.
For a second time the home side took the lead when in the fifth Antony Allen beat Craig Hill 4-2 but it was all square by the midway point as Paul Brown added his 4-1 win over Ian Shaw to make it 3-3.
Nigel Heydon (Warwickshire) celebrated his continued England selection in the first game of the second half with a straight 4-0 win over Lee Williams, Heydon recording a very creditable 29.04 average from winning legs of 17,17,19 and 16 darts.
Not only was Nigel Heydon in top form but also the remaining five players of the second half as Steve Giddings (25.87). won 4-3 against Callum Wilson, Giddings winning all four of his legs with a 40 outshot and legs of 20,17,21 and 21 darts.
Taking the score along to 6-3 with winning legs of 23,17,14 and 17 darts was Tom Aldridge (28.22) who added his 4-2 win over Micky Taylor to Warwickshire’s account before the home side produced their man of the match in the form of Jamie Hughes who made short work of his opponent Geoff Heath as he won 4-1 with legs of 14,11,21 and 18 darts for a superb 31.46 average to take his team to a winning 7-3 margin.
In the penultimate game Noel Grant (28.59) with 101 and 121 game shots beat Lloyd Pennell 4-1 and rounding off a tremendous 9-3 victory was Ted Evetts whose 4-0 win over Chris Dale included winning legs of 18,19,20 and 12 darts legs giving him an excellent 29.04 average.
The overall result for the weekend was a very, very close 19-17 win for Lincolnshire which leaves Warwickshire fourth in the table on 84 points just five short of third placed Glamorgan and Lincolnshire with 71 points lying in seventh position.
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