This coming weekend the Warwickshire County Darts Organisation will be making the journey north to the St Thomas Club, Comet Road, Wigan, WN5 0ET where they will be playing possibly the toughest fixture of their UKDA National League Elite Premier Division season when they take on divisional leaders Lancashire. A win for Warwickshire would not only take their undefeated run to seven games but would also put them well in line for the premier division title as currently they are 28-7 points short of their hosts with a game in hand and only three behind second placed Yorkshire, again with a game in hand.
Lining up for this vital fixture for Warwickshire will be Men’s ‘A’:- Jamie Atkins, Gareth Braham, Kevin Dowling, Steve Giddings, Noel Grant, Steve Hine, Jamie Hughes, Prakash Jiwa, Tom Martin, Mark Strong, Jack Wareing, Matty Washbrooke, Men’s ‘B’:- Mark Carter, Carl Green, Adam Hancock, Dave Hill, Scott Hope, Mark Martin, Wayne Mynard, Will Naylor, Karl Reynolds, Ian Shaw, Mark Tomlinson snr, Martin Tonks, Reserves:- Dave Honey, Ian McFarlane, Lee Miller, Darren Swords, Carl Winters, Women’s ‘A’:- Natalie Gilbert, Sue Gulliver, Angela Jones, Chloe McKivett, Tammy Montgomery, Donna Pinch, Women’s ‘B’:- Wendy Adams, Nina Bolt, Marian Conway, Melanie Jones, Denise Keyte, Caroline Pike, Reserves:- Lucy Keyte, Sue Maclennan.
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In the AON Championship division West Midlands will be hosting next to bottom of the table Cambridgeshire at Gilberts Bar, 54 Field Street, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 2NY where they will be hoping to put to an end a run of three consecutive defeats.
So far in their seven games West Midlands have managed just one win which came in their second fixture of the season at home against Humberside way back in October last year. A win is what is now desperately required to lift them away from the foot of the table as the two teams below them Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire both have a game in hand and are respectively two and twelve points behind West Midlands, so nothing less than a win against Cambridgeshire will be good enough.
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Black Country are riding high in the Darts for Windows Division Three, top of the table with a six points lead over second placed Gloucestershire, and that lead could well be extended this coming weekend as they take on Isle of Wight, a team who are well and truly fixed at the foot of the table. A big win in this fixture would see Black Country get one hand on the champion’s silverware as their final fixture of the campaign despite being an away game is against next to bottom of the table Pembrokeshire who in fact are in a somewhat false position as they have played two games fewer than all of the other teams.
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Last week there was just one change in the Kings Norton League which saw Rubery Social Club and Grant Arms swap places, this week once again there is only one change and strangely it sees Rubery Social Club and Grant Arms once again swap places/
With only five fixtures remaining league leaders Copper Fox require just three more wins to secure the title. Following their 5-2 win at Northfield they have a six point’s advantage over second placed E57 who lost ground in the title race as they somewhat surprisingly lost 4-3 at home to Cock Inn who, are some four places and six points behind them. Third and fourth placed Rubery Legion and Thurlestone played each other with the former winning 4-3 to put them on the same 26 points as E57 but short on average, Thurlestone are a further two points adrift and remain fourth.
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Boldmere St Mikes had a narrow 5-4 win at home against Golden Hind Lions, a team in the bottom three of division one of the Four Oaks and District League, but nevertheless it was a win and it keeps them two points to the good on second placed Erdington Arrows who had a little more comfortable 6-3 win at Pint Pot Flights to give them an eight points cushion over third in the division Red Lion, the championship now almost certainly going to one of the two top teams.
In the second division top team Heartlands had a big 8-1 win at Deer’s Leap to put them on 22 points while second placed Bishop Vesey returned to winning ways after losing to Heartlands last week by winning their home tie with Charley’s Flights 5-4. As a result of their defeat Charley’s Flights drop one place in the table to fourth and are replaced by Plough and Arrows who won 5-4 at home against St Thomas Arrows leaving them four points off the top.
There was a rare win for division two’s bottom team Sutton Sharks as they recorded only their second win in thirteen when they beat Erdington Flyers 7-2.
This week C.Millward jnr (Boldmere St Mikes) hit his third 180 of the season, I.Lloyd (Oscott Social Club) and R.McLaughlin (Bill’s Arrows) Chalked up their first.
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After completing ten games just two points separate the top three teams in the premier division of the Sheldon and District Winter League. A convincing 8-1 success for Sheldon Marlborough Arrows at Iron Horse Flights keeps them top of the division but only by three legs of average as second placed Langley Arrows also won 8-1 playing at Hobs Meadow to give them the same 18 points as Sheldon. Third in the division Dunky’s Boys won 6-3 at Mackadown Social leaving them two points behind the top two teams.
The difference at the top of division one is even closer with just one leg of average between leaders Hollywood Social and second placed Sheldon Dukes, Hollywood won 7-2 at Yardley Ex Colts while the Dukes won by the same margin against Irish Centre. Both of the top two are on 16 points with third and fourth placed Kingshurst Labour Club and Shirley Misfits four points behind them, however the Misfits have two games in hand and wins in those games would see them attain the same 16 points as the top two.
Division two leaders Willclare Sports and Social had their fixture with Small Heath Gardeners postponed but still held on to pole position with 16 points from eight games. Second in the division Journeys End won 6-3 at Lyndon Old Boys to give them 16 points from nine games with an inferior average than Willclare.
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Leaders of the Camp Hill League, Aston Inn Nomads completed their fixture card but not in the way they would have wished as for only the third time in the campaign they lost. Playing at home against sixth in the table Meadway Social they finished 4-3 losers, a defeat that could cost them the title as their nearest rivals Sheldon Marlborough Flights added a 5-2 win at Sedgemere Devils to their account to leave them two points and only two legs of average behind the Nomads with a game still to play, a win in their final game would see them become champions.
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The Netherton Thursday Night League played the first round of their Doubles Knockout at eight venues and down to the last eight players. Battling it out in the quarter finals will be A.Ghaleb / M.Archer, J.Watton / P.Davies (Old Hill Cricket Club), S.Tipper / C.Hadlington, C.Wakeman / J.Brookes (Spring Meadow Social Club), G.Billingham / R.Ratcliffe (Bulls Head), D.Brown / A.Tonks, R.Carr / P.Tonks (Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club), T.Johnson / D.Shilvock (Fairfield).
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White Horse, after winning the first ten games in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League finally lost their 100% win record when in game number eleven they went down 4-3 at home against Britannia who now join them on the same 20 points. White Horse hold on to the number one spot on average over their rivals and also have a game in hand on them.
After the top two come four teams Ten Arches ‘A’, Woodman, Bell ‘A’ and Gate Hangs Well who are all on 14 points, six short of White Horse with Bell ‘A’ having played one game fewer than the other three and the leaders.
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Dewdrop ‘A’ and Waggon and Horses remain the only two unbeaten teams in the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League after in week three Dewdrop ‘A’ handed out a 7-0 whitewash to their visitors Vine ‘B’ to hold on to pole position with a two points lead over Waggon and Horses who were playing only their second fixture and winning 6-1 against Dewdrop ‘B’.
On the same four points as Waggon but having played three games are Horseley Tavern, Miners Arms ‘B’ and Vine ‘A’, Horseley losing their unbeaten record going down 4-3 at Miners Arms ‘A’, while Miners Arms ‘B’ and Vine ‘A’ won by the same 4-3 margin in turn against Sow and Pigs and Albion.
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Fixtures in the Sedgley and Gornal Tuesday Night League produced top of the table and bottom of the table clashes in the latest of their fixtures as leaders Old Bulls Head took on second in the league New Inn on their home board. The result was a 6-3 win for the hosts taking their undefeated record to sixteen games and giving them a perfect 32 points with a six points lead over New Inn.
At the other end of the table next to bottom Pensnett Liberal Club entertained bottom of the league Meadow Lark. The close 5-4 result went in Pensnetts favour to see them open up a four points gap between them and their opponents.
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Week two of the Brierley Hill Monday Night League and only five of the starting line-up of sixteen teams remain unbeaten. Bridge head the table with a three legs of average lead over second placed Roebuck after they won 8-1 at Tommy Turner’s, Roebuck had a 7-2 success away to bottom of the league Union. Dudley Ex Serviceman’s ‘B’, Talbot and Dudley Ex Serviceman’s ‘A’ make up the top five, Ex ‘B’ winning 7-2 at Shrewsbury Arms, Talbot beating Rose and Crown 6-3 and Ex ‘A’ had a close 5-4 result against Dudley Sports ‘A’ who share sixth place with Brickmakers Arms after their 8-1 win over Black Horse.
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Bird in Hand ‘E’ have been ousted from their number one spot in the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League after losing 4-3 at home to third in the league White Horse. Despite their third position White Horse are just four points behind new leaders Fox Inn (Lye) and have two fewer than Bird ‘E’ who are now second, but have three games in hand on them both. Fox Inn (Lye) had a 4-3 win at Bell ‘A’ whose A.Nicholls had a 160 break.
Other individual achievements this week saw B.Watts (Bell ‘B’) also break with 160 and record an eight darts leg, Raven’s J.Richards emulating Watts with the same 160 break and eight darts game.
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The Gilbert’s Bar Monday Night Singles League has a new leader, Scott Baker has taken over the top spot after his 8-0 win against Eddie Gripton. Baker has a two points lead over both Jon Blakemore and former table topper Alex Simmons, Blakemore like Baker adding an 8-0 win to his tally after accounting for Sarah Maybury while Simmons beat Adam Teasdale 5-3.
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Manager of the Sports Argus Charity Team Richard Liggins is looking for more teams to take up the challenge against the Argus but he only has a six remaining open spaces for the forthcoming season. Dates on offer are 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th May plus 15th and 22nd July.
Why not get your league to contact Richard on 07535-803324 to take up one of these last few dates and pit your skills against the boys in red and in turn help raise funds for local charities.
Get in touch now before it’s too late, give Richard a call.
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