It was not the start Warwickshire County Darts Organisation wanted as they began 2023 in the Cosmo Darts Premier Division of the UKDA National League as they slipped to a narrow 19-17 defeat playing away against London.
However the weekend got off to quite a bright start as the ladies ‘B’ side roared to a 5-1 victory. Chloe McKivett got the match underway with her straight 3-0 win over Sarah Cronin and although the home side levelled through Dee Belcher’s win over Angela Jones Warwickshire went 2-1 up with a 3-0 win from Courtney Hine over Carly Townsend. Lady of the match Hannah Meek beat Joanne Deamer 3-1 with a 19.80 average before the 5-1 win was wrapped up with Nina Bolt beating Jane Biggs 3-1 and Melanie Jones winning 3-0 against Lynne Biondini.
The men’s ‘B’ went down 7-5 with their wins coming from Dave Hill, Scott Hope, Karl Reynolds, man of the match Nigel Heydon and Noah Rose. Nigel Heydon won 4-0 against Geoff Mortimer with a 27.08 average.
Caroline Pike and Natalie Gilbert were the only winners for the ladies ‘A’ as they lost 4-2. Natalie had a straight 3-0 win over Nikki Patten, her 17.28 average earning her the match award. The men’s ‘A’ finished as did the men’s ‘B’ on the wrong side of a 7-5 scoreline. Chalking up Warwickshire’s five wins were Steve Hine, Noel Grant, Jamie Atkins, Kevin Dowling and award winner Matty Washbrooke who had a 4-2 win over Liam Hill with a 27.70 average.
Despite the defeat Warwickshire hold on to fifth place in the table, but have had the deficit on leaders Lancashire increased from 18 to 23 points.
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