The Sheldon and District Summer League are now fast approaching the business end of their season whereby every single result is vital for potential group winners or even survivors. In group one, leaders Highwood had their home fixture with Raven Arrows postponed but nevertheless remain top of the group with eleven points and a superior average. Highwood’s nearest rivals Langley Arrows, despite having a maximum from their Richard Nixon were held to a 4-4 draw at home by Yardley Ex Colts who are next to bottom of the group, Langley go level on points with Highwood but trail on average and have played one game more than the leaders. Third placed Dingle, who also had their John Smythe find the three treble twenties had a 5-3 home win over bottom placed Willclare Sports and Social Club, the win putting Dingle level on the same number of points as the two teams above them but they have now played nine games with Highwood having only played seven.
Sheldon Dukes head the group two table but in their latest fixture they were held to a 4-4 home draw by third placed Shirley Misfits and although second placed Brian’s Flights won 5-3 at Hornet they are still two points short of the leaders but have a game in hand plus a five points lead on third in the group Shirley Misfits.
Leaders of group three Kingshurst Labour Club were another team to finish all-square at four each in their away game against second in the group Trident Spears who remain just one points short of the leaders and with a game in hand. Third in the group Langley Flights were somewhat surprisingly held to the same 4-4 draw away to bottom of the group Lyndon Old Boys, Langley now two points off the top and like Trident have a game in hand on Kingshurst.
Banbury Club enforced their quest for the group four title by handing their hosts bottom placed Raven an 8-0 whitewash to keep three points ahead of second in the group Smithswood Social Club who were 6-2 winners at Moseley Rugby Club.
Other individual feats this week came from Jamie Masefield (Brian’s Flights) who had a 123 finish, Mick Bown (Shirley Misfits) who hit a 180 and Paul Connelly (Banbury Club) with a 114 game shot.
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Just the one single change in the league table for the Kings Norton League this week which saw Coppice and Cock Inn swap places. The 6-1 home defeat by Rubery Social Club saw Coppice drop one place in the table to eighth while Cock Inn had a somewhat rare win when they returned from Thurlestone on the right side of the 5-2 result to lift them up one place to seventh. Although the two teams changed places in the table Coppice are now two points behind Cock Inn but their game in hand could see them overtake Cock Inn once again.
With the game between the top two teams Northfield and Copper Fox being cancelled the position at the top of the table remains the same with Northfield in pole position with twenty-eight points from sixteen games and Copper Fox second on the same twenty-eight points but from fifteen games. The leading duo have a two points lead on third placed Bourneville who won 4-3 at home against fifth in the league Bournebrook who are on twenty points. Rubery Social’s win at Coppice puts them fourth with twenty-four points but they have played seventeen games.
Just the one maximum to report from the league this week which was supplied by Thurlestone’s T.Garfield with Grant Arms player V.Walton not far behind with a score of 174.
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The Sutton and District Summer League had first round cup games on their fixture card and in the Prestridge Shield division one leaders Highcroft Hotdogs were matched against Aston Manor CC Flights who are just three places off the foot of the table. The result was no real surprise but maybe the close 5-4 scoreline in favour of the Hotdogs was a little surprising. Joining the Hotdogs in the next round will be Erdington Arrows, the third placed division two side wining 5-4 against St Tom Cats who are bottom of the same division.
In the Roy Bird Shield there was just the one fixture played which saw next to bottom of the division two table Pint Pot Flights lose 4-3 to Rosey Mac’s Bar who are just above them in the league table.
There was one division one league catch-up game played between Walmley CSC Flights and Old Oscott Arrows. Walmley won the game 7-2 to see them move up four places in the division to fourth with six points while Old Oscott with the same six points dropped one place to eighth trailing the three teams directly above them on average only.
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Leaders of the South West Birmingham Clubs League Longbridge United had a big win in game sixteen when they won 4-3 at home against third in the league Bournbrook to open up a gap of four points between the two teams. Second in the singles division West Heath CEM also had a significant 4-3 win in their away game against fourth placed Stirchley United. The top two teams are both on twenty-eight points with Bournbrook on twenty-four and Stirchley United on twenty.
The latest results had no effect on the Shadow League table with Quarry Club continuing to lead the field with eight points following their 4-3 win at Northfield Town while second and third placed Northfield Conservative Club and Perfection are four points adrift of the leaders after the Conservative Club lost 4-3 at home to Stirchley Flights and Perfection won by the same 4-3 margin at Avenue Social.
No change in the top four places in the Pre-Match Doubles League as leaders Longbridge United took their points tally to 206 and second placed West Heath CEM went to 187 points. Third and fourth placed Bournbrook and Avenue Social have respective 140 and 139 points.
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The Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League staged the final of their Memorial Cup between Waggon and Horse and Allen’s Bar ‘A’. With Allen’s Bar ‘A’ top of the league and their opponents four places below them and having twelve fewer points Allen’s began the final as firm favourites and their final 6-1 result confirmed that rating. Winners for Allen’s A’ were Lee Jordan, D.Bull, W.Hobday, T.Baker, L.Gelder, N.Whitehouse.
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The Netherton Thursday Night League’s AGM has now been confirmed for Thursday 14th September commencing at 8.00pm at the Bulls Head, 19 St Johns Street, Netherton, DY2 0PU. New and existing teams are cordially invited to attend the meeting, anyone requiring any further information should contact either Carl on 07898-299992 or Ron on 07970-694450.
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Just the one outstanding fixture from the first half of the season in the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League was played off this week between Fox Inn, Lye and Brickmakers Arms. Prior to the fixture being played Fox Inn were five places off the foot of the table and Brickmakers three off the bottom. The result was a 4-3 win for the home team Fox Inn who moved up two places in the table to ninth and although Brickmakers finished on the losing side they still actually moved up one further place away from the bottom of the table, four points behind their victors.
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The Camp Hill League are up to week three of their new campaign and leading the way is Tyseley Bears who have won all three of their opening fixtures 5-2 the latest of which was an away game against Erdington Nomads. In second place is the Bears local rivals Tyseley WMC whose 7-0 whitewash of bottom of the table Sedgemere Devils has left them two points behind Bears but with a game in hand. Third in the league Moseley Arms had a 4-3 win at home against Peaky Blinder which also leaves them two points off the top with a game in hand. After the opening three games Sedgemere Devils and Peaky Blinder are the only two teams in the league still seeking their first points of the season.
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There was a shock for Allen’s Bar ‘C’ in the Black Country Men’s Super League when in game fifteen they lost 3-2 playing away against Ashwood who are tenth in the league and some twenty points short of their opponents. In addition to losing the game Allen’s ‘C’ also lost the number one spot in the league with Gilbert’s Bar ‘B’ taking over from them following their 3-2 home win over White Swan. Both of the top two teams are on fifty-one points, Gilbert’s ‘B’ having played thirteen games while Allen’s ‘C’ have played fourteen. Third placed Railway Tavern are the nearest threat to the top two, they are on forty-nine points after they added their 4-1 home win over Allen’s Bar ‘B’ to their tally. A 5-0 home win over Horse and Jockey leaves Quarry Bank Liberal Club fourth, their forty-eight points just three off the top and only one short of Railway.
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Mark Jones was in top form in the latest round of fixtures in the Black Country Thursday Night Singles League as he added 8-0 wins over both Alex Mason and Danny Knight to his account to give him a total of ninety-five points from twelve games plus pole position with a lead of six points over second placed Danny Nicholls who has played eleven games. In the most recent fixtures Nicholls was held to a 4-4 draw by fourth placed Rich Bowen but then beat Jack Rolo 7-1.
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ECC ‘A’ consolidated their top spot in the singles division of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League with a 6-1 away win over Three Crowns to take their points tally to thirty-two which gives them a lead of two over both second and third placed Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ and Woodfield. Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ also won 6-1 at home against Ring of Bells while Woodfield made it 6-1 wins for all three top teams when they won their home tie with Gilbert’s Bar ‘B’.
In the doubles division it’s ECC ‘A’ who once again lead the field with thirty-two points after beating Three Crowns 2-1 and once more the two nearest teams to the leaders are Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ and Woodfield. Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ had a 3-0 win over Ring of Bells to keep them within four points of ECC ‘A’ but Woodfield lost 2-1 to Gilbert’s ‘Bar ‘B’ leaving them a huge twelve points off the top of the table.
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Are you playing in a local league and your league doesn’t get the coverage it deserves? Do you want to know where your team is in the league table? Do you want to know how the other teams got on this week? If you can say yes to all these questions then you have to ask is my league part of my Birmingham Mail Wednesday darts column? And if the answer is no to this then you should ask your league secretary the question why they are not sending me regular results to enable you to find the answer to all of your questions.
Just get someone to send your weekly results, tables and any other relevant information to me at my e-mail address alantowe49@gmail.com and I will do the rest. It’s as simple as that!!
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