The Four Oaks and District League have been involved in the second round of both their Coronation Shield and Norman Day Cup, first the Coronation Shield which saw division three leaders Pint Pot Flights win 8-7 against their second division opponents Plough and Arrows. Division one’s joint leaders Bishop Vesey had a somewhat comfortable 10-5 win against fellow division one side Old Oscott Arrows while in another all-division one contest Beehive, who are joint top with Bishop Vesey, won 9-6 against The Nomads. By the same 9-6 margin Old Horns Lions (division one) beat Walmley CSC Flights from division two.
In the Norman Day Cup games Heartlands who are currently second in division two had an 8-7 win over Beggars Bush who are bottom of division one. In the all-division two clash The Rise Club got the better of Drakes Drum with a 9-6 result. The other two games played were made up of division three sides with St Thomas Arrows winning 12-3 against Rosey Mac’s Bar and Sutton Sharks getting the better of St Tom Cats with an 11-4 result.
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The Sheldon and District Winter League were also engaged in cup games as they played their doubles knockout down to the last eight pairs and winning their way into the quarter-finals were Stephen Shepherd and Kevin Richard, Dave Mortiboys and Alan Whitehouse, Chris Darby and Shay Darby, Dave Howlett and Neil Parsonage, Paul Nixon and Bobby Nixon, Robbie Earl and Jason Evans, Nathan Wykes and Dave Cherry, Connor Cupkovic and Preston Cupkovic.
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Another league to be playing cup fixtures this week was the Camp Hill League who staged the quarter-finals of their League Cup in which league leaders Tyseley Bears, who have won all five of their league fixtures so far, went down 4-3 away to Wakefield Warriors who are just two points behind their opponents in the league having played four and won four games and so have a game in hand on the Bears. Clumsy Swan lost their home tie with Erdington Nomads 4-3 the same margin by which Moseley Arms defeated Roost. The game between Cotterills Lane EBAHA Club and Sedgemere Devil’s was postponed.
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There is little change in the singles league table for the South West Birmingham Clubs League with the top five places remaining the same after completing game eighteen. Leaders Longbridge United took their points tally to thirty-three with a 5-3 home win over seventh placed Bournbrook, at the same time holding on to their five points advantage over second placed West Heath CEM who went one better with their 6-1 home win over Perfection who are fifth in the division. Third placed Northfield Town had a 7-1 win at Northfield Conservative Club ‘A’ but are a further five points off the top with twenty-three points.
West Heath CEM top the pre-match doubles division with a total of 203 points, second placed Longbridge United are seven points short of West Heath but have a six points lead on third placed Northfield Town.
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The Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League have got their new season underway with an encouraging seventeen teams entering the new campaign, two more than last season. The early pacesetters in the league are reigning champions Old Liberal Club ‘A’ who could not have wished for a better start as they handed out a 7-0 whitewash to their visiting team Netherton Conservative Club. Bird in Hand ‘E’, Brickmakers Arms and Five Ways ‘A’ are not far behind Old Liberal Club ‘A’ as they in turn all won 6-1 against Old Liberal Club ‘B’, Garibaldi and Beech Tree Miners. Fifth and sixth placed Fox Inn (Lye) and Hollybush are a further one leg of average adrift after they beat respective opponents Five Ways ‘B’ and Wheatsheaf 5-2.
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The second legs of the semi-finals of the League Cup were on the fixture card for the Netherton Thursday Night League with league leaders Old Liberal Club adding a 7-2 win to their first leg 5-4 success over Bulls Head to give them an aggregate 12-6 victory and a place in the final. Meeting Old Liberal Club in the final on 1st August will be Townsend Social Club who after winning the first leg against Hill and Cakemore Ex Serviceman’s Club 6-3 then lost 5-4 but with the overall 10-8 result in their favour, booked their place in the final.
On the night there were maximums from M.Jones (Hill and Cakemore Ex Serviceman’s Club) and B.Watts (Old Liberal Club).
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On the agenda for the Silver End Sunday Morning League were the preliminary rounds of both their League and Shadow Cups. In the League Cup current league leaders Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club had a resounding 8-0 win over Dudley Sports ‘B’ and also handing out an 8-0 whitewash was Old Liberal Club to their visiting team Old Cat Inn.
There was just the one fixture played in the Shadow Cup which saw Brickmakers Arms lose 5-3 at home to High Acres ‘A’.
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After completing game eighteen it’s as you were for the top six teams in the Rowley Monday Night League with Bell continuing to lead the field after they won their home tie with fifth placed Whiteheath Tavern 6-3. The win keeps Bell two points ahead of their nearest rivals Plough and Harrow who won their home game with Spring Meadow 7-2, L.Beasley notching a score of 171 for the home side. Plough and Harrow remain two points to the good on third in the league Hawthorns who won 5-4 at White Swan whose M.Tedstone scored a maximum. Fourth placed Romsley Cricket Club, like Whiteheath Tavern suffered a 6-3 defeat going down away to sixth placed Tividale FC. The only changes in the top eight sides saw Snooks and Gate Hangs Well swap places as Snooks moved up to seventh with a 6-3 win at Hawthorns ‘B’ and Gate Hangs Well, despite a maximum from their J.Allen losing 5-4 at home to Rowley Bar and Grill and dropping to eighth.
Other notable individual performances this week came from L.Bambrick 180 (Hawthorns ‘B’), R.Lenton 180 (Rowley Labour Club, K.Kainthal 180 (Tividale FC) and S.Davies who had a 152 break and nine darts game (Gate Hangs Well).
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With just one more fixture to play to complete the first half of the season Old Liberal Club remain undefeated in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League taking their winning run to seventeen with a straight 7-0 home win over Mount Pleasant to keep them four ahead of second placed Gate Hangs Well ‘B’ who had a much closer 4-3 win away to Glasscutters ‘A’ who are in a mid-table position. A 5-2 win at Crestwood sees Five Ways in third place, four points short of the leaders and two behind Gate Hangs Well ‘B’, they are just three legs of average better off than fourth in the league Princess after they won their home tie with Seven Stars 6-1. Fifth and sixth placed Netherton Conservative Club ‘B’ and Bird in Hand both have twenty-six points after the former won 4-3 at Raven ‘A’ and the later had a bye.
D.Hadlington (Raven ‘A’) found the three treble twenties this week while S.Russell (Rose and Crown ‘B’) had a 160 break and there was also an eight darts game for B.Hughes (Princess).
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Vine ‘A’ made it ten straight wins in the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League when they won 5-2 at Ivy Bush keeping them fout points ahead of second in the league Allen’s Bar who were 6-1 winners at Vine ‘B’. Tamebridge trail Allen’s Bar on average but kept level on the same sixteen points as them with a 4-3 win at Cottage Spring, Allen’s and Tamebridge two points better off than fourth and fifth placed Three Horseshoes and Horse and Jockey. Three Horseshoes lost ground as they went down 4-3 at home to a revitalised King Arthur, the league newcomers who were for some time bottom of the league table now steadily moving up the league and are currently placed eleventh for a starting line-up of fourteen. Horse and Jockey drew level on fourteen points with Three Horseshoes by winning 5-2 away to Horseley Tavern ‘B’.
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A 6-1 win away against Plough made it nine consecutive wins for leaders of the Cradley Heath Tuesday Night League Quarry Bank Liberal Club ‘A’. With a perfect twenty-seven points Quarry Bank Liberal Club ‘A’ are just one win ahead of their ‘B’ side who in their latest outing won 4-3 against Blackheath Liberal Club. After the top two teams there is a gap of six points to third and fourth in the league Bulls Head and Plough, Bulls Head won 5-2 in their home tie with Brickmakers Arms.
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With Jacqueline Maiden not playing in week eleven of the West Midlands Ladies Super League she forfeited pole position and dropped to third place on twenty-eight points from ten games. Taking over at the top of the table is Shellbie Simmons who after adding a 3-0 win over Crysta Davies-Wilcox and then losing by the same margin to Jackie Trott has thirty points from twelve games. Gemma Barrett moves up one place to second on twenty-nine points from eleven games after she beat Sam Rowley 3-0.
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Although Dan Nicholls didn’t play in week twenty-one of the Amblecote Premier League he remains in pole position with a total of 194 points from 35 games. Nick Fullwell loses second place after he lost 5-2 to Tom Bissell and drops to third with 184 points, again from 35 games. Reece Colley after losing 5-2 to Ian Townsend then beat Howard Pritchard 6-1 before losing once again, this time 4-3 to Neil Murphy to put him on 188 points from 35 games and second in the league. Fourth in the league Gavin Smith is on the same 184 points as Nick Fullwell but from 34 games, his latest fixtures seeing him win 6-1 against Jake Shipley and 5-2 against Jayden Harper.
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In division one of the Gilbert’s Bar Monday Night Singles League Scott Baker took his points tally to 124 from seventeen games and tops the table with a lead of twenty-four points over his nearest rival Ian Stanton who didn’t play this week. Stanton now has three games in hand on Baker. Third in the division Darren Williams moves up one place as a result of him winning 5-3 against Chris Evans and former third placed player Paul Price not playing, Williams has ninety-two points from fifteen games.
In division two Kurt Wright took his undefeated run to thirteen games with a 6-2 win over a former leader and now placed second Alan Melling. Melling trails Wright by nine points and has played two games more than him but he does have a game in hand plus an eleven point’s lead on third in the division Reece Cook Lucas who was another player not to participate this week.
Division three leader Dave Thackeray is the only player in all of the three divisions to have won all of his games so far. Thackeray has played and won fourteen games and has amassed a total of 127 points from those games the latest of which saw him win 8-0 against Thomas Hollowood giving him a lead of thirteen points plus a game in hand on Hollowood who is second in the division.
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A local derby in the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League saw Corpus Christi ‘A’ beat their ‘B’ side 5-2 and as a result the ‘B’ team drop from top of the singles table to seventh. Junction ‘B’ move up one place into pole position after they won 5-2 against their ‘A’ side to give them a slender one leg of average lead over second placed Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ who won 5-2 away to Wednesfield Legion.
Two teams share the top spot in the doubles division Corpus Christi ‘A’ and Junction ‘B’, the former having a 3-0 win over their ‘’B’ team and the latter winning 3-0 against their ‘A’ side. Four more teams are on the same four points as the top two, Golden Lion, Hotshots, Wednesfield Legion and Woodfield.
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