After losing their opening fixture at home against Cornwall in the Premier Division of the UKDA National League Warwickshire County Darts Organisation will be hoping to chalk up their first win of the new campaign this coming weekend but it will be no easy task as they travel to the Stubshaw Cross Labour Club, Walter Street, Wigan, WN4 8TP where they will take on reigning champions Lancashire who won last season’s fixture 23-13. The home side will be looking to add to their opening 21-15 win away to Dorset but hoping to avoid a second consecutive defeat for Warwickshire will be Men’s ‘A’ :- Danny Lauby, Gareth Braham,Jack Wareing, Jamie Atkins, Jamie Hughes, Kevin Dowling, Matty Washbrooke, Nigel Heydon, Noel Grant, Sam Whittaker, Steve Hine, Wayne Mynard, Men’s ‘B’:- Adam Hancock, Dave Hill, Jnr Joyce, Karl Reynolds, Leigh Dells, Mark Faulkner, Mark Martin, Martin Tonks, Noah Rose, Sam Price, Will Naylor, Mark Carter, Reserves:- Mark Strong, Lee Miller, Ian McFarlane, Women’s ‘A’:- Wendy Adams, Marian Conway, Natalie Gilbert, Kirsty Hinchliffe, Courtney Hine, Hannah Meek, Women’s ‘B’:- Nina Bolt, Denise Keyte, Chloe McKivett-Saunders, Caroline Pike, Jodie Rigg, Kat Spanswick, Reserves:- Kris Meek, Donna Pinch.
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In division one of the UKDA National League the opening fixture between West Midlands and local rivals Black Country was postponed and both will play their first game of the season this coming weekend. West Midlands will travel to take on Clwyd at the Penyffordd Royal British Legion, Chester Road, Flintshire, CH4 0JZ. Similar to West Midlands Clwyd had their opening fixture at Middlesex postponed but have since played it and lost 23-13 so both teams will be looking for their first win of the season.
Black Country have a home tie, they will be taking on Cleveland at the Allen’s Sports Bar, Newhall Street, Tipton, West Midlands, DY4 9HL. Cleveland are fresh off the back of a 20-16 home win over Leicestershire and will be looking to add to that but the hosts, who narrowly missed out on promotion last season will be hoping their home advantage will prove to be enough to see them get off the ground and record their first win of the new campaign.
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The Sheldon and District Summer League staged the final of their League Cup and battling it out in the final were group one champions Langley Arrows and Raven Arrows. With a 146 finish and twelve darts game from Richard Nixon Langley Arrows went on to lift the winners silverware with a 5-2 result. On form for Raven Arrows were Neil Parsonage, who scored a maximum, Zac Prince with a 110 outshot and Jason Prince who chalked up an eleven darts game.
There was just one rearranged group four fixture played between Raven and Sheldon Marlborough Flights which finished all-square at 4-4, however the one point from the draw was enough for Raven to leapfrog Moseley Rugby Club and win the group four title by the smallest possible difference, just one leg of average, Moseley finishing as runners-up four points to the good on third placed Sheldon Marlboroughh Flights.
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The wet weather caused havoc in the South West Birmingham Clubs League with games called-off in both divisions. Division one leaders Stirchley United played and won 4-3 at Northfield Darts Club to remain four points ahead of second placed Quarry Club who also had a 4-3 win at home against Northfield Conservative Club ‘B’. In division two the top two teams played against each other with both teams recording ten three figure scores, leaders Northfield Conservative Club ‘A’ losing 4-3 at home to Kings Norton Ex Serviceman’s Club who are now just two points short of their hosts.
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A 6-3 win at Red Lion was enough to keep Old Horns Lions in pole position in division one of the Four Oaks and District League. With no result for the Bishop Vesey v Highcroft Hotdogs, Hotdogs drop down to fourth place with Nomads @ Hollyfields replacing them in the number two spot after they won 5-4 at Heartlands leaving them two points behind the leaders.
In division two Rosey Mac’s suffered a 6-3 home defeat at the hands of the Erdington Arrows team who have taken over from their hosts at the top of the table but their lead is solely on average as six other teams, Beggars Bush, Sutton Sharks, St Thomas Arrows, Rosey Mac’s, Drakes Drum and Pint Pot Flights are all on the same four points with Drakes Drum and Pint Pot Flights both having played and won only two games compared to the teams above them having played three games.
Top individual performances this week were supplied by Aide Stainfield (Old Horns Lions) and Adam Humphriss (Plough and Arrows) who both scored a maximum, Stainfield also recording a nine darts game. Rosey Mac’s Ian Stokes had not only a 160 break but also an eight darts game.
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The Netherton Thursday Night 501 League’s AGM was a huge success with no fewer than four more new teams joining the league for the forthcoming season taking the total teams to kick off the new campaign to sixteen.
The full list of teams are Old Liberal Club, Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club ‘A’, Bulls Head, Townsend Social Club, Plough and Harrow, Hill and Cakemore Ex Serviceman’s Club, Spring Meadow Pub, Spring Meadow Social, Old Glasshouse, Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club ‘B’, Hare and Hounds, Netherton Sports and Social Club, Cradley Heath Sports and Social Club, British Oak, Netherton Conservative Club and Mount Pleasant.
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A 7-0 home win over Gate Hangs Well ‘A’ has virtually wrapped up the league title for Old Liberal Club in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League as they have four more games to play and although their nearest rivals Gate Hangs Well ‘B’ have five remaining fixtures they are ten points behind the leaders and have a huge average deficit even after winning their latest fixture at home against Raven ‘B’ 6-1. Old Liberal Club have played and won all of their thirty-two games so far and the only remaining question is will they be able to go through the thirty-six season’s fixtures undefeated?
With the league title all but sewn-up the runners-up spot is still up for grabs with any one of the chasing four teams in line to finish second. Second placed Gate Hangs Well ‘B’ are on fifty-four points, just two more than third in the league Princess who in turn are two points ahead of both fourth and fifth in the table Five Ways and Netherton Conservative Club ‘B’, all four teams have played thirty-one games.
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Dudley Sports ‘A’ with a 5-3 home win over High Acres ‘A’ increased their lead at the top of the Silver End Sunday Morning League to eight points as their nearest rivals Old Star and Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club were both held to somewhat surprising 4-4 draws. Both Old Star and Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club had home fixtures the former being held to a draw by Rose and Crown who are eleventh in the league and the latter finished all-square with Old Cat Inn who are just three places off the foot of the table.
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Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club consolidated their number one spot in the Brierley Hill Monday Night League by handing their visitors Brickmakers Arms a 9-0 whitewash to give them thirty-four points from eighteen games. The win keeps the leaders four points ahead of Maverick who take over from Roebuck ‘A’ in second place after they beat them 5-4 at home. A further two points off the top are third and fourth placed Roebuck ‘A’ and Roebuck ‘B’, the ‘B’ side wining their home tie with Raven 7-2.
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With just one more round of fixtures to play in the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League Vine ‘A’ are champions following their 7-0 home win over Ivy Bush which gives them a four point’s advantage over both second and third placed Allen’s Bar and Tamebridge. Reigning champions Allen’s kept their hopes of the runners-up spot alive with a 5-2 home win over Vine ‘B’ and on the same thirty-eight points as Allen’s, Tamebridge won their home fixture by a close 4-3 over Cottage Spring.
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Five more games to go in the Rowley Monday Night League and leaders Bell added a 6-3 win over bottom of the table Huntingtree to their account to keep them six points to the good on both second and third Hawthorns and Plough and Harrow. Hawthorns won 7-2 playing away against fourth in the league Whiteheath Tavern while Plough and Harrow were 6-3 home winners over Tividale FC. After the top three there is a gap of eight points to Whiteheath Tavern.
With a 180 from D.Homer Gate Hangs Well won their home game against Romsley Cricket Club 6-3.
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A 5-4 defeat at Britannia has cost Netherton Sports and Social Club the number one spot in the Sedgley and Gornal Tuesday Night League with New Inn 2 taking over in pole position after they won 9-0 at Meadow Lark. Britannia and Netherton Sports and Social are joint-second with the same six points and average, the same points as the new leaders who have played one game fewer than their rivals. Gornal British Legion are the only team besides New Inn 2 not to have lost, they are placed sixth but have only played two fixtures, the latest of which saw them win 8-1 at home against Cabin whose M.Grigg scored a maximum.
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As the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League began the second half of their season leaders Five Ways ‘A’ took their undefeated run to seventeen games with a 4-3 win at Beech Tree Miners, the win keeps the leaders two points ahead of second placed Old Liberal Club ‘A’ who kept the pressure on the top team by winning 6-1 at Netherton Conservative Club. Third in the league Bird in Hand ‘E’ had a 7-0 win at Old Liberal Club ‘B’ but they are six points behind Five Ways ‘A’.
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Jacqueline Maiden did her title hopes no harm in the West Midlands Ladies Super League when she won 3-1 against Hannah Davies to take her points to sixty-seven from twenty-four games. Second in the league Gemma Barrett has played the same twenty-four games and is on sixty-five points. Jackie Trott is third and has two games in hand on the two players above her, she has sixty-one points.
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In the West Midlands Men’s Super League leaders Dog and Partridge suffered a setback to their title aspirations as they returned from fifth in the table Staffordshire Knot on the wrong side of the 3-2 result. Despite the defeat Dog and Partridge remain in pole position and still have a lead of three points over their nearest rivals Kings Head ‘A’ who won 4-1 at home against Landywood. A further one point behind in third place is Gilbert’s Bar ‘B’ who also won 4-1 at home against Corpus Christi and although fourth placed Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club handed their visiting opponents Kings Head ‘B’ a 5-0 whitewash they remain ten points off the top but with a game in hand on all three teams above them.
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With games now running out in the Amblecote RBL Premier League current leader Dan Nicholls added three more wins to his account, 6-1 against Chris Williams and Jon Underhill plus 4-3 against Cayden Smith to take his number of points to 363 from 68 games with four more to play. Second in the league Nick Fullwell beat Martyn Harper 4-3 and then won 6-1 against Mitch Pickett to give him a total of 333 points from 66 games. Gavin Smith is third, he played and won 4-3 against Jake Robinson to put him on 331 points from 65 games and still in with a shout is fourth in the league Tom Bissell who began the night with a 5-2 win over Carl Hipkiss, he then for only the sixth time in 58 games lost 4-3 to Jake Robinson but quickly recovered to finish the night with a 6-1 win over Joe Poole to give him 316 points but from only 58 games.
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In the Gilbert’s Bar Monday Night Singles League division one leader Scott Baker added a 6-2 win over Andrew Jervis to put him twenty-five points ahead of second placed Dean Simmons-Fullwood who has played one game fewer than Baker.
In division two, leader Kurt Wright was held to a 4-4 draw by fourth in the division Richard Brown but Wright is still twenty-four points to the good on his nearest rival Alan Melling.
There is no stopping Dave Thackeray in division three as he made it thirty straight wins when he added his 7-1 win over Warren Bower and then went one better by beating Keogh Bate 8-0.
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The Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League played off the first leg of the first round of their Knockout Cup and taking massive 7-0 leads into the second leg are Golden Lion, Junction ‘B’ and Hotshots who in turn accounted for Corpus Christi ‘B’, Three Crowns and New Gate Inn ‘A’. Not far behind with 6-1 wins were Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ and Milestone who won against respective opponents Woodfield and Wednesfield Legion. Junction ‘C’ had a 5-2 win against New Gate Inn ‘B’ while there were close 4-3 wins for both Gilbert’s Bar ‘B’ and Corpus Christi ‘A’ who played against Junction ‘D’ and Dog and Partridge.
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