Martin Cooper suffered only his third defeat in twenty-six games in the Heartlands Sugardarts M&E Co Double Top League when in week fourteen he lost 2-1 to John Frost however he quickly recovered to win by the same margin against Emma Cain to put him on sixty-five points from twenty-seven games. Second in the league Steve Cain took full advantage of Cooper’s slip-up to reduce the arrears on him to just two points by winning 3-0 against Sue John and 2-1 against Steve McCormack. Third placed Matthew Cain has two games in hand on the two players above him and is only three points off the top after he didn’t play this week. John Burdett moved up two places in the table to fourth after he beat George Drennan and Ryan Cain 2-1 and although he has a game in hand on leader Cooper he is nine points behind him.
The only maximum of the week came from Ryan Barrittt in his 2-1 defeat to Steve McCormack.
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Just a few catch-up games were played in the Kings Norton League this week, Bourneville the only team in the top five to play, winning 4-3 at home against Perfection who are eighth in the league and twelve points behind their opponents. The win takes Bournevile’s points tally to thirty-four the same number as third and fourth placed Bournebrook and Greenlands. Northfield stay top with an unbeaten fifty points from their twenty-five games with Copper Fox second, eight points behind Northfield with a game in hand which will see them finish as runners-up and Northfield champions.
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Although Raven Arrows had their fixture with Mackadown Sports and Social Club in group one of the Sheldon and District Summer League postponed, they hold on to pole position with nine points and have a lead of one point over Langley Arrows who have replaced Trident Spears in second place after they won 7-1 at Highwood and Trident Spears were held to a 4-4 draw at home by bottom of the group Brian’s Flights, this being the first point Brian’s Flights have picked up in five games.
Banbury Club made it five wins in six games in group two when they won 6-2 at home against third placed Kingshurst Labour Club. Banbury have a slender one point advantage over their nearest rivals RAFA who lost ground as they finished all-square at 4-4 in their hoe tie with bottom of the table Hunters Moon, however they do have a four points lead on Kingshurst Labour Club. A 5-3 home win over EBAHA has seen Smithswood Social Club move up one place from their previous next to bottom position with their opponents replacing them in fifth place with four points, just one more than bottom team Hunters Moon.
Old Salts Darts top group three with ten points from six games, their latest fixture seeing them win 5-3 at home against Moseley Rugby Club to extend their lead over second placed Raven to four points after they were held to a 4-4 draw playing away against Sheldon Marlborough Ridge. Sheldon Marlborough Ridge move up two places in the table to third with five points while Langley Flights, who were previously third, lost 6-2 at home to Shirley Misfits, this being Misfits first win but they still remain at the foot of the group with three points, two short of next to bottom Langley Flights.
There are just three legs of average difference between to top two teams in group four. A 6-2 win at Langley Pints keeping Lyndon Old Boys top of the table with second placed Station Inn having the same result in their home game against Trident Flights to put them level on points with the Old Boys. Sheldon Marlborough Flights are third, their 5-3 win at Maggies leaving them two points short of the top two teams.
This week’s fixtures produced three maximums and they came from Paul Nixon (Langley Arrows), Frazier Jones (Moseley Rugby Club) and Darren Tudor (Langley Flights).
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Although there was no result for Northfield Conservative Club, and they have played one game more than their nearest rivals in the Harborne and District League, they hold on to the number one spot with forty-eight points from twenty-four games and have a lead of six points over second placed Northfield Darts Club after they won their home fixture over fifth in the league Smethwick Cricket Club 7-2. Copper Fox ‘R’ and Copper Fox ‘M’ are respectively third and fourth in the table, both on forty points after ‘R’ won 5-4 at home against Thimble Mill and ‘M’ won 6-3 at Harborne Stores whose D.Goldsmith was the only player to find the three treble twenties this week.
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It was cup quarter-finals week in the South West Birmingham Clubs League, the Bob Price Cup, in which two games finished with clear-cut 6-1 results and the other two games had much closer 4-3 verdicts. Kings Norton Ex Serviceman’s Club got the better of Moseley All Services Club with a 6-1 win and Stirchley United had the same result against Longbridge United with S.Hercules hitting a maximum for Stirchley United. The 4-3 results went to Northfield Darts Club and Bartley Green FC who in turn defeated West Heath CEM and Bournbrook whose H.Cottrell hit a 180 while for Bartley Green FC J.Newbury had a 160 break.
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It’s as-you-were for the top six teams in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League, Old Liberal Club continuing to lead the field after adding a 5-2 win at Bird in Hand to their account to put them on forty points from twenty-one games, plus the Liberal Club had a 160 break from S.Tipper. Gornal British Legion are second, their 6-1 home win over Gate Hangs Well keeping them hot on the heels of the leaders with thirty-eight points which is two to the good on third placed Ten Arches ‘A’ who also won 6-1 at home against Ashwood.
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A 5-3 win at New Talbot helped Old Star to hang on to pole position in the Silver End Sunday Morning League, their thirty-six points three more than second placed Dudley Sports ‘A’ who won their home tie with Tenth Lock 6-2. Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club are third, just one point behind Dudley Sports ‘A’ but they ghave played one game more than them, the latest of which saw them win 7-1 at Old Cat. A 5-3 win at Ten Arches has seen Everest Cottage move up one place to fourth with three points fewer than the Ex Serviceman’s Club.
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Played seven, won seven that’s the record for Chop House in the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League. In the latest round of fixtures, Chop House consolidated their number one spot in the best possible way as they handed out a 7-0 whitewash to their hosts Beech Tree Miners to keep intact their two points lead over second and third placed Stourbridge FC ‘A’ and Raven. Stourbridge FC ‘A’ fell behind the leaders as they suffered their first defeat of the campaign, a huge 6-1 reversal away to fourth in the league Bird in Hand ‘E’ who are now just two points behind their opponents. Raven had a 4-3 home win over New Inns putting them on the same twelve points as Stourbridge FC ‘A’ and only one leg of average behind them. In addition to Bird in Hand ‘E’ having ten points so do fifth and sixth in the league table Old Liberal Club ‘A’ and Ashwood, the former winning 4-3 at Hollybush and the latter winning by the same margin at Five Ways.
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An 8-1 home win over Spring Meadow Social all but seasls the title for Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club ‘A’ in the Netherton Thursday Night 501 League. The leaders are now on eighty-one points with three more games to play while second placed Old Liberal Club after their 6-3 home win over Townsend Sports and Social Cub are six points adrift with only two more games to play, but they should now finish as runners-up as third placed British Oak’s 5-4 win at fifth in the table Bulls Head leaves them with sixty-nine points with three more games to play.
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A 4-3 home defeat by Wonder ‘B’ has cost Allen’s Bar the leadership of the Hilltop Friendly Tuesday Night League as they drop to second place behind new leaders Vine ‘A’ whose 6-1 home win over Horseley Tavern ‘A’ gives them a two points advantage over the former leaders. Third placed Cottage Spring are also just two points adrift of Vine ‘A’ following their 4-3 win at Horseley Tavern ‘B’.
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The Rowley Monday Night League played their Top Half Doubles Knockout down to the last eight pairs and winning through to finals night were, B.Smith & H.Kainthal (Tividale FC), M.Hall & D.Homer (Gate Hangs Well), L.Hawthorn & M.Crumpton (Whiteheath Tavern), S.Green & A.O’Driscoll, J.Green (180) & T.Johnson (Hawthorns ‘A’), A.Galeb & R.Ahmed (Plough and Harrow), L.Sims & N.Bradley (Snooks), T.Brennan & B.Gillies (Bell).
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Just the one fixture played in the West Midlands Men’s Super League which saw Dog and Partridge win 5-0 at home against Gate Inn.
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Jason Lowe made it 44 wins in 46 games in the Amblecote RBL Premier League when he won 7-0 against Craig Lowin and 6-1 against Ryan Hardman to give him a total of 312 points and a lead of 12 plus two games in hand on second placed Nick Fullwell who had narrow 4-3 wins over both Tom Hanson and Dave Simpson. Third placed Paul Wells is on 285 points after he beat Joe Poole 5-2 and Mark Hopkins 6-1.
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It now looks as though the three divisions in the Gilbert’s Bar Monday Night Singles League are all a two horse race for the winners and runners-up positions as all three divisional leaders have big leads on their nearest rivals and the second placed players in turn are well ahead of their chasers. Scott Baker leads division one with 164 points with second placed Simon Mountford on 139 while the leader of division two is Michael Smith, his 173 points is 35 more than Joe Bartolo who is second. Topping division three is Olly Garret who with 160 points is 36 to the good on Troy Simmonds who is second.
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Junction ‘B’ and Dog and Partridge ‘B’ are the only two teams with a 100% win record in the singles league of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League. Junction ‘B’ made it five straight wins with a 6-1 win at Pheasant while Dog and Partridge ‘B’ went one better with a 7-0 success at home against Golden Lion ‘B’, after the top two come five teams all two points off the top, Ashmore, Gilbert’s Bar ‘B’, Three Crowns’ New Gate Inn and Wednesfield Legion.
New Gate Inn are the only team to have won all their games in the doubles league, they are being chased by six teams who are all two points behind them, and they are Ashmore, Junction ‘B’, Junction ‘D’, Dog and Partridge ‘B’, Gilbert’s Bar ‘A’ and Junction ‘C’.
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It was sad news to hear recently of the passing of John Pears, John was a regular player in many of the Birmingham based leagues including the Bloomsbury, Coleshill, Castle Vale, Sheldon and District, Acocks Green and Birmingham Irish League to name but a few. He had significant wins in the leagues he played in winning the Sheldon and District League singles title in 1978-79, the Sheldon and District doubles with partner Tom White and the Bloomsbury doubles knockout with R.Watts 1978-79, he also represented both Warwickshire and Worcestershire in what was then the BDO Inter County Championships.
John’s funeral will be at the Woodlands Cemetery, B46 1DP on Friday 22nd August at 2.00 – 3.00pm with the Wake at Solihull British Legion, B91 3DH.
Our deepest sympathies go to John’s wife Margaret and their five children, he will be sorely missed by all who knew him, another sad loss to the darts fraternity.
Rest in Peace John.
John when he first started playing darts
John getting married in August 2024
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