Going into their seventh fixture of the season, an away game against Yorkshire, Warwickshire were lying eighth in the table with 113 points and their hosts third on 139 points from seven games. It was never going to be an easy task for Warwickshire County Darts Organisation and that is exactly how it turned out.
The weekend got off to a good start for the away side as the ladies ‘B’ went 1-0 and 2-1 up, Lucy Shepherd winning the opener against Tracy Marran 3-0 and Kirsty Hiunchliffe the third when she beat Sonia Porter, also 3-0. Lyn Horne (Yorkshire) won the second game against Hannah Meek 3-0. Nina Bolt opened up a 3-1 lead when she won 3-2 against Toni Smallwood and although Emma Lockwood reduced the arrears for the home team when she won 3-0 against Jodie Rigg, the final game was in safe hands as Warwickshire’s lady of the match Macy Gibbons beat Michelle Binns 3-1 with a 22.41 average to give the visitors a 4-2 victory.
Yorkshire were fastest out of the blocks in the men’s ‘B’ game, Mason Hale and Paul Gannon giving them a 2-0 lead when they won 4-3 against respective opponents Karl Reynolds and Ian Shaw. Mark Strong momentarily stopped the rot with his 4-1 success against Graham Elvidge, only to see the home side restore their two games buffer when Steve Blower won 4-3 against Jason Meek. Warwickshire’s second winner came in the shape of Keith Deeley, his 4-3 win over Danny Dutson taking the score along to 3-2 to the hosts. By the halfway stage Yorkshire were 4-2 up as their Tony Darlow closed the half with a 4-2 win over Jason Prince.
The deficit was halved in style as the second session got underway with Warwickshire’s man of the match William Naylor beating James Robins 4-2 with a 26.88 average. Tony Calvert made it 5-3 with his 4-2 win against Jnr Joyce, Zac Prince keeping Warwickshire in the hunt with his 4-1 win against Brian Hallas. Liam Fallas assured the home team of at least a share of the spoils when he beat Adam Hancock 4-2 but the final score was all-square after Mark Carter beat Jack Shields 4-3 and anchor-man Lee Miller won 4-3 against Sam Booth to put the overall score for the day at 10-8 to Warwickshire.
The ladies ‘B’ match finished with a 4-2 result and so did the ladies ‘A’ but this time it was Yorkshire who finished on the winning side.
Sally Whiting put Yorkshire one up when she won 3-2 against Kacie O’Connor, but the lead was short-lived as Warwickshire’s lady of the match Courtney Hine, beat Jane Hawtin 3-1 with a 20.46 average. For a second time the hosts took the lead, this time it was through a 3-1 win for Marie Fitton over Marian Conway and with a further 3-0 win for Jayne Conboy, the home team were guaranteed a share of the points, however they didn’t have to wait long for the win as their penultimate player, and lady of the match Jody Hancock won 3-1 against Wendy Adams to put them into an unbeatable 4-1 lead. The final game went to Warwickshire, Caroline Pike making her amazing 250 appearance for Warwickshire ladies, celebrated it with a 3-1 win over Lily Blanthorn to put the final score at 4-2 to Yorkshire.
Caroline Pike, being presented with her Certificate for 250 appearances for Warwickshire by County Chairman Neil Pritchard.
As with the men’s ‘B’, Yorkshire’s men’s ‘A’ were first off the mark as Wayne Scarrott beat Jack Wareing 4-2 and Peter Jacques doubled the lead when he won 4-1 against Matty Washbrooke. Taking the score along to 3-1 was Dan Outwin with his 4-1 win against Sam Price, all before Warwickshire got their first stripe on the board, thanks to their man of the match Nigel Heydon who in his 4-3 win over Carl Wilkinson he chalked up an average of 29.61. After the minor set-back for the hosts it was then back to business as Kieran Evans and Keith Flint closed the half with respective 4-1 wins over Kevin Dowling and Taylor McGuckian to put the home team 5-1 up.
Noel Grant gave the away side a winning start to the second half, his 4-1 win against Andy Harland making it 5-2 to Yorkshire. However from their 5-2 advantage, the home team then went into a winning 7-2 lead as Tom Sykes and Jack Hill in turn won 4-1 against Mark Martin and Dave Atkins before the visitors had their best run of the game when they won two in-a-row, Gareth Braham beating Darren Weaver 4-2 and Zac Prince winning 4-3 against Tony Molyneux. A 4-1 win over Ryan Jackson by Ash Taylor took the final score to 8-4 to Yorkshire to give them an overall 20-16 victory for the weekend.
Despite their win, Yorkshire dropped one place to fourth on 162 points from eight games while Warwickshire’s defeat saw them move up one place to seventh with 129 points from seven games.
———————————