Warwickshire County Darts Organisation have had a brilliant start to the new campaign in the Elite Premier Division of the UKDA National League chalking up six consecutive wins in their opening six games. However game number seven was always going to be a real tester for them as they were travelling to St Thomas Club, Comet Road, Wigan, WN5 0ET where they would take on current divisional leaders Lancashire.
Prior to the encounter Warwickshire were placed third in the table with a game in hand on first and second placed Lancashire and Yorkshire, 27 points short of the former but only three behind the latter.
Saturday’s ladies ‘B’ game began with a 3-1 win for the hosts Audrey Underwood who came form 1-0 down against Wendy Adams to win 3-1. Denise Keyte restored parity as she, in a similar game to the opener came from 1-0 down against Tracey Cunningham to go on and win 3-1.
Lindsey Ashton (Lancashire) was twice pegged back to level terms by Melanie Jones before she got her 3-2 win to restore the home teams lead and at the same time take the match award for her 21.99 average. Game number four was another five legs affair with Marian Conway (Warwickshire) taking a 1-0 lead and then levelling at 2-2 against Sue Cusick before losing the decider.
The penultimate game produced Warwickshire’s lady of the match as Caroline Pike after leading 1-0 against Jackie Wilkinson then went 2-1 down but with wins in the last two legs she not only won 3-2 and took the match award for her 18.64 average but also kept her team’s hopes of a draw alive.
A draw was not to be as Lancashire’s last player on, Julie Carradus won 3-0 against Nina Bolt to give the home side a 4-2 win.
The men’s ‘B’ game got off to a good start for the visitors as Dave Hill accounted for Martin Barratt with a 4-1 result checking out on 112 in the final leg. Martin Tonks was made to fight all the way for his 4-3 win over Terry Hey as he went from 1-0 up to 2-1 down and then 3-2 down before winning the last two legs in 19 and 20 darts to double Warwickshire’s lead.
Lancashire got their first stripe on the board in the third when David Evans beat Mark Martin 4-2, Evans going 3-0 up, then being pegged back to 3-2 before sealing his win in the sixth.
Warwickshire’s two games buffer was restored in the fourth when Wayne Mynard handed out a 4-0 whitewash to Rhys Griffin. Mynard kicked off his win with a 16 darts leg and then added 15, 20 and 17 darts legs to round off his victory and earn himself the match award for a 29.47 average.
From 3-1 up the score at the midway point was 3-3 as Stu Wilson won 4-1 against Mark Tomlinson and Nathan Care beat Adam Hancock 4-2. However as the second half began it was the away side that were first off the mark again as Mark Strong won 4-2 against Darren Latham. Strong won the first leg then lost the next two but clinched his win with further winning legs of 21,18 and 18 darts. For a third time in the game Warwickshire went two ahead, this time thanks to a 4-2 win from Carl Green who after trailing 1-0 and 2-1 to Tom Cromwell went on to take the running score to 5-3.
Lee Miller lost the opener to Sam Cromwell but then took leads of 2-1 and 3-2 before losing out in the last two legs to go down 4-3 as Cromwell sealed his win with a 150 game shot.
For a second time in the game the score was level as Andy Johnson beat Mark Carter 4-0 in the tenth and then for the very first time in the game and in the penultimate encounter Lancashire took the lead as Tony Baker came from 1-0 and 2-1 down against Karl Reynolds to go on and win 4-2 with a final three 20 darts legs.
The result was now hinging on the last game of the day and it was Warwickshire’s Scott Hope who saved the day as he beat Matt Clark 4-1, Scott recording a 12 darts leg in the third which included a 126 checkout to put the final score all even at 6-6.
Warwickshire’s ladies ‘A’ were going into their fixture with Lancashire unbeaten having won all of their previous six games, but this was one they would really like to forget as quickly as possible.
The home team began with a 3-1 win for Dawn Shaw over Tammy Montgomery but Shaw’s win was immediately cancelled out when Sue Gulliver beat Amy Eden 3-0, Gulliver taking the team’s lady of the match award not only for her 20.31 average but also for the fact that she was their sole winner as the following four ladies all lost 3-1.
Ellen Fletcher began the rout for Lancashire with her win over Natalie Gilbert, a rare defeat for Gilbert. Ally Smith made it 3-1 for the hosts with her victory over Angela Jones followed by Jenny Nuttall’s success against Donna Pinch and then the 5-1 win for Lancashire came in the final game when Eleanor Cairns beat Chloe McKivett, McKivett recording a 112 finish in the second leg.
To get anything out of the fixture Warwickshire men’s ‘A’ needed nothing less than a 9-3 win, they came close but unfortunately not close enough.
As the men’s ‘A’ match got underway first on for the away team was their man of the match from the previous day Wayne Mynard who once again produced the goods as he beat Rob Rickwood 4-1. Taking the score along to 2-0 was Jamie Atkins who was another 4-1 winner in his game with Lee Shewan. Kevin Dowling looked to be on the way to making it 3-0 when he opened leads of 1-0 and 2-1 against Martin Atkins before Atkins turned the screw and won the next three legs in 11,17 and 14 darts for a 4-2 victory.
Steve Reynolds looked all set to reduce the deficit even further for the hosts as he won the first two legs against Ian Shaw but with Shaw winning the next four legs he clinched a 4-2 win.
3-1 up and making it 4-1 was man of the match Prakash Jiwa. Jiwa had to fight back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to Adam Huckvale and then play a decider after his opponent won the sixth. Nevertheless in 18 darts, and Huckvale still way back requiring 109 Prakash Jiwa won 4-3 with a top average of 28.54. Going into the midway break Warwickshire were 5-1 up as Jack Wareing completed the first half with a 4-2 win over Gary Jackson.
The second half began as did the first with a win for Warwickshire in the opening two games. Tom Martin was on at number seven playing against David Airey. Martin went ahead in 18 darts only to see Airey then win the next three legs in 19,18 and 16 darts to go within an ace of victory. Martin won the fifth in 20 darts and then forced a decider with a 16 darts leg. With Airey requiring 165 after 12 darts Martin was throwing for 157 which he calmly put to bed with his fifteenth dart for a terrific 4-3 win. Taking the score along to 7-1 and at that same time keeping a possible overall win on the cards was Noel Grant. Noel came up with a 4-2 win over Michael Sexton, Sexton winning the second and fifth legs.
Lancashire got their second winner in the ninth encounter when Kevin Garcia won 4-0 against Steve Hine and although in the following game Michael Harrison went 2-1 and 3-2 up against Matty Washbrooke, Washbrooke confirmed his 4-3 win in the seventh with a superb eleven darts leg to give Warwickshire men’s ‘A’ an 8-2 lead and make the running score for the weekend all square at 17-17 with just two to play.
Unfortunately for Warwickshire, Lancashire’s last two players were in fine form as Carl Sneyd with a 29.08 average beat Steve Giddings 4-2 and anchor man Scott Taylor with a 29.16 average won 4-1 against Gareth Braham to give the final score of 8-4 to Warwickshire men’s ‘A’ but 19-17 to Lancashire for the overall weekend’s result.
A great performance from the Warwickshire team against very worthy opponents, however despite the narrow defeat all is not lost and there is still plenty to play for as with the top two Lancashire and Yorkshire having three more fixtures to play Warwickshire have four and although they are 32 points short of the former they are only just nine behind the latter.
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Whereby the majority of teams were playing fixture number nine in the Premier Division of the UKDA National League, Warwickshire were playing game number eight as they had a rearranged fixture with Glamorgan still to play.
Playing at home Warwickshire were taking on Hampshire who were five places below them, had played one game more than them and were eighteen points behind them so with the hosts enjoying a very successful season so far a win was most definitely on the cards.
Hampshire were given a fantastic start to the ladies ‘B’ game as their Laura Turner turned in a terrific display beating Denise Keyte 3-0 in 18,19 and 18 darts giving her a 27.33 average plus her team’s match award. The visitors lead didn’t last long as Melanie Jones cancelled it out with her 3-1 success over Susan Power and with a lady of the match performance from Wendy Adams Warwickshire were 2-1 up. Wendy had a somewhat slow start but got better and better as the game went on winning in 30,27 and 21 darts for a 19.27 average and a 3-0 success over Karen Webber.
A draw for the home team was assured as early as the fourth game as Nina Bolt beat Dawn Simmonds 3-0 but it was at this point that the tide began to turn. Abi Jurd won 3-0 against Marian Conway to take the outcome to the final game between Caroline Pike (Warwickshire) and Corrine Hammond. Corrine went 2-0 up in 17 and 23 darts only to see Caroline respond with winning legs of 21 and 19 darts to take the game to a decider. Despite top scores of 100 and 180, plus throws at a finishing double Caroline Pike lost the leg as Corrine Hammond won it in 23 darts, the game 3-2 and at the same time earned her team a share of the points in a 3-3 draw.
Karl Reynolds (Warwickshire) came from 1-0 down against Will Buckman to take a 2-1 lead but it was Buckman who went on to win the game 4-2. Lee Miller was quick to restore parity as he accounted for Andy Mitchell with a similar 4-2 scoreline, however it was Hampshire who took the lead for a second time as Adrian Wright won 4-1 against Dave Honey. The game continued to go with the darts advantage as Martin Tonks squared the match once again when he beat Lionel Webster 4-1.
Game number five saw the sequence break as Mark Strong gave Warwickshire the lead for the first time in the game when he won 4-1 against Frankie Howard but at the halfway point it was all level with Aaron Turner adding his fantastic 4-0 win over Scott Hope to Hampshire’s tally, Turner winning in 12,15,17 and 12 darts to take the visitors men’s ‘B’ match award with a tremendous 35.79 average.
Steve Musson (Hampshire) was pushed all the way for his 4-3 win in the second half opener by Mark Carter, but the scores were level yet again in the eighth when Will Naylor won 4-2 against Dave Bonnett.
With the running score at 4-4 the visitors then opened up a 6-4 lead as Sam Dyke beat Adam Hancock 4-1 and Graham Chalk won 4-2 against Mark Tomlinson. It took a man of the match performance from Dave Hill to keep Warwickshire in the game, Hill winning 4-1 against Andy Jurd in 17,16,24 and 14 darts giving him a 26.19 average.
Mark Martin looked as though he would earn the home team a share of the points as he took the first leg against Adam Lipscombe in 16 darts, but with a 104 game shot Lipscombe levelled and then with two 17 darts legs went 3-1 up. Martin won the fifth in 18 dart s but with a 15 darts leg and another creditable Hampshire average of 29.23 Lipscombe won 4-2 to give his ‘B’ team mates a 7-5 victory.
The away team got the better start in the ladies ‘A’ match when Jane Monaghan (19.52) won 3-0 against Sue Gulliver and Tracy North beat Chloe McKivett 3-1. Angela Jones stopped the Hampshire charge when she won 3-1 against Joanne Senior and with a straight 3-0 win for Natalie Gilbert over Pennie Lewis it was all square at 2-2.
Hampshire got their noses in front once again when Corrine Hammond won 3-0 against Donna Pinch, but the game finished at 3-3 when Tammy Montgomery won the final game against Sue Lowther 3-2, Tammy collecting her teams match award for her 21.72 average.
A win was now required from the men’s ‘A’ for just a share of the spoils and they began well as Gareth Braham after losing the first leg to Gary Stafford levelled with a 104 outshot and then took the following three legs for a 4-1 win. Steve Giddings made it 2-0 when he handed out a 4-0 whitewash to Kev Woodward. Moving the score along to 3-0 was Matty Washbrooke who went 1-0 up against Mike Symes then 2-1 down, but with wins in the next three legs got the 4-2 result before Wayne Mynard made it 4-0 with his 4-3 success over Mike Gillet, Mynard taking the lead no fewer than three times before sealing his victory.
Kevin Dowling began well with an 18 darts leg including a 112 finish followed by a 20 darts leg to go two up against Darren Barnes. Barnes then won the next three legs in 18,18 and 19 darts to go 3-2 up . Dowling won the penultimate leg but it was Barnes who got the 4-3 win when he won the decider in 21 darts.
At the midway stage Warwickshire had opened up a commanding 5-1 lead after Jack Wareing added his 4-2 win over James Nicholson to their account.
The second half was not so fruitful as the first for the hosts as Hampshire rattled off four straight wins, Luke Getty beat Ian Shaw 4-1, Richard North won 4-0 against Prakash Jiwa, Tom Martin lost 4-3 to Justin Bradshaw and Chas Barstow beat Ian McFarlane 4-1 to level the game at five each.
The penultimate encounter produced Warwickshire’s man of the match in the form of Noel Grant. Grant lost the first leg to Lee Ward but then turned the screw as he went out in 13,14,20 and 14 darts to win 4-1 with a superb 31.23 average.
The result was now hinging on the final game between Steve Hine (Warwickshire) and Scott Walters. Hine powered home to a straight 4-0 win to give the home side’s men’s ‘A’ a 7-5 victory.
The game had now effectively finished all square with an overall score of 18-18 however that was not the end of the story as it was discovered that Hampshire had fallen foul of the UKDA’s rule 15.03 which states
“15.03 OTHER RELEVANT CRITERIA a. A player winning a Match in the ‘A’ Team cannot be selected for the ‘B’ Team in the following Match in the current season. b. A player losing a Match in the ‘A’ Team can be selected for the ‘B’ Team in the following Match in the current season but cannot also play in the ‘A’ Team of that Match. c. If an ‘A’ Team player is absent from a match for whatever reason then that player is eligible for selection into the ‘B’ Team in the Match following the one in which he/she was absent but cannot also play in the ‘A’ Team of that Match. d. Once having played in the ‘B’ Team then the terms of Rule 14.01 continue to apply”.
As a result of this fault Warwickshire ladies ‘A’ had their 3-3 draw turned into a 4-2 win and the overall result for the weekend converted from an 18-18 draw into a 19-17 win for Warwickshire leaving them with three more games to play. At this point Warwickshire are 37 points adrift of leaders Lancashire, 14 behind second placed Yorkshire but the two teams above them only have two more games to play and a top two finish is well and truly on the cards for the Bears.
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Two players that excelled in game nine of the UKDA National League were Lancashire’s Rob Rickwood and Yorkshire’s Beau Greaves. First Rickwood who was drawn to play against an unfortunate Andrew Green (Cheshire), Rickwood won 4-0 with incredible winning legs of 16,12,12, and 13 darts to give him an outstanding average of 37.81.
Beau Greaves was playing against Devon’s Chrissie Kinnaird and like Rickwood won in straight legs her 3-0 win giving her an amazing 31.31 average, the first time in the season that a 30 average has been achieved in the UKDA National League by a lady.
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At the time of going to print the position in the Top Gun Division Two of the UKDA National League is that Leicestershire top the table with 209 points and have completed their fixtures, Cumbria are placed second on 190 points, however there is still one outstanding fixture to play that between Montgomery and Radnor versus County Durham. As far as Montgomery and Radnor are concerned no matter what the result they will finish bottom of the table as they have 78 points and are a massive 88 behind the team above them Middlesex. However a win for County Durham could make a huge difference as they are placed fifth with 177 points and although 32 short of leaders Leicestershire are only thirteen short of second placed Cumbria and a win for them would see them move up into the runners-up position and get promotion.
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With Black Country already acclaimed champions of the Darts for Windows Division Three of the UKDA National League with a total of 207 points there was just one remaining rearranged fixture to be played between Northumberland and Pembrokeshire.
The outcome of the fixture was a 22-14 win for Northumberland which saw them move up one place in the final table from fourth to third narrowly missing out on the runners-up spot as they finished just two points short of second placed Gloucestershire.
The Northumberland win pushed county newcomers Salopian down one place to fourth but ending the campaign on the same number of points as Northumberland 183.
Pembrokeshire meanwhile ended their season in a next to bottom of the table position with 132 points, five short of safety and four fewer than Breconshire just above them. Isle of Wight with 79 points were the team to finish bottom of the division.
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Brandon Easter Singles Open
A new idea of an Easter open was trialled at the Brandon Club, Main Street, Brandon, Coventry CV8 3HW for this year and despite there being many events on a turnout of 56 players was a relative success. The competition also coincided with Ray and Kim Cooksley leaving the club soon. Both have been great supporters of darts events at the club. Warwickshire County Darts Organisation, all of their players, officials and supporters wish them both well and thank them for their support over the years.
It was also a trial of using DartConnect for the event which gave electronic scoring throughout the event and despite some initial teething problems it turned out to be very successful.
Scott Mitton turned back the clock and found the form he used to produce in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, beating former world finalist Kevin Painter 6 legs to 2 in the final to take the title and the top prize money.
Scott Mitton, Ray, Kim and Neil Pritchard
Kevin Painter, Ray Kim and Neil Pritchard
There was a total pay-out of £900 which for a local event was deemed to be a great amount.
Huge thanks go to the club for staging the event, Rob Perrott and Sarah West for helping run the event and also thanks to those that assisted with the initial issues.
Results:Last 64:- Scott Cornwall 5 Kevin Wragg 3, Chris Wickenden 5 Samuel Price 0, Gareth Braham 5 Matt Gallett 4, John Morris 5 Kishan Jiwa 4, Mark Tomlinson jnr 5 Lee Kirkup 2, Graham Hall 5 David Pallett 4, Noah Rose 5 Jamie Vadasz 4, Peter Wright 5 Blake James 0, Scott Mitton 5 Mark Tomlinson snr 1, Richard Swainston 5 Steven Rowe 1, Noel Grant 5 Scott Hope 1, Mark Carter 5 Keelan Dockerty 1, Jenson Walker 5 Miro Horacek 1, Kevin Painter 5 Kevin Walker 0, Lee Miller 5 Ben Gamble 1, Louis Carter 5 James Randle 2, Martin Tonks 5 Alan Thompson 2, Anthony Webster 5 Andy Sorrell 0, Jason Melly 5 Jake Hodder 2, Connor Arberry 5 Macauley Edwards 0, Charlie Symons 5 Dan Oldham 0, Matty Washbrooke 5 Pete Willis 3, Mark Sutton 5 Chris McCorquodale 1, Lee Rowley 5 Shane Wilson 2, Last 32:- Scott Cornwall 5 Sam Matthews 1, Chris Wickenden 5 Gareth Braham 1, John Morris 5 Will Petty 0, Graham Hall 5 Mark Tomlinson jnr 0, Noah Rose 5 Carl Jenkins 0, Scott Mitton 5 Peter Wright 2, Prakash Jiwa 5 Richard Swainston 0, Mark Carter 5 Noel Grant 3, Jenson Walker 5 Dave Crombie 2, Kevin Painter 5 Lee Miller 0, Louis Carter 5 Steve Smelt 1 Martin Tonks 5 Anthony Webster 2, Jason Melly 5 Steve Edwards 4, Charlie Symons 5 Connor Arberry 2, Matty Washbrooke 5 Hayden Porter 1, Mark Sutton 5 Lee Rowley 2, Last 16:- Chris Wickenden 5 Scott Cornwall 0, Graham Hall 5 John Morris 1, Scott Mitton 5 Noah Rose 3, Mark Carter 5 Prakash Jiwa 3, Kevin Painter 5 Jenson Walker 3, Martin Tonks 5 Louis Carter 4, Charlie Symons 5 Jason Melly 0, Matty Washbrooke 5 Mark Sutton 0, Quarter-Finals:- Graham Hall 5 Chris Wickenden 3, Scott Mitton 5 Mark Carter 0, Kevin Painter 5 Martin Tonks 1, Matty Washbrooke 5 Charlie Symons 4, Semi-Finals:- Scott Mitton 6 Graham Hall 4, Kevin Painter 6 Matty Washbrooke 3, Final:- Scott Mitton 6 Kevin Painter 2.
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Congratulations to Warwickshire County Darts women’s ‘A’ player Natalie Gilbert who has been selected to play for England. Natalie will join Claire Brookin (Cambridgeshire), Beau Greaves (Yorkshire), Deta Hedman – Captain (Oxfordshire), Jane Monaghan (Hampshire) and Lorraine Winstanley.
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