Warwickshire County Darts organisation wnt into their final fixture of the season in the Cosmo Darts Premier Division of the UKDA National League fourth in the table with a total of 182 points, some thirteen short of second placed Lincolnshire. Travelling south to the Plumstead Common WMC, 71 Kirkham Street, Plumstead, London SE18 2JS they took on London who were desperate for points as they lay bottom of the division with 142 points.
The homes side were quickest out of the blocks in the ladies ‘B’ encounter with their Lauren Burgess winning 3-1 against Chloe McKivett-Saunders, however their lead didn’t last long as Warwickshire’s lady of the match Donna Pinch beat Kelly Livett 3-1 with a 20.46 average to level the game before Clare Greenwood gave the visitors the lead for the first time when she won 3-2 against Nikki Wise. A 3-1 win for Tammy MacKenzie (London) over Jodie Rigg restored parity for a second time and then for a second time the home team went ahead when Lynne Biondini added her 3-1 win over Sue McClennan to their tally. The final game went to Nina Bolt, winning on her 100th appearance for Warwickshire, 3-0 against Emma Smith to put the final score all-square at 3-3.
The opening four games of the men’s ‘B’ match all went against the first throw advantage, Dan Collis putting London one up when he won 4-2 against Dave Hill. Mark Carter levelled the game when he won 4-1 against Charlie Little, only to see the hosts go 2-1 up when Geoff Mortimer beat Ryan Jackson 4-3 with both players having throws at doubles to win the game. For a second time Warwickshire drew level, this time thanks to a straight 4-0 win from Samuel Price over Dave Cook. Game five saw the sequence broken when Adam Hancock gave the away side the lead for the first time in the game as he came from 1-0 and 2-1 down to beat Ray Johnson 4-2. By the midway point the score was level at 3-3 after John Walton (London) closed the half with his 4-0 win over Lee Miller.
As the second half got underway Warwickshire went ahead again, Mark Faulkner wining 4-1 against Dean Buckland and with another Mark, this time Mark Strong, who not only beat David Payne 4-2 but earned himself the match award in the process for his 25.80 average. Karl Reynolds assured Warwickshire of at the worst a share of the points when he took their lead to 6-3, winning 4-3 against Jake Clifford, Reynolds fighting all the way after trailing 2-0 and 3-1 to go on and win the game. Jnr Joyce (Warwickshire) won the first leg against Harry Kelly but the 4-2 result went to London player Kelly. The last two games of the day both went to Warwickshire, both of them straight 4-0 results with Mark Martin winning against Josh Morris and Zac Prince beating Luke Ellis to give a final score of 8-4 to Warwickshire.
As Sunday’s games got underway, Warwickshire were holding an 11-7 overall lead, Marian Conway adding to that lead when she opened up the ladies ‘A’ match with a 3-2 win over Nikki Patten. A similar 3-2 result for the home team’s Debs Watling over Caroline Pike levelling the game. An award winning display from Wendy Adams when she won 3-0 against Mandy Solomons and averaged 22.77 gave the away team a 2-1 lead and with a further 3-2 win from Hannah Meek against Tammy MacKenzie, the away side were guaranteed a share of the spoils. A share of the spoils was not going to be the outcome though as in the penultimate game Natalie Gilbert won 3-0 against Carly Townsend to put the score beyond London’s reach as Warwickshire were now 4-1 up. The last game went to London as Lauren Bloomfield won 3-0 against Kirsty Hinchliffe to put the result at 4-2 to Warwickshire.
With a 15-9 lead, the men’s ‘A’ now required just four winners to give them an overall victory for the weekend. The first four games were shared with London taking the lead twice and then being pegged back twice to level terms. David Wawrzewski and Lee Cocks put the hosts ahead with their respective 4-3 and 4-2 wins over Martin Tonks and Noel Grant, replying for Warwickshire were Wayne Mynard and Sam Whittaker who won 4-3 against Nick Cocks and Tommy Sanwell. Game five was the first time the visitors got their noses in front and it was Matty Washbrooke who gave them a 3-2 lead with his 4-2 win over Matt Wood and with a further 4-3 win for Jack Wareing over Craig Watkins, the score at the midway point was 4-2 to Warwickshire and the win for the weekend secured.
The away team went further ahead as the second session got underway, Kevin Dowling beating Tom Riding 4-1, Nigel Heydon winning 4-1 against James Malcher and Danny Lauby also having a 4-1 result in his game with Jamie Tilley. With the score at 7-2 Wayne Brown pulled one back for the home team when he won 4-0 against Gareth Braham but the final score was taken to 9-3 in Warwickshire’s favour when Steve Hine won 4-3 against Gene Hill and man of the match Jamie Hughes accounted for Graham Rackstraw with a straight 4-0 win and award winning average of 31.81.
The overall 24-12 win for the weekend was not enough to lift Warwickshire any higher in the table, but they should be encouraged by the fact that finishing fourth in the top division their 209 points were just two fewer than runners-up Lincolnshire.
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