Despite winning two thirds of their fixtures in division two of the BDL Inter County Championships, West Midlands could only finish fourth in the table with a total of 188 points. Although fourth they were just eight points off a promotion place as second in the table Cleveland had 196 and third placed Derbyshire 192.
West Midlands final game of the scheduled nine was a home tie with Cleveland and with both teams still in with a chance of promotion it was never going to be an easy tie.
The ladies ‘B’ did extremely well recording their biggest win of the season. Jacqueline Maiden began the game with a 3-2 win over Molly Pywell and with a 3-1 win from Samantha Maiden over Vivien Bulmer and a further 3-2 success by Kim Fellows against Babs Evans, already after only three games the hosts were assured of at least a share of the points.
Game four saw Cleveland chalk up their first winner, Marlene Huby beating Roxanne Nicholls 3-0, which turns out to be their only winner as Gemma Barrett for the third consecutive fixture won the lady of the match award when she beat Vera Oliphant 3-0 and recorded an 18.56 average.
The result was taken to 5-1 in West Midlands favour when last on Claire Hobbs, after being pegged back to level terms in the second leg by Irene Simpson, kept her nerve and battled on for a 3-1 victory.
The men’s ‘B’ also got off to a good start as Robert Thompson beat Ian Watson 3-2, Thompson twice coming from behind to claim his win. Avatar Singh doubled the lead with his similar 3-2 win over Michael Seaton, Seaton having won the opening two legs.
The lead eroded quickly as Cleveland’s Chris Swales wiped out Mark Watkiss Allen’s 2-0 lead and go on to win 3-2 and Collin Poxton won in three straight legs against Jordan Singh.
The for the first time in the game the visitors took the lead. Jonathan Gardner twice had his lead cancelled by Adam Johnson before going on to win 3-2 and give the away side a 3-2 lead.
From 3-2 down West Midlands replied in the best possible way taking the next five games to clinch the win for the ‘B’ team. Gary Watts started the run when he accounted for Mark Muckian with a 3-1 result. Man of the match Nick Fullwell was on at number seven, a clinical 3-0 win over Anthony Luton in 19, 17 and 16 darts giving him a 28.90 average.
Martin Angell began his tie with David Hunter in style winning the first leg with a superb 136 checkout and following that with a further two wins another 3-0 win. Adding to the tally for the home side was Jamie Barrowman, his 31 win over David Scaum taking his team within an ace of victory. That victory was confirmed in the very next game when Karl Hughes beat Jim Dunlop 3-1 to give and advantage of 7-3.
The final two games both went to Cleveland, Michael Evans won 3-0 against Mark Craddock and taking the final score to 7-5 for West Midlands, Graham Parker (Cleveland) defeated John Mycock 3-1.
So Saturday was a good opening ay for the home and their supporters, but Sunday did not get off to a good start for the ladies. Kath Jenkins lost the first game to Kate Livermore 3-1 and although Diane Tolley came from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 against Zoe Holland she eventually lost 3-2.
Lisa Astbury halved the deficit when in the third game she won 3-1 against Patricia J Smith, Lisa’s 19.11 average earning her the match award.
Sarah Roberts, winner of the ‘A’ teams match award on seven of the previous eight occasions, actually recorded the ‘A’ teams best average 20.53, but unfortunately came up against an in form Claire Stainsby (20.88) and lost 3-0.
Jackie Crew kept West Midlands faint hopes of getting anything from the match when she beat Carla Boyes 3-0 in the penultimate game, but a 3-0 for Cleveland’s Shirley Witten against Heather Wright in the final game gave the away side a 4-2 win.
The first game of the men’s ‘A’ match was nip and tuck all the way, Allan Edwards (Cleveland) won the first, West Midlands Mark Rollinson the second. Edwards went ahead again in the third, but once again Rollinson wiped out his lead with a 118 outshot and actually went ahead in the fifth. Edwards drew back to level terms in the sixth leg but man of the match Rollinson (27.72) won the decider with double twenty for a 4-3 win.
The second game as another seven legs thriller and again it went in West Midlands favour when Sean Carroll (27.27) beat Scott Chatterton. Ian Jones made it 3-0 when he, with two three figure checkouts of 101 and 100 beat Simon Craven 4-2.
Richard Corner was Cleveland’s sole winner in the first half of the game he won 4-0 against Gavin Baker only to see his win emulated when Paul Price (West Midlands) beat Dennis Coleman. Michael Baker took the lead to 5-1 with a 4-2 win over Peter Prewer and with John Platt’s straight 4-0 success over Brian Henderson just one more win was to secure a victory.
Cleveland then recorded their best run of the game, four consecutive wins thanks to Glen Durrant, Tony Eccles, Glen Brooksbank and Lutz Leutzsch to put just one game behind with the running score at 6-5.
Matthew Dicken gave the West Midlands a huge lift as he chalked up a maximum with his very first visit to the oche and went on to win the leg in 18 darts. He followed that with a 14 darts leg to leave his opponent struggling at 2-0 down. Dicken then chalked up another two winning legs in 21 and 20 darts to give him a 4-0 win, a 27.45 average, a team 7-5 victory plus an overall win of 21.15.
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A fantastic field assembled at the Somercotes Snooker Club, Derbyshire for the latest and biggest Ripley Elite Darts Singles League Knockout sponsored by Sleeping Beauty Beds director Alan Clegg. Players from far and wide gathered chasing the top prize of £1,000.
Early casualties along the way were, PDC players Jamie Robinson, Aden Kirk and Martyn Turner. Yorkshire’s Chris Gill laid on a top performance to eliminate fancied Australian Kyle Anderson in the last 32 and then took out Adam Smith-Neale (4-0) in the last sixteen.
The quarter finals saw Gill continue to march on when he beat Wayne Pepper 4-2 and joining him in the last four were the Christmas knockout winner Ricky Sudale, Matt Padgett and James Richardson.
Both of the semi finals finished with 5-2 scorelines, Sudale beating Matt Padgett to make it a second Ripley Elite Darts League final in six months and from the other half of the draw Chris Gill defeated James Richardson.
In a high scoring affair in the final Gill proved to be too strong for Sudale and ran out the 6-2 winner to collect the top prize of £1,000. Sudale received £500 as runner up. Losing semi finalists Matt Padgett and James Richardson each picked up £175 and there was £75 for the losing quarter finalists plus £20 for players reaching the last sixteen.
Thanks go to Dawn Buckley for her faultless display at the controls, Ant Parry for helping with the draw, to Steve Heenan from the Somercotes Club and a massive vote of thanks to Alan Clegg of Sleeping Beauty Beds for sponsoring the event.
Full results:Board 1:- Doug Thompson – bye, Dick Hickton – bye, Lee Stanley – bye, Alan Statham – bye, Rick Sudale 4 Alan Clegg 0, Jo Oldershaw 4 Adam Johnson 3, Ian Richardson 4 Pete Burgoine 0, Rob Hatton 4 Ian Hannah 0, Josh Richardson 4 Owen Thomas 1, Daz Sinfield 4 Paul Hodges 3, Gaz Watts 4 Steve Bestwick 0, Jim Walker 4 Tony Nicholson 0, Ian Mcfarlane 4 Wes Smith 1, Daz Layden 4 Jamie Robinson 2, Rob Smith 4 Aden Kirk 3, Alan Moody 4 Ashley Elkington 1, Group 2:- Graham Cook – bye, Ben Connell – bye, Jack Daykin – bye, A. J. Hurt – bye, Craig Freeman 4 Mike Ivekich 0, Dean Allsopp 4 John Bryan 0, Andy Marriott 4 Andy Houghton 2, Devon Neave 4 Andy Walsh 0, Steve Richards 4 Stuart Sutton 0, Matt Dennant 4 Dave Harris 1, Shaun Carroll 4 Frank Davis 2, Matt Padgett 4 Rory Bersford 0, Nigel Daniels 4 Paul Jones 3, Daz Sullivan 4 Tom Moores 0, Dave Pallett 4 Jordan Bersford 0, Paul Bettney 4 Julian Bilby 0, Group 3:- Andy Baker – bye, Daz Brown – bye, Harry Ward – bye, Ian Allcock – bye, Matt Allsopp 4 Drew Meyers 1, Dave Butt 4 Gaz Knight 0, James Richardson 4 Mark Grimes 1, Mick Todd 4 Stuart Barrowcliffe 1, Paul Baker 4 Dean Butler 2, Reece Spurr 4 Ian Cook 0, Mick Peel 4 Paul Redfearn 1, Jamie Gemmell 4 Dan Daykin 1, Mike Sheehan 4 Tom Blagg 0, Dean Sanders 4 Mark Limb 3, Mark Hylton 4 Tim Rippon 0, Darren Johnson 4 Daz Kitchen 1, Group 4:- Ant Parry – bye, Paul Williams – bye, Paul Slater – bye, Adam Smith-Neale – bye, Neil Lawton 4 Rich Palmer 2, Kyle Anderson 4 Martyn Turner 1, Jim Purdy 4 Steve Codd 0, Chris Gill 4 Tom Webster 1, Steve Darcy 4 Jason Redfearn 2, Wayne Pepper 4 Andy Bray 1, Scott Wager 4 Ant Pearce 3, Loz Barnes 4 Daz Gilbert 3, Ash Spencer 4 Wayne Howe 1, Chris Bradshaw 4 Gary Cullinan 0, Neil Beresford 4 Jack Kerr 1,Rob Smeathers 4 Josh England 1, Last 64:- Doug Thompson 4 Dick Hickton 0, Lee Stanley 4 Alan Statham 3, Ricky Sudale 4 Jo Oldershaw 1, Ian Richardson 4 Rob Hatton 0, Daz Sinfield 4 Josh Richardson 0, Gaz Watts 4 Jim Walker 2, Ian Mcfarlane 4 Daz Layden 3, Rob Smith 4 Alan Moody 1, Graham Cook 4 Ben Connell 1, Jack Daykin 4 A J Hurt 1, Dean Allsopp 4 Craig Freeman 0, Andy Marriott 4 Devon Neave 0, Matt Dennant 4 Steve Richards 1, Matt Padgett 4 Shaun Carroll 2, Nigel Daniels 4 Daz Sullivan 0, Dave Pallett 4 Paul Bettney 1, Daz Brown 4 Andy Baker 3, Harry Ward 4 Ian Allcock 0, Dave Butt 4 Matt Allsopp 3, James Richardson 4 Mick Todd 3, Paul Baker 4 Reece Spurr 3, Mick Peel 4 Jamie Gemmell 3, Dean Sanders 4 Mike Sheehan 3, Mark Hylton 4 Darren Johnson 3, Ant Parry 4 Paul Williams 0, Adam Smith-Neale 4 Paul Slater 0, Kyle Anderson 4 Neil Lawton 0, Chris Gill 4 Jim Purdy 0, Wayne Pepper 4 Steve Darcy 0, Loz Barnes 4 Scott Wager 1, Ash Spencer 4 Chris Bradshaw 0, Rob Smeathers 4 Neil Beresford 3, Last 32:- Doug Thompson 4 Lee Stanley 1, Ricky Sudale 4 Ian Richardson 0, Gaz Watts 4 Daz Sinfield 3, Ian Mcfarlane 4 Rob Smith 1, Graham Cook 4 Jack Daykin 2, Dean Allsopp 4 Andy Marriott 2, Matt Padgett 4 Matt Dennant 2, Dave Pallett 4 Nigel Daniels 2, Daz Brown 4 Harry Ward 0, James Richardson 4 Dave Butt 1, Paul Baker 4 Mick Peel 1, Mark Hylton 4 Dean Sanders 2, Adam Smith-Neale 4 Ant Parry 2, Chris Gill 4 Kyle Anderson 3, Wayne Pepper 4 Loz Barnes 3, Ash Spencer 4 Rob Smeathers 0, Last 16:- Ricky Sudale 4 Doug Thompson 3, Ian Mcfarlane 4 Gaz Watts 1, Dean Allsopp 4 Graham Cook 2, Matt Padgett 4 Dave Pallett 3, James Richardson 4 Daz Brown 2, Mark Hylton 4 Paul Baker 2, Chris Gill 4 Adam Smith-Neale 0, Wayne Pepper 4 Ash Spencer 1, Quarter Finals:- Ricky Sudale 4 Ian Mcfarlane 1, Matt Padgett 4 Dean Allsopp 1, James Richardson 4 Mark Hylton 2, Chris Gill 4 Wayne Pepper 2, Semi Finals:- Ricky Sudale 5 Matt Padgett 2, Chris Gill 5 James Richardson 2, Final:- Chris Gill 6 Ricky Sudale 2.
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The Long Eaton Singles Darts League are staging their “Chunky Cordon Cup” at the Sportsman, 1 Granville Avenue, Long Eaton, Nottingham, NG10 4HA. The event will consist of eight weeks of qualifying rounds culminating in the grand finals on the 12th October, the qualifying rounds being limited to the first 64 entrants.
Qualifying rounds will take place on Sunday’s throughout August plus 7th and 28th September, with the final one on 5th October. Each qualifying round will produce two winners, who will go forward to finals night.
Entry to the competition is £5.00 per player, with players who don’t qualify able to enter again in the next qualifier.
For any further information contact either, Malcolm Marks (07894-341190, Malcolm Tucker (07816-997020) or in person at the Sportsman on Wednesday evenings.
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The South Birmingham League played off their Roy Parry Cup and in the semi finals division one leaders The Crown took on fourth in the table Punch Bowl and won 7-2. The second of the semi’s saw Riley’s Kings hand out a 9-0 whitewash to their division two opponents Coleshill Social to set up a final between the top two team in division one.
As expected the final, with two teams riding high in the league the result was very close, but it was The Crown who just got the 5-4 verdict.
The division two cup finals saw both of the semi finish with a 6-3 result. There were wins for Iron Horse and St John’s, who in turn took out The Dog and Coleshill Social.
Although the final was between the top two teams in the division the result was a convincing 5-0 win for leaders St John’s.
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Bridge ‘A’ completed their programme in the Stourbridge and District Wednesday Night League with a 5-2 win away to Swan (Brettell Lane) to make it 27 wins from 28 games, which gave them a total of 54 points, eight more than runners up Ten Arches ‘A’. Rose and Crown finished third with 44 points, their final fixture seeing them win 5-2 at home to Wombourne Cricket Club.
At the other end of the table Queens took the wooden spoon, finishing bottom after losing all fourteen of the games and ending with a 7-0 whitewash at the hands of the Ten Arches ‘B’ side.
Congratulations to Rob and Kev Harris from the Bridge ‘A’, who with a final 2-0 victory over Phil O’Brien and Nigel Cadlin (Swan, Brettell Lane) lifted the league’s doubles knockout title.
In the first semi final of the Knockout Cup The Bell and The Swan (Brettell Lane) game went to 7-7, The Swan winning 2-1 in the play off. The other last four game produced a 10-4 win for Ten Arches ‘A’ against Rose and Crown.
The final saw league runners up Ten Arches ‘A’ romp to a 6-1 win over The Swan.
Individual performances of the night went to Ten Arches ‘A’ players M.Rollinson and N.Donaldson, who in turn recorded six and seven darts games.
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The Netherton Thursday Night League played off their 3 a-side knockout and taking the honours were K.Harris, K.Chambers and R.Smith (Springfield Social Club), who in the final had a 2-1 win over a Fairfield trio of J.Green, T.Bannister and J.Southall.
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In the semi finals of the Tamworth League’s Mile Oak Rovers Challenge Cup Dolphin ‘A’ beat Sports Bar ‘180’ 4-1 and Fox and Dogs had a 4-2 win against Three Tuns, Fazeley to set up a final between the league’s top two teams.
The result of the final was a convincing 4-1 win for the league’s only unbeaten team Fox and Dogs.
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The Sheldon and District Winter League have completed their programme and Saltley Amateur Gardeners have played and won all 22 of the games to clinch the premier division title with a perfect total of 44 points, eight more than second placed Crown at Shard End. Taking the top division’s Shadow League title was Mackadown Social.
Division one was won by Raven, their 38 points was again eight more than the runners up EBAHA. Yardley Ex Colts won the division one Shadow League.
Division two was the closest fought title, Crown Arrows winning the division with 40 points, Baldwin Bears finished as runners up with four points fewer than the champions. The Shadow League title went to Highwood Exiles.
As the league winds down the season various finals have been played off and taking the doubles title were J.Sidwell and B.Nixon from Crown at Olton, with D.Sutton and C.Horsley (George V) the losing finalists.
Sidwell then made it a fantastic double by winning the singles knockout, beating M.Heaven from Mackadown Social in the final.
Saltley Amateur Gardeners completed a superb double adding a League Cup win to their premier division title by beating Highwood ‘A’ 6-3 in the final.
Division one champions, Raven were unable to make it a similar double as they lost 5-4 to fourth placed Riley’s Rags in their final.
The top two teams in division two, Crown Arrows and Baldwin Bears met in their League Cup final and the 6-3 result went in favour of Baldwin Bears, who ended the season as runners up to Crown Arrows.
In the Punch Bowl there were big wins for Raven and Crown at Olton as in turn they won 8-1 against Shard End Social and 7-2 against Crown at Shard End.
The final was a much closer 5-4 going in favour of Crown at Olton with Raven runners up.
In the Sheldon Shield Langley Hall Sports and Social won by the odd game, 5-4 against Holy Souls, while Riley’s Rags eased through to the final 6-3 against Crown-Forget-Me-Not.
The final produced another very close game with Langley Hall Sports and Social just getting the 5-4 edge on Riley’s Rags.
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