This coming weekend West Midlands will be looking to make it three wins in a row when they play away to Sussex in this their third fixture of the new season in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships.
Riding high at the top of the promotion table with 49 points and with confidence at a peak West Midlands should by all accounts make it a hat trick of wins as their hosts are currently lying next to bottom of the table with 23 points.
Selected to play are Men’s ‘A’:- Keith Allman, Michael Baker, Shaun Carroll, Mark Craddock, Matthew Dicken, Nick Fullwell, Ian Jones, Chris Mason, John Platt, Mark Rollinson, Avtar Singh, Doug Thompson, Men’s ‘B’:- Danny Coyle, Sam Guest, Sam Hamilton, Karl Hinks, Ash Kyhatt, John Morris, Neil Pointon, Paul Price, Jack Routledge, Robert Smith, Matthew Tedstone, Gary Watts, Reserves:- Scott Baker, Richard Platt, Lewis Venes, Glen Cullen, Wayne Harrison, Karl Hughes, Simon Meredith, John Mycock, Mark Watkiss, Women’s ‘A:- Kim Fellows, Lisa Astbury, Sarah Roberts, Debbie Loon, Kath Jenkins, Gemma Barrett, Women’s ‘B’:- Wendy Waine, Jacqueline Maiden, Shellbie Simmons, Sophie Singh, Heather Wright, Kirsty Shaughnessy, Reserves:- Claire Hobbs, Samantha Maiden, Roxanne Nicholls, Elizabeth Arnold, Nicci McLaughlin.
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The Sheldon and District Winter League have been engaged in the preliminary round of their League Cup and winning through in the premier division were The Pirates, Mackadown Social and Crown at Shard End, the division one winners were Highwood KB’s, George V and Sheldon Marlborough Flight.
The division two games produced the only maximum of the round supplied by Crown Arrows man S.Moran in his team’s 5-4 win over Highwood Exiles and joining them in the next round will be Greville Arms and Meadway Sports and Social.
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The South Birmingham League have got their winter season underway and with a bright start in group one were Erdington Members Club and Mackadown Social both winning 7-2 against respective opponents The Raven and Coleshill Social. Not far behind were Family Tree with a 6-3 win at Punchbowl.
In group two Dog and Kingfisher in turn accounted for Toby Jug and C’s with a 6-3 scoreline, while The Bell won 5-4 away to The Gate.
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The start of the Forest of Arden Winter League has seen the summer league division one champions Olton Crown get off to a great start with a 7-2 win against Greville Arrows, Journeys End matched Olton beating Crown Arrows by the same 7-2 margin. Sheldon Marlborough Arrows won their home tie with Riley’s Red Arrows 6-3.
Due to late results there is only one result from division two which saw Chelmsley Town beat Greville Arms 7-2.
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The first league fixtures for the Four Oaks and District League have been played and in division one newly promoted Golden Hind beat Old Oscott Arrows 6-3 aided by some top class darts from T.Kelly who had a break of 156, scores of 140, 135 and100 plus a 115 checkout, another promoted team Plough and Arrows won 6-3 at Red Lion.
There were 7-2 wins for last season’s top two teams The Beehive and Boldmere St Mike’s (formerley Sutton Sports) who in turn had 7-2 wins over Boldmere Sports and Social and Old Oscott WMC.
In division two Golden Hind Arrows made short work of their visitors The Boot taking the first five games then the match 6-3. The Fox and The Lions both had 8-1 victories against The Park and Boldmere Tap with J.Collins (The Lions) hitting this week’s only 180. Bishop Vesey took the last five games, to secure a 7-2 win against Erdington Arrows.
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The Pip Club League played their Shadow League semi finals and in the division one games Wigginton Arms lost to Tamworth Motor Spares while Birchmoor Club beat Two Gates Club.
In the division two semi’s there were wins for Royal Oak and Gate (Amington) who in turn defeated Globe Inn ‘B’ and Bulls Head ‘B’ (Polesworth).
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East Birmingham Allotment Holders Association took their unbeaten run in the Small Heath League to eleven games when they won 7-2 away to bottom of the table Emerald Flights.
Second placed Mitre with 18 points are four behind EBAHA with a game in hand as they had a bye this week, their nearest rivals Gulp Tribe lost ground and are now two points behind Mitre and have played one game more after a 6-3 home defeat by Wagon and Horses.
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The Cradley Tuesday Night League have completed their domestic fixtures and although there is still one outstanding result from the game between Brickmakers Arms and Netherton Sports and Social ‘A’ the outcome of that game will not affect the table at all. So with 27 wins from 32 games Crown ‘A’ completed their season with a 6-3 win at White Horse to win the title by two points from Brickmakers and even if Brickmakers won 9-0 against Netherton it would see them level on points with Crown ‘A’ but still way behind on average.
Most wins went to Jason Lowe (Crown ‘A’) who won 28 of the 31 he played. Five was the most 180’s achieved by both J.Sharratt (Crown’B’) and D.Redding (Gate Hangs Well). There were five players with a 160 break B.Cartwright (White Horse), D.Stock, G.Male (Crown, Simms Lane), P.Hackett (Chop House) and R.Smith (Crown ‘A’) who also had the least darts of 12. The highest finish of 160 went to L.Jones (The Vine).
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Round one of the 9 A-Side Cup was on the agenda for the Aston League the biggest win of 7-2 recorded by three teams Kingstanding Ex Serviceman’s Club, Sportsmans Rest and Mitre who in turn defeated Old Oscott WMC, Red Lion and Erdington Club. Aston Flights also won through to the next round with a 5-4 win over Safe Harbour.
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Week six in the Shirley Red Lion Premier League and leading the way on 41 points from 15 games is Paul Higgins whose latest games saw him beat bottom of the table Stuart Dixon 3-0 and by the same margin account for middle of the table Chris John. Second in the table Simon Edwards fell behind Higgins as he lost both of his games first against third placed Pete Silver and then against Chris Devlin 3-2 to leave him with one less point than Higgins but having played one game more. Pete Silver’s win together with a further 3-1 win over Alex Hesketh gives him a total of 39 points one less than Edwards but like Edwards he has played 16 games as opposed to the 15 played by Higgins.
Fourth placed Steve Sidwell is three points behind leader Higgins but has only played 14 games and a win would see him join Higgins at the top of the table.
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There was an upset this week for The Untouchables the reigning champions in the Winmau Centre Monday Night League at the Wolverhampton Sports Arena when they lost 25-23 to What’s The Point. Untouchables previously unbeaten in four lost for the first time and drop to third in the table on 161 points four fewer than current leaders What Are Thooose? who won their latest tie with Barney Army 34-14. Misfits are second with the same 165 points as the leaders, they won 36-12 against Mad House. What’s The Point are on 152 points and are two adrift of fourth placed Bull’s Hitters.
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The Winmau Centre in the Wolverhampton Sports Arena, Racecourse Road, WV6 0QU have entered a team in the West Midlands Men’s Super League and are on the lookout for players to join their team, anyone interested should contact the arena on 01902-420827.
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The Halesowen Monday Night Ladies League have played their Mixed Doubles competition down to the semi finals, no matter what the outcome it will be a battle of the horses as White Horse supply two of the teams and Black Horse the other two.
Lining up for the semi finals will be D.Doonan / G.Perry and V.Meese / R.Leyton (White Horse), L.Hall / S.Russell and L.Cartwright / A.Hurley (Black Horse).
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Riley’s Snooker Bar, Hobs Moat Road, Solihull, B92 8JN will be staging a knockout on Sunday the 29th November with a guaranteed pay out for the top prize of £110, £75 for the runner up plus £25 to the losing semi finalists and all for just a £5 entry fee.
Games will consist of the best of 7 legs of 501 and players should be registered by no later than 1.30pm on the day with a 2.00pm start.
Anyone requiring any further details should contact the club on 0121-742-6068.
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Just week three in the Stourbridge and District Monday Night League and only four of the twenty two teams are undefeated. Ashwood and Bird ‘A’ (Stourbridge) are locked together at the top of the table level on both points and average, Ashwood’s latest win being 8-1 against Bird ‘B’ (Stourbridge) while Bird ‘A’ had a 6-3 success against Kingswinford Conservative Club.
Ten Arches ‘A’ are third they were also 5-3 winners in their game at Bird (Wordsley) and fourth placed Britannia had a close 5-4 verdict at home to Brickmakers Arms.
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Highwood consolidated their top place in the Shirley and District Monday Night League with an 8-1 win away to Baldwin, while second in the table Crown Jewels lost the number one spot when they went down 5-4 at Sharmans Cross who are fourth in the table and some eight points adrift of their opponents. Crown Jewels are now level on the same 24 points as Highwood but trail on average.
Shirley Red Lion are in third place, they also were 5-4 losers in their away game with Shirley Legionnaires putting them on 18 points, six fewer than the leading duo.
Four players found the three treble twenties this week Darren Wright, Andy Foulkes (Highwood), Paul Nunn (Crown Jewels) and Dave Hesketh (Shirley Red Lion).
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High Acres, third in the Brierley Hill Monday Night League reduced the arrears to eight points on leaders Dudley Sports ‘C’ when they beat them Dudley’s own board 6-3. It may well be too late for High Acres to even dream of the title or even the runners up spot as second in the table Bridge ‘B’ are six points ahead of them with a game in hand but it has given Bridge ‘B’ a fighting chance to win the league as now they are only two points behind the leaders and with both teams still having six games to play anything can happen.
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There were wins for the top two teams in the Kings Norton League this week, leaders Court Oak taking their undefeated run to thirteen games with a 5-2 win away to Kings Norton RBL and second placed Hillyfields who are eight points adrift of Court Oak won by a close 4-3 at home against Bulls Head and have a game in hand. As a result of their loss Kings Norton RBL fall two points behind Hillyfields but still hold on to third place on average from Stirchley United and Rubery RBL all three teams are on 16 points.
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Hillyfields ‘A’ lost their 100% win record in the Harborne League when in week two they lost 6-3 at Court Oak, Court Oak one of four remaining teams not to have lost. Abbey lead the way on average adding a 7-2 win at Smethwick Labour Club to their tally while second placed Avenue Flights had a similar result in their game at Weoley Castle WMC, Court Oak are third then Amber Tavern Pirates who won their home tie with Bartley Green FC 5-4 are fourth.
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After nine games in the Netherton Thursday Night League just one point of average separates the top two teams, an 8-1 win by Rose and Crown over The Crown puts them top, White Swan who won 6-3 at White Horse are second. Bulls Head are third, they suffered their first defeat of the campaign a 6-3 reversal at home to fourth in the table Dudley Ex Serviceman’s Club, however Bulls Head do have a game in hand on the two teams above them and a win would put all three teams level on 24 points.
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Otter and Vixen were the only losers in the top seven teams in division one of the Wolverhampton Tuesday Night League, all six teams above them winning so there is no change with Wednesfield FC still leading with 48 points and ECC second two points behind them.
Whitmore Reans WMC hold on to their two points lead in division two after winning 6-1 at Pendulum, Roebuck handed out a 7-0 whitewash to their visitors Wednesfield Legion ‘C’ and take over in second place from Pheasant who had a bye. Both Roebuck and Pheasant have a game in hand on Whitmore but both of them trail massively on average and a win for Roebuck despite taking them level on points with Whitmore would still leave them in second place.
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There were two factors leading to Riley’s ‘A’ extending their lead at the top of the Tettenhall Wednesday Night League to six points, their own 5-2 win over Woodfield Social and their nearest rivals Otter and Vixen losing by the same scoreline at Claregate. The win, and with only one fixture remaining means Riley’s ‘A’ have won the title and Otter and Vixen despite the defeat will finish runners up as third placed Riley’s ‘B’ are a further four points adrift.
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It’s as you were at the top of the Black Country Premier League with the top five teams all winning, Blackheath Beechers remain two points ahead of Britannia Bulldogs at the top with third placed Woodside Poachers a further two points adrift, one point behind Poachers on 15 points is Brickmaker Big Dogs just ahead of Springfield Rifles and Black Country Belters who are both on 14 points.
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