A Look Back In Time - Alan Towe 20.02.2002
For both of our local county teams, Warwickshire and West Midlands, it was a case of away day blues as each of them lost on their travels. Warwickshire, in the premier division, travelled to south Wales to take on Glamorgan, the home side winning 22-14. A 9-3 reversal was the fate of the two men’s teams with Mark Hollyoake (28.36) and Paul Merrett (31.93) taking the respective ‘A’ and ‘B’ team match awards. There was better news for the ladies as the ‘A’ side chalked up a convincing 5-1 win, Trina Gulliver (25.05) once again their top player and the ‘B’ finished all square at three each, a 17.56 average giving Denise Burke the ‘B’ teams award.
----------------------------------
In division three West Midlands played away to Humberside. There were mixed fortunes for ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams. The men’s ‘A’ recorded an 8-4 victory with their top man being Avtar Singh (27.58), while the ‘B’ suffered an 8-4 defeat with Andrew Milton’s 25.61 the best average. For the fifth consecutive fixture Angie Perry (18.68) won the ‘A’ teams award as they ended up at 3-3 after leading 3-0. The ‘B’ side’s troubles continued as they went down 6-0.
----------------------------------
Congratulations go to Warwickshire ‘A’ team player Claire Bywaters who has received a call up for the England team. Oxfordshire singles champion Claire, will join county team mate Trina Gulliver in the national team.
----------------------------------
After a vital and bruising 7-2 home defeat against Red Arrows, Hobs Meadow bounced back in the best possible manner, a 6-3 win over Stechford Social, which included a maximum and a 144 checkout for Wayne Mathews. However, it was not good news for Hobs Meadow Mixes as they lost 5-4 at Mackadown Social. Cock and Hens were the toast of the week as they recorded their first win of the campaign, a 5-4 success at the Old Bill and Bull.
----------------------------------
The second round of the Skipp Cup was on the agenda for the Harborne and District Winter League. Bartley Green Social Club and Harborne Stores were in turn 13-2 winners against New Inns and Highlander Ladies. Ladywood Social beat Hillyfields 11-4 while Highlander and Bartley Green F.C advanced to round three with 10-5 victories over Hobsons Choice and Avenue Social.
Other teams progressing to the next round are the Raven, with their 9-6 success over Punchbowl and W.C.WMC who, with a close 8-7 result took out Bartley Green Social Flights.
----------------------------------
3-0 wins against Ricky Lawrence and Terry Clinton has seen Tony Randell move into pole position in the Minworth Social Individual League with 96 points. Just two points adrift and with a game in hand is Peter Allen who had 2-1 wins over Pat Koyce and Trevor Frost. Mark Hollyoake, currently third is still well in contention having 87 points but more importantly four games in hand of Randell.
A quiet week on the maximum front as Chris Forsyth, Pat Koyce, Tony Randell, Steve Cain, Lance Thompson and Mick Smith were the only players to notch the top score.
----------------------------------
The Black Horse, Small Heath was the setting for a 24 hours marathon in a bid to raise monies for the Princess Diana Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the charity fund Debra. A brain child of Black Horse licensee Graham Bird and darts captain Keith Stanley, the event raised a terrific amount of £809, a figure which is still increasing.
During the marathon Eric Bristow MBE, turned up and took on no fewer than 41 players, beating them all and scoring a fantastic 24,641 to add to the teams tally. The marathon team and their maximum scores were Graham Bird, Keith Stanley, Rob Sheldon, Eddie Burns (2), John Whittick, Mark Wyatt (1), Colin Wyatt (7), Patrick O’Sullivan, Peter Hannon, Mick Kerney, William Goldby, Damian McCourt.
----------------------------------