Darts News - Alan Towe’s The Line On Darts – Warwickshire v Yorkshire
For the past six seasons in the premier division of the BDO Inter County Chaminships Warwickshire have played Yorkshire in the opening game of the season and this their seventh was no different. Always a tough task playing against reigning champions and once again this proved to be the case.
Playing at home at the Bishopsgate Club, Coventry Saturday’s ladies game could have been closer but unfortunately it was the visitors who got all the breaks and although a win was probably a fair result the 6-0 scoreline may still have been a little flattering.
First on for Warwickshire was Lisa Whitmore who with a little more luck on her finishing doubles could have reversed the 3-2 win of her opponent Beau Greaves. Ann Waslin doubled Yorkshire’s lead with a 3-1 win over Sue Sandher and then in the third game once again sharper finishing could easily have seen Marion Conway pull one back for the home team but after coming from 2-0 down to 2-2 she lost out in the deciding leg after throws at finishing doubles. The game was then won in the fourth when Giffy Khaosoi beat Lucy Keyte 3-0.
Nina Bolt looked all set to chalk up Warwickshire’s first win when she opened up a 2-0 lead over Mandy McKenzie but then her luck ran out, doubles just could not be found and she went on to lose 3-2.
Rachel Sheard completed the rout in the sixth when she beat Kirsty Haw 3-0 for a 6-0 Yorkshire victory.
Although Tom McGlone lost the first of the men’s ‘B’ games 4-0 to Carl Wilkinson and Tom Martin went down 4-3 to James Barton the first half and indeed the match really was not too bad for the home side as Simon Power halved the deficit with his 4-2 win over Graham Elvidge and Prakash Jiwa levelled the game with a 4-2 success against Kev Shaw.
Despite the visitors going ahead again in the fifth when Craig Gwynne beat Steve Ward 4-1, a man of the match performance from Ted Evetts made it all square at 3-3 by the halfway stage. Ted actually lost the first leg to Wayne Mills but squared the game in fourteen darts, he then went in front with a 22 darts leg and wrapped up his win with further legs of 14 and 15 darts, his superb average of 29.70 earning him the award.
From 2-0 and 3-2 down Warwickshire in the seventh game took the lead for the first time when Matthew Edgar got the better of Tom Gregory with a 4-2 result only to see Yorkshire take two in a row when Antony Allen, who after leading 1-0 and 2-1 lost 4-3 to Jaron Esteve and Ian Shaw who no fewer than three times cancelled out the lead of Ady Newsholme finally lost out by 4-3.
Levelling the match for a third time was Luke Kennedy against Tony Darlow, a game which saw Kennedy lead 1-0 then Darlow go 2-1 up and Kennedy finish the 4-2 winner taking the running score to 5-5.
The penultimate game between Carl Green (Warwickshire) amd Peter Jacques was another whereby the advantage swung one way and then the other as Jacques won the first and Green the next two, then the Yorkshire player won the following three to win 4-2 and leave the result hinging on the final game.
Stepping up for Warwickshire in the vital twelfth game was Paul Deslandes facing opponent Jim Gordon, it was a nail biting finish to the match as Gordon won the first in 19 darts, Deslandes the second in 16. Gordon then went ahead for a second time in 26 darts only to see Deslandes reply in 20 darts.
For a third time and with a 117 checkout Gordon went ahead taking a 3-2 lead to put him within one leg of victory, but it was the Warwickshire player who won the last two legs in 17 and 16 darts for a terrific 4-3 win and at the same time grab a 6-6 draw for his team.
The ladies ‘A’ team looked as though they were heading for a similar fate as their ‘B’ when Donna Pinch lost 3-2 to Lyn Horne, then Natalie Gilbert and Denise Keyte both lost 3-1 in turn to Lorraine Winstanley and Rachel Brooks. Ann Chilton took the score along to 4-0 with her 3-0 win over Kat Spanswick and with a further 3-1 success from Linda Moorhouse against Kerry Bambridge the home team were five down with only one to play.
The final game was nip and tuck all the way Dee Bateman (Yorkshire) won the first, her opponent Wendy Adams the secon and also the third, but the game went to a decidng leg when Bateman won the fourth. Warwickshire’s Wendy Adams produced the goods in the final leg with top scores of 98, 124 and 100 she went on to win the leg in 19 darts and the game 3-2 and also as she was the sole winner take the lady of the match award with her 19.20 average. The result 5-1 to Yorkshire.
The men’s ‘A’ game as expected was a high scoring and very close affair which saw the home side win the opening game thanks to Mark Westgarth who was made to fight all the way for his 4-3 win by Keith Flint. Bob Nixon looked all set to double the lead when he went 3-0 up against Chris Gill but Nixon just couldn’t get the all important fourth leg to finish off his opponent and Gill ran out the 4-3 winner. Noel Grant (Warwickshire) and Martin Atkins were involved in another seven legs thriller with Grant going 1-0 up then Atkins taking a 2-1 lead. Grant levelled at 2-2 and had to level the score again to make it 3-3 but then narrowly lost the decider, Atkins 4-3 win giving Yorkshire 2-1 lead.
From 2-0 down against Tony Hull Tom Aldridge went 3-2 up but was unable to kill off the game as he missed his vital doubles and Hull became another 4-3 Yorkshire winner.
Richard Foster stopped the rot for Warwickshire in the fifth when he beat Charlie Beaumont 4-1, then in the last game of the half Dean Stewart (Warwickshire) staged a tremendous fight back coming from 3-0 down against Garry Thompson to level at 3-3 but similar to some of his earlier team mates was unable to capitalise and went down 4-3 to leave Yorkshire leaing 4-2 at the break.
Warwickshire’s in form man Jamie Hughes was on at number seven and he didn’t disappoint athough he did lose the first two legs to David Copley in 14 and 15 darts. Hughes then stepped up a gear, won the third in 16, fourth in 20, fifth in 16 and sealed a great 4-3 win in thirteen darts hitting 100, 139, 140, 90 and checking out on double sixteen to give him an award winning average of 30.11.
For the first time since the second game the match was put back to level terms, Mark Strong winning 4-3 for Warwickshire against Brian Dawson who drew level with Strong three times.
A Brian Hallas (Yorkshire) 4-0 win over Rob Hawker put the pressure back on the home team but it was dealt with very capably by William Naylor who won 4-3 against Michael Ridge who had won the opening two legs.
Peter Jacques (Yorkshire) raced to a 3-0 lead over Jamie Atkins but in equally quick time Atkins won the following three legs. Both players hit a 100 and 180 in the deciding leg but it was the first throw advantage that gave Jasques the all important throw at a finishing double to clinch a 4-3 win.
The final game of the weekend saw Yorkshire get their 7-5 win when their man of the match John Walton (30.36) beat Mark Carter 4-0 giving the visitors an overall 24-12 victory.
Full Results:(Warwickshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Mark Westgarth 4 Keith Flint 3, Bob Nixon 3 Chris Gill 4, Noel Grant 3 Martin Atkins 4, Tom Aldridge 3 Tony Hull 4, Richard Foster 4 Charlie Beaumont 1, Dean Stewart 3 Garry Thompson 4, Jamie Hughes 4 David Copley 2, Mark Strong 4 Brian Dawson 3, Rob Hawker 0 Brian Hallas 4, William Naylor 4 Michael Ridge 3, Jamie Atkins 3 Peter Jacques 4, Mark Carter 0 John Walton 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Tom McGlone 0 Carl Wilkinson 4, Tom Martin 3 James Barton 4, Simon Power 4 Graham Elvidge 2, Prakash Jiwa 4 Kev Shaw 2, Steve Ward 1 Craig Gwynne 4, Ted Evetts 4 Wayne Mills 1, Matthew Edgar 4 Tom Gregory 2, Antony Allen 3 Jaron Esteve 4, Ian Shaw 3 Ady Newsholme 4, Luke Kennedy 4 Tony Darlow 2, Carl Green 2 Peter Jacques 4, Paul Deslandes 4 Jim Gordon 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Donna Pinch 2 Lyn Horne 3, Natalie Gilbert 1 Lorraine Winstanley 3, Denise Keyte 1 Rachel Brooks 3, Kat Spanswick 0 Ann Chilton 3, Kerry Bambridge 1 Linda Moorhouse 3, Wendy Adams 3 Dee Bateman 2, Women’s ‘B’:- Lisa Whitmore 2 Beau Greaves 3, Sue Sandher 1 Ann Waslin 3, Marian Conway 2 Louise Simmonds 3, Lucy Keyte 0 Giffy Khaosoi 3, Nina Bolt 2 Mandy McKenzie 3, Kirsty Haw 0 Rachel Sheard 3.
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Playing at home at the Bishopsgate Club, Coventry Saturday’s ladies game could have been closer but unfortunately it was the visitors who got all the breaks and although a win was probably a fair result the 6-0 scoreline may still have been a little flattering.
First on for Warwickshire was Lisa Whitmore who with a little more luck on her finishing doubles could have reversed the 3-2 win of her opponent Beau Greaves. Ann Waslin doubled Yorkshire’s lead with a 3-1 win over Sue Sandher and then in the third game once again sharper finishing could easily have seen Marion Conway pull one back for the home team but after coming from 2-0 down to 2-2 she lost out in the deciding leg after throws at finishing doubles. The game was then won in the fourth when Giffy Khaosoi beat Lucy Keyte 3-0.
Nina Bolt looked all set to chalk up Warwickshire’s first win when she opened up a 2-0 lead over Mandy McKenzie but then her luck ran out, doubles just could not be found and she went on to lose 3-2.
Rachel Sheard completed the rout in the sixth when she beat Kirsty Haw 3-0 for a 6-0 Yorkshire victory.
Although Tom McGlone lost the first of the men’s ‘B’ games 4-0 to Carl Wilkinson and Tom Martin went down 4-3 to James Barton the first half and indeed the match really was not too bad for the home side as Simon Power halved the deficit with his 4-2 win over Graham Elvidge and Prakash Jiwa levelled the game with a 4-2 success against Kev Shaw.
Despite the visitors going ahead again in the fifth when Craig Gwynne beat Steve Ward 4-1, a man of the match performance from Ted Evetts made it all square at 3-3 by the halfway stage. Ted actually lost the first leg to Wayne Mills but squared the game in fourteen darts, he then went in front with a 22 darts leg and wrapped up his win with further legs of 14 and 15 darts, his superb average of 29.70 earning him the award.
From 2-0 and 3-2 down Warwickshire in the seventh game took the lead for the first time when Matthew Edgar got the better of Tom Gregory with a 4-2 result only to see Yorkshire take two in a row when Antony Allen, who after leading 1-0 and 2-1 lost 4-3 to Jaron Esteve and Ian Shaw who no fewer than three times cancelled out the lead of Ady Newsholme finally lost out by 4-3.
Levelling the match for a third time was Luke Kennedy against Tony Darlow, a game which saw Kennedy lead 1-0 then Darlow go 2-1 up and Kennedy finish the 4-2 winner taking the running score to 5-5.
The penultimate game between Carl Green (Warwickshire) amd Peter Jacques was another whereby the advantage swung one way and then the other as Jacques won the first and Green the next two, then the Yorkshire player won the following three to win 4-2 and leave the result hinging on the final game.
Stepping up for Warwickshire in the vital twelfth game was Paul Deslandes facing opponent Jim Gordon, it was a nail biting finish to the match as Gordon won the first in 19 darts, Deslandes the second in 16. Gordon then went ahead for a second time in 26 darts only to see Deslandes reply in 20 darts.
For a third time and with a 117 checkout Gordon went ahead taking a 3-2 lead to put him within one leg of victory, but it was the Warwickshire player who won the last two legs in 17 and 16 darts for a terrific 4-3 win and at the same time grab a 6-6 draw for his team.
The ladies ‘A’ team looked as though they were heading for a similar fate as their ‘B’ when Donna Pinch lost 3-2 to Lyn Horne, then Natalie Gilbert and Denise Keyte both lost 3-1 in turn to Lorraine Winstanley and Rachel Brooks. Ann Chilton took the score along to 4-0 with her 3-0 win over Kat Spanswick and with a further 3-1 success from Linda Moorhouse against Kerry Bambridge the home team were five down with only one to play.
The final game was nip and tuck all the way Dee Bateman (Yorkshire) won the first, her opponent Wendy Adams the secon and also the third, but the game went to a decidng leg when Bateman won the fourth. Warwickshire’s Wendy Adams produced the goods in the final leg with top scores of 98, 124 and 100 she went on to win the leg in 19 darts and the game 3-2 and also as she was the sole winner take the lady of the match award with her 19.20 average. The result 5-1 to Yorkshire.
The men’s ‘A’ game as expected was a high scoring and very close affair which saw the home side win the opening game thanks to Mark Westgarth who was made to fight all the way for his 4-3 win by Keith Flint. Bob Nixon looked all set to double the lead when he went 3-0 up against Chris Gill but Nixon just couldn’t get the all important fourth leg to finish off his opponent and Gill ran out the 4-3 winner. Noel Grant (Warwickshire) and Martin Atkins were involved in another seven legs thriller with Grant going 1-0 up then Atkins taking a 2-1 lead. Grant levelled at 2-2 and had to level the score again to make it 3-3 but then narrowly lost the decider, Atkins 4-3 win giving Yorkshire 2-1 lead.
From 2-0 down against Tony Hull Tom Aldridge went 3-2 up but was unable to kill off the game as he missed his vital doubles and Hull became another 4-3 Yorkshire winner.
Richard Foster stopped the rot for Warwickshire in the fifth when he beat Charlie Beaumont 4-1, then in the last game of the half Dean Stewart (Warwickshire) staged a tremendous fight back coming from 3-0 down against Garry Thompson to level at 3-3 but similar to some of his earlier team mates was unable to capitalise and went down 4-3 to leave Yorkshire leaing 4-2 at the break.
Warwickshire’s in form man Jamie Hughes was on at number seven and he didn’t disappoint athough he did lose the first two legs to David Copley in 14 and 15 darts. Hughes then stepped up a gear, won the third in 16, fourth in 20, fifth in 16 and sealed a great 4-3 win in thirteen darts hitting 100, 139, 140, 90 and checking out on double sixteen to give him an award winning average of 30.11.
For the first time since the second game the match was put back to level terms, Mark Strong winning 4-3 for Warwickshire against Brian Dawson who drew level with Strong three times.
A Brian Hallas (Yorkshire) 4-0 win over Rob Hawker put the pressure back on the home team but it was dealt with very capably by William Naylor who won 4-3 against Michael Ridge who had won the opening two legs.
Peter Jacques (Yorkshire) raced to a 3-0 lead over Jamie Atkins but in equally quick time Atkins won the following three legs. Both players hit a 100 and 180 in the deciding leg but it was the first throw advantage that gave Jasques the all important throw at a finishing double to clinch a 4-3 win.
The final game of the weekend saw Yorkshire get their 7-5 win when their man of the match John Walton (30.36) beat Mark Carter 4-0 giving the visitors an overall 24-12 victory.
Full Results:(Warwickshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Mark Westgarth 4 Keith Flint 3, Bob Nixon 3 Chris Gill 4, Noel Grant 3 Martin Atkins 4, Tom Aldridge 3 Tony Hull 4, Richard Foster 4 Charlie Beaumont 1, Dean Stewart 3 Garry Thompson 4, Jamie Hughes 4 David Copley 2, Mark Strong 4 Brian Dawson 3, Rob Hawker 0 Brian Hallas 4, William Naylor 4 Michael Ridge 3, Jamie Atkins 3 Peter Jacques 4, Mark Carter 0 John Walton 4, Men’s ‘B’:- Tom McGlone 0 Carl Wilkinson 4, Tom Martin 3 James Barton 4, Simon Power 4 Graham Elvidge 2, Prakash Jiwa 4 Kev Shaw 2, Steve Ward 1 Craig Gwynne 4, Ted Evetts 4 Wayne Mills 1, Matthew Edgar 4 Tom Gregory 2, Antony Allen 3 Jaron Esteve 4, Ian Shaw 3 Ady Newsholme 4, Luke Kennedy 4 Tony Darlow 2, Carl Green 2 Peter Jacques 4, Paul Deslandes 4 Jim Gordon 3, Women’s ‘A’:- Donna Pinch 2 Lyn Horne 3, Natalie Gilbert 1 Lorraine Winstanley 3, Denise Keyte 1 Rachel Brooks 3, Kat Spanswick 0 Ann Chilton 3, Kerry Bambridge 1 Linda Moorhouse 3, Wendy Adams 3 Dee Bateman 2, Women’s ‘B’:- Lisa Whitmore 2 Beau Greaves 3, Sue Sandher 1 Ann Waslin 3, Marian Conway 2 Louise Simmonds 3, Lucy Keyte 0 Giffy Khaosoi 3, Nina Bolt 2 Mandy McKenzie 3, Kirsty Haw 0 Rachel Sheard 3.
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