Darts World
West Midlands began their third season in division two of the BDO Inter County Championships with an away fixture against local rivals Staffordshire who are newly relegated from division one so it was never going to be an easy task for the away team.
The last time the two teams met was in a division one game on the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd March 2013 with West Midlands the home team, but on that occasion they lost 19-17 and although playing away they were looking for something better this time round and they could not have wished for a better start from their ladies ‘B’ side. On first was Samantha Maiden playing against Stephanie Emberton and it was Stephanie who won the first leg but only to see Samantha take the next two and although the home player won the fourth to level the game it was Samantha Maiden who won the decider putting West Midlands one up with her 3-2 win.
Next on for the West Midlands was their lady of the match Kirsty Shaughnessy, she twice fell behind to Karen Turner but with wins in the last two legs she won the tie 3-2 and her 15.80 average good enough to take the match award.
At least a share of the match points were guaranteed by the third game when Wendy Waine beat Ann Price 3-2 after Price had come from one down to lead 2-1.
It was game number four before the home side won their first game a straight 3-0 win from Roz Harry over Claire Hobbs. However the comeback by the hosts was short as Jacqueline Maiden (West Midlands) beat Ann Allsop 3-1 and rounding off a 5-1 win was Sophie Singh who added her 3-1 win against Maria Pickering to the tally.
In the men’s ‘B’ game it was Staffordshire who were quickest off the starting blocks as they raced into a 4-0 lead. Peter Chell began the quartet of wins when he inflicted a 3-2 defeat on Scott Baker after Baker had gone 1-0 and 2-1 up.
Mick Plevin made it 2-0 when he beat Robert Smith 3-2, Smith having levelled the game in the second and fourth legs. Moving the score along to 3-0 was Kevin Dale with another 3-2 success this time against Jamie Barrowman who had won the first leg. Taking the score along to 4-0 and adding the fourth 3-2 result was Neil Alcock who defeated Mark Watkiss, who had got back to level terms in both the second and fourth legs.
Putting a halt to the Staffordshire onslaught was Sam Guest who beat Marc Van Pattern 3-0, Pattern unable to reach a finishing double in any of the three legs.
Dave Moors (Staffordshire) won the opening leg against Garry Watts before Watts turned up the heat winning the next three legs in 15, 14 and 16 darts for a tremendous 31.76 average which at the end of the day won him the man of the match award.
Lewis Venes reduced the arrears further when he defeated Mark Heath 3-1 and with a further 3-1 win from Ash Khayat over Daniel Allsop West Midlands had come form 4-0 down to 4-4.
Game number six saw the away side take the lead for the first time in the match when Danny Coyle beat Dave Richards 3-2 after Richards had won the first and levelled in the fourth. Matt Tedstone (West Midlands) lost the opener to Frazer Hill but bounced back winning the following three legs for a 3-1 win and putting West Midlands into an unassailable 6-4 lead.
Darren Whittingham beat an off form Glen Cullen 3-0 in the penultimate game, Cullen unable to hit one three figure score and Steve Rushton salvaged a 6-6 draw for Staffordshire when he came from 2-1 down against Robert Thompson to win 3-2.
Terry Selman and former long serving West Midlands player Diane Tolley got Staffordshire off to a good start when they both won 3-0 against respective opponents Shellbie Simmons and Kim Fellows.
Sarah Roberts, winner of five lady of the match awards for the West Midlands ‘B’ team last season earned her promotion to the ‘A’ and got her season off to a great start when she won 3-1 against another Sarah, Sarah Cope and began her life in the ‘A’ team with yet another lady of the match award for her 21.70 average.
Lisa Astbury winner of seven of the nine ‘A’ team match awards last season found her 19.71was not enough to win this season’s opener but her 3-1 result against Michelle Colclough was enough to level the match at 2-2.
Finishing doubles were Heather Wright’s (West Midlands) downfall and as a result she lost her game with Susan Sherratt 3-1 to put the pressure on the last two players Debbie Hollins (Staffordshire) to try and win the match and Debbie Loon to try and Salvage a share of the points for the West Midlands.
The opening two legs could have gone either way as both players threw for finishing doubles but it was the sharper finishing of Debbie Loon that put her 2-0 up. In the third leg Debbie notched three tons to give her all the time she required to find the all important double eight to clinch a 3-0 win and earn a 3-3 draw for her team.
The men’s ‘A’ could not have wished for a better start than a man of the match performance from Shaun Carroll (West Midlands). Playing against Steven Shenton Carroll stormed into a 3-0 lead with wining legs of 16, 13 and 15 darts, Shenton won the next two legs although Carroll had his chance to wrap up the win in the fifth but failed on his doubles. Nevertheless the sixth leg went to Shaun Carroll a 19 darts affair which gave him an average of 28.81.
Avtar Singh was unable to capitalise on his 2-1 lead over James Hughes (Staffordshire) and eventually lost out 4-2. The following two games both went the full seven legs distance both of them ending with a 40 game shot to seal 4-3 wins and both of them going to West Midland players Keith Allman and Mark Craddock who in turn defeated Paul Wright and Martin Wheawall. .
It was then the turn of the home team who took the score along from 3-1 down to 4-3 up when John Burgess beat Matthew Dicken 4-2, Trevor Carter won 4-0 against Michael Baker and Andy Beardmore added a similar 4-0 win against Jonathon Platt to the running score.
Whenever a West Midland win is required who is it that rarely disappoints, Ian Jones and he certainly didn’t let the side down on this occasion as he beat Edward Brookes 4-1 with winning legs of 18, 14, 21 and 14 darts, narrowly missing out on the match award as he averaged 28.41.
Richard Platt restored West Midlands lead in the ninth game when he beat Karl Merchant 4-1. Finishing doubles didn’t prove to be too much of a problem for Jamie Dunston (Staffordshire) in his game with Nick Fullwell, after he won the first leg with a 20 outshot he then chalked up finishes of 157 and 118 in the next two legs and although Fullwell pulled one back in the fourth Dunston with a 76 game shot in the fifth was the 4-1 winner.
Chris Mason put West Midlands in an unbeatable position in the penultimate game when he won 4-1 against Allan Derrett, but then in the final game of the weekend another Mason this time Staffordshire’s Steven beat Mark Rollinson 4-2 to see the two teams finish all square at 6-6, but that score was enough to see West Midlands open their 2015-2016 account with a 20-16 win.
Full Results:(Staffordshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Steven Shenton 2 Shaun Carroll 4, James Hughes 4 Avtar Singh 2, Paul Wright 3 Keith Allman 4, Martin Wheawall 3 Mark Craddock 4, John Burgess 4 Matthew Dicken 2, Trevor Carter 4 Michael Baker 0, Andy Beardmore 4 Jonathon Platt 0, Edward Brookes 1 Ian Jones 4, Karl Merchant 1 Richard Platt 4, Jamie Dunston 4 Nick Fullwell 1, Allan Derrett 1 Chris Mason 4, Steven Mason 4 Mark Rollinson 2, Men’s ‘B’:- Peter Chell 3 Scott Baker 2, Mick Plevin 3 Robert Smith 2, Kevin Dale 3 Jamie Barrowman 2, Neil Alcock 3 Mark Watkiss 2, Marc Van Pattern 0 Sam Guest 3, Dave Moors 1 Garry Watts 3, Mark Heath 1 Lewis Venes 3, Daniel Allsop 1 Ash Khayat 3, Dave Richards 2 Danny Coyle 3, Frazer Hill 1 Matt Tedstone 3, Darren Whittingham 3 Glen Cullen 0, Steve Rushton 3 Robert Thompson 2, Women’s ‘A’:- Terry Selman 3 Shellbie Simmons 0, Diane Tolley 3 Kim Fellows 0, Sarah Cope 1 Sarah Roberts 3, Michelle Colclough 1 Lisa Astbury 3, Susan Sherratt 3 Heather Wright1, Debbie Hollins 0 Debbie Loon 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Stephanie Emberton 2 Samantha Maiden 3, Karen Turner 2 Kirsty Shaughnessy 3, Ann Price 2 Wendy Waine 3, Roz Harry 3 Claire Hobbs 0, Ann Allsop 1 Jacqueline Maiden 3, Maria Pickering 1 Sophie Singh 3.
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Prior to the BDO Inter County Championships premier division fixture between Warwickshire and Yorkshire at the Bishopsgate Club, Coventry there was a fund raising head shave by Kaya Holdsworth daughter of Warwickshire county player Edwina Holdsworth. Edwina was diagnosed with liver and bowel cancer in January and other family members had also been affected by cancer. Because of this Kaya decided she would have a complete head shave in an effort to "give back to the nurses who have and still are doing a fantastic job with people being affected by cancer”
Doing the shave on the day were sister Mia and Warwickshire county player Lisa Whitmore, the event at the time of going to print has raised a fantastic mount in excess of £550, however there is still time for anyone to donate to this very courageous young lady’s worthy cause, to do so please follow the link https://bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/kaya-abbott/
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The twelve weeks knockouts for the Riley’s Club Championship worth £1,000 to the grand final winner culminated in the Club Champion playoff at Riley’s Snooker Bar, Solihull and the twelve players contesting the title were Michael Smith-Neale, Jamie Robinson, Mike Green, Tony Randell, Luis Barberan, Rob Singleton, Wayne Mynard, Dean Sanders, Graham Hall, Tom White, Lee Bryan and Martin Partridge.
The winner on the night was Dean Sanders who had a very close 6-5 victory over Tom White in the final.
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On the local scene the Harborne League completed their season and winning the title with sixteen wins from eighteen games was West Heath Snooker Club finishing their programme with a convincing 8-1 success against bottom of the table Avenue Social.
Hillyfields ‘A’ and Court Oak both ended the season two points behind the champions Hillyfields ‘A’ just taking the runners up spot with the better average.
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The Brierley Hill Friday Night League played off their doubles knockout and taking the title with a final win over A.Turley and C.Hart from the Brickmakers Arms were D.Bull and A.Wakeman representing Miners (Wollescote).
Losing semi finalists were A.Smith and R.Pitt (Pensnett Welfare Club) and D.Marshall and M.Rowley (Pensnett Liberal Club).
The league have also played off their singles knockout and with a final success against John Glazzard (Netherton Cricket Club) it was Dennis Bull (Miners, Wollescote) who won the title.
Losing semi finalists were Rob Powers (Dudley Sports ‘B’) and Steve Dunn (Bridge).
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The Halesowen Friday Night League have also played off their singles knockout and the winner with a final 4-0 victory over Doug Richmond was Kevin Harris. In the semi finals Harris beat Richard Hill with a narrow 4-3 verdict while Richmond had a more comfortable 3-1 result against Keith Harrison.
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The last time the two teams met was in a division one game on the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd March 2013 with West Midlands the home team, but on that occasion they lost 19-17 and although playing away they were looking for something better this time round and they could not have wished for a better start from their ladies ‘B’ side. On first was Samantha Maiden playing against Stephanie Emberton and it was Stephanie who won the first leg but only to see Samantha take the next two and although the home player won the fourth to level the game it was Samantha Maiden who won the decider putting West Midlands one up with her 3-2 win.
Next on for the West Midlands was their lady of the match Kirsty Shaughnessy, she twice fell behind to Karen Turner but with wins in the last two legs she won the tie 3-2 and her 15.80 average good enough to take the match award.
At least a share of the match points were guaranteed by the third game when Wendy Waine beat Ann Price 3-2 after Price had come from one down to lead 2-1.
It was game number four before the home side won their first game a straight 3-0 win from Roz Harry over Claire Hobbs. However the comeback by the hosts was short as Jacqueline Maiden (West Midlands) beat Ann Allsop 3-1 and rounding off a 5-1 win was Sophie Singh who added her 3-1 win against Maria Pickering to the tally.
In the men’s ‘B’ game it was Staffordshire who were quickest off the starting blocks as they raced into a 4-0 lead. Peter Chell began the quartet of wins when he inflicted a 3-2 defeat on Scott Baker after Baker had gone 1-0 and 2-1 up.
Mick Plevin made it 2-0 when he beat Robert Smith 3-2, Smith having levelled the game in the second and fourth legs. Moving the score along to 3-0 was Kevin Dale with another 3-2 success this time against Jamie Barrowman who had won the first leg. Taking the score along to 4-0 and adding the fourth 3-2 result was Neil Alcock who defeated Mark Watkiss, who had got back to level terms in both the second and fourth legs.
Putting a halt to the Staffordshire onslaught was Sam Guest who beat Marc Van Pattern 3-0, Pattern unable to reach a finishing double in any of the three legs.
Dave Moors (Staffordshire) won the opening leg against Garry Watts before Watts turned up the heat winning the next three legs in 15, 14 and 16 darts for a tremendous 31.76 average which at the end of the day won him the man of the match award.
Lewis Venes reduced the arrears further when he defeated Mark Heath 3-1 and with a further 3-1 win from Ash Khayat over Daniel Allsop West Midlands had come form 4-0 down to 4-4.
Game number six saw the away side take the lead for the first time in the match when Danny Coyle beat Dave Richards 3-2 after Richards had won the first and levelled in the fourth. Matt Tedstone (West Midlands) lost the opener to Frazer Hill but bounced back winning the following three legs for a 3-1 win and putting West Midlands into an unassailable 6-4 lead.
Darren Whittingham beat an off form Glen Cullen 3-0 in the penultimate game, Cullen unable to hit one three figure score and Steve Rushton salvaged a 6-6 draw for Staffordshire when he came from 2-1 down against Robert Thompson to win 3-2.
Terry Selman and former long serving West Midlands player Diane Tolley got Staffordshire off to a good start when they both won 3-0 against respective opponents Shellbie Simmons and Kim Fellows.
Sarah Roberts, winner of five lady of the match awards for the West Midlands ‘B’ team last season earned her promotion to the ‘A’ and got her season off to a great start when she won 3-1 against another Sarah, Sarah Cope and began her life in the ‘A’ team with yet another lady of the match award for her 21.70 average.
Lisa Astbury winner of seven of the nine ‘A’ team match awards last season found her 19.71was not enough to win this season’s opener but her 3-1 result against Michelle Colclough was enough to level the match at 2-2.
Finishing doubles were Heather Wright’s (West Midlands) downfall and as a result she lost her game with Susan Sherratt 3-1 to put the pressure on the last two players Debbie Hollins (Staffordshire) to try and win the match and Debbie Loon to try and Salvage a share of the points for the West Midlands.
The opening two legs could have gone either way as both players threw for finishing doubles but it was the sharper finishing of Debbie Loon that put her 2-0 up. In the third leg Debbie notched three tons to give her all the time she required to find the all important double eight to clinch a 3-0 win and earn a 3-3 draw for her team.
The men’s ‘A’ could not have wished for a better start than a man of the match performance from Shaun Carroll (West Midlands). Playing against Steven Shenton Carroll stormed into a 3-0 lead with wining legs of 16, 13 and 15 darts, Shenton won the next two legs although Carroll had his chance to wrap up the win in the fifth but failed on his doubles. Nevertheless the sixth leg went to Shaun Carroll a 19 darts affair which gave him an average of 28.81.
Avtar Singh was unable to capitalise on his 2-1 lead over James Hughes (Staffordshire) and eventually lost out 4-2. The following two games both went the full seven legs distance both of them ending with a 40 game shot to seal 4-3 wins and both of them going to West Midland players Keith Allman and Mark Craddock who in turn defeated Paul Wright and Martin Wheawall. .
It was then the turn of the home team who took the score along from 3-1 down to 4-3 up when John Burgess beat Matthew Dicken 4-2, Trevor Carter won 4-0 against Michael Baker and Andy Beardmore added a similar 4-0 win against Jonathon Platt to the running score.
Whenever a West Midland win is required who is it that rarely disappoints, Ian Jones and he certainly didn’t let the side down on this occasion as he beat Edward Brookes 4-1 with winning legs of 18, 14, 21 and 14 darts, narrowly missing out on the match award as he averaged 28.41.
Richard Platt restored West Midlands lead in the ninth game when he beat Karl Merchant 4-1. Finishing doubles didn’t prove to be too much of a problem for Jamie Dunston (Staffordshire) in his game with Nick Fullwell, after he won the first leg with a 20 outshot he then chalked up finishes of 157 and 118 in the next two legs and although Fullwell pulled one back in the fourth Dunston with a 76 game shot in the fifth was the 4-1 winner.
Chris Mason put West Midlands in an unbeatable position in the penultimate game when he won 4-1 against Allan Derrett, but then in the final game of the weekend another Mason this time Staffordshire’s Steven beat Mark Rollinson 4-2 to see the two teams finish all square at 6-6, but that score was enough to see West Midlands open their 2015-2016 account with a 20-16 win.
Full Results:(Staffordshire names first):Men’s ‘A’:- Steven Shenton 2 Shaun Carroll 4, James Hughes 4 Avtar Singh 2, Paul Wright 3 Keith Allman 4, Martin Wheawall 3 Mark Craddock 4, John Burgess 4 Matthew Dicken 2, Trevor Carter 4 Michael Baker 0, Andy Beardmore 4 Jonathon Platt 0, Edward Brookes 1 Ian Jones 4, Karl Merchant 1 Richard Platt 4, Jamie Dunston 4 Nick Fullwell 1, Allan Derrett 1 Chris Mason 4, Steven Mason 4 Mark Rollinson 2, Men’s ‘B’:- Peter Chell 3 Scott Baker 2, Mick Plevin 3 Robert Smith 2, Kevin Dale 3 Jamie Barrowman 2, Neil Alcock 3 Mark Watkiss 2, Marc Van Pattern 0 Sam Guest 3, Dave Moors 1 Garry Watts 3, Mark Heath 1 Lewis Venes 3, Daniel Allsop 1 Ash Khayat 3, Dave Richards 2 Danny Coyle 3, Frazer Hill 1 Matt Tedstone 3, Darren Whittingham 3 Glen Cullen 0, Steve Rushton 3 Robert Thompson 2, Women’s ‘A’:- Terry Selman 3 Shellbie Simmons 0, Diane Tolley 3 Kim Fellows 0, Sarah Cope 1 Sarah Roberts 3, Michelle Colclough 1 Lisa Astbury 3, Susan Sherratt 3 Heather Wright1, Debbie Hollins 0 Debbie Loon 3, Women’s ‘B’:- Stephanie Emberton 2 Samantha Maiden 3, Karen Turner 2 Kirsty Shaughnessy 3, Ann Price 2 Wendy Waine 3, Roz Harry 3 Claire Hobbs 0, Ann Allsop 1 Jacqueline Maiden 3, Maria Pickering 1 Sophie Singh 3.
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Prior to the BDO Inter County Championships premier division fixture between Warwickshire and Yorkshire at the Bishopsgate Club, Coventry there was a fund raising head shave by Kaya Holdsworth daughter of Warwickshire county player Edwina Holdsworth. Edwina was diagnosed with liver and bowel cancer in January and other family members had also been affected by cancer. Because of this Kaya decided she would have a complete head shave in an effort to "give back to the nurses who have and still are doing a fantastic job with people being affected by cancer”
Doing the shave on the day were sister Mia and Warwickshire county player Lisa Whitmore, the event at the time of going to print has raised a fantastic mount in excess of £550, however there is still time for anyone to donate to this very courageous young lady’s worthy cause, to do so please follow the link https://bravetheshave.org.uk/shavers/kaya-abbott/
---------------------------------
The twelve weeks knockouts for the Riley’s Club Championship worth £1,000 to the grand final winner culminated in the Club Champion playoff at Riley’s Snooker Bar, Solihull and the twelve players contesting the title were Michael Smith-Neale, Jamie Robinson, Mike Green, Tony Randell, Luis Barberan, Rob Singleton, Wayne Mynard, Dean Sanders, Graham Hall, Tom White, Lee Bryan and Martin Partridge.
The winner on the night was Dean Sanders who had a very close 6-5 victory over Tom White in the final.
---------------------------------
On the local scene the Harborne League completed their season and winning the title with sixteen wins from eighteen games was West Heath Snooker Club finishing their programme with a convincing 8-1 success against bottom of the table Avenue Social.
Hillyfields ‘A’ and Court Oak both ended the season two points behind the champions Hillyfields ‘A’ just taking the runners up spot with the better average.
---------------------------------
The Brierley Hill Friday Night League played off their doubles knockout and taking the title with a final win over A.Turley and C.Hart from the Brickmakers Arms were D.Bull and A.Wakeman representing Miners (Wollescote).
Losing semi finalists were A.Smith and R.Pitt (Pensnett Welfare Club) and D.Marshall and M.Rowley (Pensnett Liberal Club).
The league have also played off their singles knockout and with a final success against John Glazzard (Netherton Cricket Club) it was Dennis Bull (Miners, Wollescote) who won the title.
Losing semi finalists were Rob Powers (Dudley Sports ‘B’) and Steve Dunn (Bridge).
---------------------------------
The Halesowen Friday Night League have also played off their singles knockout and the winner with a final 4-0 victory over Doug Richmond was Kevin Harris. In the semi finals Harris beat Richard Hill with a narrow 4-3 verdict while Richmond had a more comfortable 3-1 result against Keith Harrison.
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