Midland UKDA Review: Warwickshire and Black Country Wins

After their close 19-17 defeat away to London in their previous fixture in the Cosmo Darts Premier Division of the UKDA National League Warwickshire had a home tie with Glamorgan who prior to the encounter were next to bottom of the premier table some 23 points short of their hosts who were placed fifth with 100 points.

The ladies ‘B’ got the weekend off to a good start beating their counterparts 5-1. After going one down when Jen Taylor won 3-1 against Courtney Hine, lady of the match Hannah Meek began the run of five consecutive wins beating Joanne Pugh 3-0 and taking the match award for her fine 21.17 average.

Following up on Hannah’s win were Melanie Jones, Nina Bolt, Chloe McKivett and Angela Jones. The men’s ‘B’ were held to a 6-6 draw and chalking up the six wins for Warwickshire were Jenson Walker, man of the match Mark Carter (28.66) Mark Strong, Mark Martin, Sam Price and Nigel Heydon. Mark Carter had a 4-1 win over Daniel Beynon.

Sunday saw the ladies ‘A’ trail 2-0 but they bounced back to earn a 4-2 victory the four in-a-row wins all started by award winner Natalie Gilbert who beat Michelle Jones 3-0 with a superb average of 24.64. Caroline Pike was another 3-0 winner defeating Sue Hall and with a 3-1 win for Tammy Montgomery over Claire Crocombe and a 3-2 success for Donna Pinch against Jen Taylor the 4-2 win was achieved.

The men’s ‘A’ had a tremendous 9-3 win thanks to wins from Steve Hine, Gareth Braham, Jamie Hughes, Tom Martin, Jack Wareing, Kevin Dowling, Jamie Atkins, Matty Washbrooke and Noel Grant. The match award going to Jamie Hughes who was in top form beating Kierion Carter 4-0 in 12, 13,18 and 14 darts giving him a fantastic average of 35.16.

The overall result for the weekend was 24-12 to Warwickshire to keep them in fifth place in the table but trailing new leaders Yorkshire by 22 points.

Full Results: Warwickshire 24 Glamorgan 12:Warwickshire MA 9-3 Glamorgan MA:Men’s ‘A’:- Wayne Mynard 1 Hywel Manuel 4, Steve Hine 4 Tim Jones 3, Gareth Braham 4 Mike Huntley 1, Jamie Hughes 4 Keirion Carter 0, Tom Martin 4 Neil Lewis 0, Jack Wareing 4 Dan Thompson 1, Dave Hill 0 Sean Fisher 4, Ian McFarlane 2 Mark Challenger 4, Kevin Dowling 4 Neil Parry 0, Jamie Atkins 4 Dale Hughes 1, Matty Washbrooke 4 Dai Caller 1, Noel Grant 4 Wayne Davies 1, Warwickshire MB 6-6 Glamorgan MB:Men’s ‘B’:- Will Naylor 3 Gavin Sterio 4, Jenson Walker 4 Colin Powell 3, Lee Miller 0 Richard Shanklyn 4, Mark Carter 4 Daniel Beynon 1, Mark Strong 4 Gareth Hurton 2, Ian Shaw 3 Adrian Jones 4, Pete Hughes 3 Richie Edwards 4, Mark Martin 4 Ralph Barnett 2, Karl Reynolds 3 Ashley Pascoe 4, Noah Rose 3 Adam Serpell 4, Sam Price 4 Shaun Dibbs 3, Nigel Heydon 4 Graham Harrison 0, Warwickshire WA 4-2 Glamorgan WA:Women’s ‘A’:- Marian Conway 0 Eve Watson 3, Sue Gulliver 0 Rhian O’Sullivan 3, Natalie Gilbert 3 Michelle Jones 0, Caroline Pike 3 Sue Hall 0, Tammy Montgomery 3 Claire Crocombe 1, Donna Pinch 3 Jen Taylor 2, Warwickshire WB 5-1 Glamorgan WB:Women’s ‘B’:- Courtney Hine 1 Jen Taylor 3, Hannah Meek 3 Joanne Pugh 0, Melanie Jones 3 Donna Buckley 0, Nina Bolt 3 Tammy Thomas 2, Chloe McKivett 3 Paula Clemett 2, Angela Jones 3 Sarah Teesdale 0.

West Midlands Slump to Derbyshire Defeat

In the L-Style Division One of the UKDA National League West Midlands had a tough home tie with divisional leaders Derbyshire, the hosts desperately requiring a win to lift them away from their lowly next to bottom of the table position, but it was not to be.

Saturday saw the ladies ‘B’ lose 4-2 with their award winner Shellbie Simmons the first to win as she accounted for Jenny McCormick with a 3-2 result and 15.52 average, the only other winner being Tara Simmons-Fullwood who won 3-1 against Nic Fletcher. The men’s ‘B’ had a creditable 6-6 draw after losing the opening three games. Chalking up the wins for the home team were Glen McGrandle, Ian Stanton, John Morris, Rob Thompson, Paul Price and Mark Craddock, Craddock beating Jamie Waterfield 3-0 to earn the match award for his 25.05 average.

The last player on for the ladies ‘A’ was Kat McLean who turned out to be the sole winner in a 5-1 defeat, Kat won 3-0 against Rach Bird her 16.34 average and the fact that she was the only winner earning her the team’s award. The men’s ‘A’ lost 7-5 with their top player being Shaun Carroll, his straight 4-0 win over Ian Allcock giving him a great 32.32 average.

The result for the weekend was 20-16 to Derbyshire to keep them in pole position in the division with 147 points while West Midlands remain next to bottom of the table with 97 points, however they do have a game in hand on all the teams above them and they are only nine points short of fifth in the division Leicestershire.

Full Results: West Midlands 16 Derbyshire 20:West Midlands MA 7-5 Derbyshire MA:Men’s ‘A’:- Ian Jones 4 Michael Haynes 2, Gavin Baker 0 Nigel Daniels 4, Michael Baker 4 Paul Redfern 0, Richard Platt 4 Sean Lambert 3, Adam Johnson 1 Henry Coates 4, Ryan O’Connor 4 Paul Williams 3, Shaun Carroll 4 Ian Allcock 0, Ash Khayat 2 Dan Ford 4, Kevin Bambrick 4 Paul Bettney 2, Owen Maiden 3 Pete Hadfield 4, Darren Williams 4 Josh Gould, Jon Platt 3 Lee Stanley, West Midlands MB 6-6 Derbyshire MB:Men’s ‘B’:- Ben Johnson 1 Gary Fenn 3, Kieran O’Mahoney 2 Gavin Ratcliffe 3, Neil Pointon 2 Dominic Harrison 3, Glen McGrandle 3 Dave Rogers 2, Ian Stanton 3 Ben Holmes 1, John Morris 3 Michael Ryall 2, Dean Simmons-Fullwood 0 Robert Smith 3, Rob Thompson 3 Mark Barlow 2, Paul Price 3 Mark Thompson 2, Jay Woodhouse 2 Will North 3, Mark Maiden 2 Pete Hadfield 3, Mark Craddock 3 Jamie Waterfield 0, West Midlands WA 1-5 Derbyshire WA:Women’s ‘A’:- Claire Hobbs 0 Rebecca Hoyland 3, Sarah Maybury 0 Jax Sweet 3, Gemma Barrett 0 Jo Oldershaw 3, Jacqueline Maiden 1 Rose Mort 3, Jodie Rowlands 1 Steph Allerton 3, Kat McLean 3 Rach Bird 0, West Midlands WB 2-4 Derbyshire WB:Women’s ‘B’:- Shellbie Simmons 3 Jenny McCormick 2, Kelly Doleman 1 Sammie Marshall 3, Katherine Jenkins 2 Emily Jones 3, Tara Simmons-Fullwood 3 Nic Fletcher 1, Debbie Davies 0 Louise Rawson 3, Jacqueline Simmons 0 Claire Wheeler 3.

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Following their promotion from division three of the UKDA National League last season Black Country are enjoying their successful start to life in division two adding a further 22-14 win away to Nottinghamshire to their account to keep them in pole position with a lead of eighteen points over second-placed Tyne and Wear.

The ladies ‘B’ had a 3-3 draw with their top player being Grace Angell who won 3-1 against Julie Wilson with a 17.56 average. The ladies ‘A’ won their game 4-2 and taking the match award was Chez Allcock (19.71) who was taken the full five legs distance by Kaylea Riley before sealing her 3-2 win.

There were wins for both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ men’s teams, the ‘B’ side winning 7-5, a 3-1 result for Connor Whitehouse and a 26.61 average against James Hewitt confirming him as the man of the match while for the ‘A’ team it was Shane Price whose 29.58 average and 4-2 result over Mark Wilson that earned him the same accolade.

Full Results: Nottinghamshire 14 Black Country 22:Nottinghamshire MA 4-8 The Black Country MA:Men’s ‘A’:- Pete McConville 3 Rob Smith 4, Steve Stanbridge 1 Paul Wells 4, Paul Harvey 4 Dan Homer 3, Connor Beasley 0 Graham Hall 4, Chris Scott 4 Stephen Jones 0, Micky Stocks 2 Tom Bissell 4, Chris Cooper 3 Dan Nicholls 4, Charlie Stocks 4 Reece Colley 2, Darren Layden 3 Trevor Brennon 4, Tom Allies 4 Gaz Johnson 0, Jason Holmes 1 Alex Howells 4, Mark Wilson 2 Shane Price 4, Nottinghamshire MB 5-7 The Black Country MB:Men’s ‘B’:- Steve Johnson 3 Mat Tedstone 1, Aaron Gormley 3 Cayden Smith 0, Rob Flinders 0 Mark Rollinson 3, Paul Harvey 3 Gavin Smith 0, Richard Bloomfield 1 Jamie Barrowman 3, Josh Hamilton 2 Shaun Hill 3, Jack Kerr 0 Ali Hickinbottom 3, Paul Green 0 Martyn Harper 3, Wes Deane 1 Jamie Rollinson 3, Chris Scott 3 Luke Jones 0, Jay Foreman 3 Rich Bowen 2, James Hewitt 1 Connor Whitehouse 3, Nottinghamshire WA 2-4 The Black Country WA:Women’s ‘A’:- Rebecca Collins 1 Heather Wright 3, Julie Pitchford 2 Chez Allcock 3, Helen Harvey 2 Angie Carroll 3, Kaylea Riley 2 Tammy Chance 3, Sue Esswood 3 Shannon Hall 1, Sarah Brent 3 Maxine Prosser 0, Nottinghamshire WB 3-3 The Black Country WB:Women’s ‘B’:- Jenny White 3 Sarah Tromans 0, Maggie Bamford 2 Stella Sims 3, Julie Wilson 1 Grace Angell 3, Ronnie Johnson 1 Amy-Leigh Tolley 3, Nicola Wing 3 Doreen Hunt 1, Jan Schofield 3 Lacey Hughes 2.

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Alan Towe writes with the support of Red Dragon

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