The greater West Midlands area has three sides in the UKDA’s National League and all three needed a good start to the 2025/26 season, for their own reasons, and each of them got one:
Last season in the Cosmo Darts Premier Division Warwickshire began the season with a home tie against Cornwall which they lost 20-16, this season they began with the same Cornwall fixture but playing away and they could not have wished for a better start to their campaign as they chalked up a 25-11 win to put them top of the premier table with twenty-eight points, one more than second placed Lancashire who had a 24-12 home win over Dorset.
Saturday’s ‘B’ games saw the ladies win 4-2 with their top player being Kacie O’Connor who won 3-1 against Tyrian Jesse (Cornwall) and averaged 20.49. The men’s ‘B’ handed out a 10-2 thrashing to their counterparts with Mark Strong topping the averages with his 27.22 in a 4-1 win over Kevin Bray.
In Sunday’s ‘A’ games the ladies, like the ‘B’ side won 4-2, a 3-0 win over Sandra Allen and a 22.77 average earning Wendy Adams the match award.
The men’s ‘A’ had a 7-5 win and taking the man of the match award was Warwickshire newcomer Dom Taylor who had a 4-1 win over Lee Agar with a superb average of 33.76.
What a fantastic weekend’s results and a top of the table position, it could not have been a better start of the new campaign for the Bears.
Full Results:
Cornwall 11 Warwickshire 25
Cornwall MA 5-7 Warwickshire MA:
Men’s ‘A’:- Tex Thomas 3 (24.37) Martin Tonks 4, Rob Jane (28.18) 4 (29.54) Jamie Hughes 2, Richard Craddock (24.34) 1 (26.36) Steve Hine 4, Shaun Burden (26.30) 3 (26.27) Gareth Braham 4, Mike Jones (22.54) 4 (24.80) Sam Price 3, Simon Knowles (23.37) 4 (22.28) Lloyd Jackson 1, Andrew Cook (22.76) 0 (30.36) Noel Grant 4, Paul Ellis (24.44) 1 (29.99) Nigel Heydon 4, Geoff Jenkin (25.64) 3 (26.41) Matty Washbrooke 4, Lee Agar (26.71) 1 (33.76) Dom Taylor 4, Matt Knowles (24.08) 4 (25.15) Wayne Mynard 1, Scott Hill (32.85) 4 (21.95) Jack Wareing 0,
Cornwall MB 2-10 Warwickshire MB:
Men’s ‘B’:- Sam Hicks (23.46) 2 (24.23) Dave Hill 4, Jay Willey (23.27) 0 (24.74) Ryan Jackson 4, Simon Fletcher (21.18) 3 (23.45) Carl Winters 4, Dan Craddock (22.90) 1 (24.70) Zac Prince 4, Kevin Bray (24.51) 1 (27.22) Mark Strong 4, Josh Symons (21.98) 1 (25.22) Karl Reynolds 4, Kyle Willmott (19.88) 0 (27.08) Mark Carter 4, Aaron Rowe (23.73) 3 (23.74) Mark Martin, George Jones (21.02) 4 (20.97) William Naylor 2, Troi Day (20.93) 0 (26.37) Lloyd Jackson 4, Rhys Julian (23.57) 4 (22.73) Lee Miller 2, Ash Cran (23.81) 3 (23.06) Adam Hancock 4,
Cornwall WA 2-4 Warwickshire WA:
Women’s ‘A’:- Laura Shepherd (15.84) 1 (17.07) Marian Conway 3, Pauline Mead (19.84) 3 (18.19) Caroline Pike 1, Tracey Hancock (19.44) 0 (22.10) Courtney Hine 3, Sandra Allen (16.57) 0 (22.77) Wendy Adams 3, Teresa Brookshaw (18.15) 2 (17.65) Hannah Meek 3, Nikki Furse (20.04) 3 (17.45) Kirsty Hinchliffe 1,
Cornwall WB 2-4 Warwickshire WB:
Women’s ‘B’:- Becky Curnow (14.24) 2 (14.07) Nina Bolt 3, Emma Dow (14.67) 3 (13.34) Denise Keyte 2, Jo Hazell (15.70) 0 (15.82) Jodie Rigg 3, Hannah Martyn (17.44) 3 (15.46) Kris Meek 1, Jacqui Champion (16.19) 0 (19.03) Donna Pinch 3, Tyrian Jesse (19.65) 1 (20.49) Kacie O’Connor 3.
West Midlands Strong Start
After gaining promotion last season West Midlands first fixture back in the Andy Wheeler Fisheries Championship Division was a home tie with Kent. Both of the ladies teams finished all-square at 3-3, for the ‘B’ side Kelly Aston took the match award for her 15.55 average and 3-1 win over Rebecca Garrett while Gemma Barrett was the top lady in the ‘A’ game, Gemma winning 3-2 against Jackie Holman with a 21.89 average.
As the ladies both had 3-3 results, the men both had 7-5 results. The ‘B’ team’s man of the match was Martin Price who averaged 28.78 in his 4-2 win over Dave Saint and taking the ‘A’ team’s award was Richard Platt for his 27.98 average and 4-3 win over Peter Gallacher.
The overall 20-16 win for the weekend saw West Midlands take up third position in the table but on the same twenty-three points as the two teams above them, top of the table Cheshire and second placed Humberside.
Full Results:
West Midlands 20 Kent 16
West Midlands MA 7-5 Kent MA:
Men’s ‘A’:- Ryan O’Connor (26.44) 4 (24.52) Steve Stacey 2, Shaun Carroll (24.45) 1 (28.52) Paul Dawkins 4, Paul Price (23.12) 4 (24.09) Scott Artiss 1, Jack Aldridge (27.72) 4 (23.20) Nigel Payne 2, Scott Baker (27.86) 4 (24.10) Daniel Todd 2, Alex Simmons (20.75) 0 (26.37) Ross Lowe 4, Mark Craddock (27.53) 4 (24.85) Keith Montgomery 1, Jon Platt (27.34) 4 (26.59) Lewis Venes 2, Glen McGrandle (21.51) 1 (23.34) Kieran O’Brien 4, Callum Parkes (20.95) 2 (22.29) James Davison 4, Gavin Baker (25.90) 3 (25.49) Peter Allen 4, Richard Platt (27.98) 4 (25.26) Peter Gallacher 3,
West Midlands MB 7-5 Kent MB:
Men’s ‘B’:- Ian Stanton (23.05) 1 (25.70) David Heath 4, Kieran O’Mahoney (23.55) 4 (22.10) Richard Elms 1, Adam Teasdale (25.80) 2 (26.33) Lewis Venes 4, Martin Price (28.78) 4 (26.44) Dave Saint 2, Kian Rogers (20.96) 2 (21.79) Ben Webster 4, Will Beaden (27.03) 4 (25.50) Hayden Robbie 3, Jordan Craig (24.77) 4 (23.03) Martin Goodin 2, Cameron Baird (23.26) 1 (23.58) Scott Lackford 4, Luke Griffiths (22.53) 4 (21.18) Craig Connor 3, Jay Woodhouse (28.23) 4 (24.43) John Dyke 0, Rob Thompson (24.14) 4 (22.40) Michael Finch 0, Karl Hughes (19.62) 0 (21.78) Peter Davies 4,
West Midlands WA 3-3 Kent WA:
Women’s ‘A’:- Jacqueline Trott (20.87) 3 (18.93) Julie Row 2, Kat Mclean (19.52) 3 (15.86) Stacey Dawkins 0, Jacqueline Maiden (16.11) 0 (17.28) Kelly Westlake 3, Evonne Taylor (13.95) 0 (14.88) Millie Packer-Wood 3, Claire Hobbs (14.65) 2 (18.13) Emma Martin 3, Gemma Barrett (21.89) 3 (17.89) Jackie Holman 2,
West Midlands WB 3-3 Kent WB:
Women’s ‘B’:- Shellbie Guest (17.31) 2 (15.17) Cara Broad 3, Sarah Maybury (11.95) 3 (11.87) Tina Kennard 1, Kelly Aston (15.55) 3 (14.72) Rebecca Garrett 1, Jade Wellings (13.12) 2 (13.94) Jeanette Tilley 3, Katherine Jenkins (14.59) 3 (12.36) Lisa Stefano 0, Hannah Davies (14.82) 1 (16.30) Natalie Berry 3.
Black Country Down Derbyshire
In the L-Style Division One, Black Country had a home fixture with Derbyshire, the ladies ‘B’ match finished with a 3-3 scoreline with Sarah-Jane Parker their top player with a 16.75 average in her 3-2 win over Jax Sweet. The men’s ‘B’ had a narrow 7-5 win with Ian Townsend their top man, Townsend averaging 24.56 in his 4-1 win over Jamie Waterfield.
Sunday saw Derbyshire ladies ‘A’ romp to a 5-1 victory with Chez Allcock the sole winner for Black Country, Allcock won 3-1 against Carol Western with a 16.96 average. With the overall score at 13-11 to Derbyshire the pressure was on the men’s ‘A’ to secure the win. They came up trumps with an 8-4 success to give the hosts a close 19-17 win with Tom Bissell their man of the match, Bissell winning 4-2 against Jamie Hill with a 29.34 average.
The win sees Black Country lying fifth in the division with twenty-two points just three fewer than leaders Merseyside.
Full Results:
Black Country 19 Derbyshire 17:
Black Country MA 8-4 Derbyshire MA:
Men’s ‘A’:- Trev Brennan (23.88) 4 (23.85) Nigel Daniels 3, Jamie Rollinson (29.07) 4 (24.30) James Ruff 3, Dan Homer (26.83) 3 (26.27) Dan Ford 4, Reece Colley (25.51) 3 (25.52) Paul Williams 4, Michael Powell (24.73) 4 (23.04) Darron Brown 3, Alfie Busby (22.27) 4 (20.16) Steven Thompson 0, Steve Jones (22.77) 4 (21.10) Paul Redfern 0, George Willetts (27.97) 2 (24.41) Liam Ryde 4, Harry Williams (25.08) 4 (24.18) Sean Lambert 3, Tom Bissell (29.34) 4 (25.84) Jamie Hill 2, Aaron Colley (24.77) 0 (31.31) Dominic Harrison 4, Keiron Bridgewater (29.04) 4 Jack Ryder (27.17) 0,
Black Country MB 7-5 Derbyshire MB:
Men’s ‘B’:- Sam Bissell (21.32) 4 (19.72) Gary Fenn 0, Mark Rollinson (21.60) 2 (18.90) Wes Smith 4, Andy Garratt (20.88) 4 (20.87) Ian Allcock 2, Matthew Lloyd (24.08) 4 (21.71) Marc Ellis 2, Al Smith (21.57) 3 (23.30) Lee Stanley 4, Mark Jones (21.43) 4 (20.92) Mick Smith 3, Rhys Butler (20.92) 4 (19.97) Dan Jackson 2, Ian Townsend (24.56) 4 (23.98) Jamie Waterfield 1, Neil Steventon (22.04) 1 (20.97) Ben Holmes 4, Wayne Hobday (22.19) 4 (21.52) Davy-Jay Knowles 1, Danny Chiswell (20.51) 3 (20.65) Carl Frith 4, Jake Shipley (19.02) 2 (21.70) Jack Ryder 4,
Black Country WA 1-5 Derbyshire WA:
Women’s ‘A’:- Chez Allcock (16.96) 3 (15.59) Carol Western 1, Kirsty Shaughnessy (16.60) 1 (20.41) Jane Densley 3, Tammy Chance (19.94) 2 (19.27) Rachel Ayres 3, Abbey Hunt (15.51) 0 (23.12) Jo Oldershaw 3, Heather Wright (17.45) 0 (22.77) Rose Mort 3, Grace Angell (12.91) 0 (14.74) Rebecca Hoyland 3,
Black Country WB 3-3 Derbyshire WB:
Women’s ‘B’:- Mckenzie Raine Thomas (10.71) 0 (11.65) Samantha Evans 3, Paige Robbins (13.80) 1 (16.41) Louise Rawson 3, Stella Sims (15.19) 0 (16.89) Rach Bird 3, Doreen Hunt (16.16) 3 (14.79) Emily Jones 0, Sarah-Jane Parker (16.75) 3 (15.59) Jax Sweet 2, Demmi Titley (14.76) 3 (14.82) Lisa Davie 2.
—–ENDS—–
Images: Main: UKDA , In text: Target darts
