THE new campaign in the UKDA National League has got underway, however there were many darts fixtures that were either brought forward or postponed to a later date.
In the Premiership all games have been played apart from the Warwickshire versus Lancashire fixture and topping the table with a resounding 30-6 home victory over Suffolk are Yorkshire who ended last season placed fifth. Yorkshire’s win has seen them amass a total of thirty-three points with their men’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ in turn winning 9-3 and 11-1 while the women’s ’A’ and ‘B’ sides both won 5-1.
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In the number two spot after the opening day’s games is Essex who in their fixture at home hosting Dorset, both men’s sides won 7-5 the women’s ‘A’ finished all-square at 3-3 but the women’s ‘B’ lost 4-2 to give an overall score of 19-17, giving them a total of twenty-two points, eleven short of Yorkshire.
West Midlands and Glamorgan make up the top four places, both on nineteen points after they played each other and finished with an 18-18 draw, West Midlands winning the men’s ‘A’ game 7-5, Glamorgan winning the women’s ‘A’ 4-2 and there was a 6-6 draw for the men’s ‘B’ and a 3-3 draw for the women’s ‘B’.
Similar to the premiership there was just the one fixture not played in the championship and that was between London and Gwent. Two teams, Leicestershire and Sussex top the table both on twenty-four points, with the former in pole position on average. Leicestershire hosted Hampshire, both of the men’s teams winning, the ‘A’ 8-4 and the ‘B’ 7-5, the ladies teams both finished with a 3-3 draw.
Sussex meanwhile, played away against Hertfordshire and both of their ladies teams won 4-2 while the men’s ‘A’ lost 7-5 and the ‘B’ won 8-4. Just two points short of the top two teams is Cornwall, their home game with Middlesex saw them win the men’s ‘A’ 8-4, lose the ladies ‘A’ 4-2 and draw the men’s ‘B’ 6-6 and the ladies ‘B’ 3-3 for a 19-17 overall win, giving them twenty-two points.
Only two of the scheduled four games were played in division one, Salopian topping the table following their 20-16 home win over Cambridgeshire. The weekend began with Saturday’s games both finishing level the ladies ‘B’ 3-3 and the men’s ‘B’ 6-6.
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Once again on Sunday the ladies shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw but with an 8-4 win for the men’s ‘A’, the home side won the encounter 20-16 to go top with twenty-three points, one more than Oxfordshire who had a narrow 19-17 home win over Cheshire. The men’s games were shared as the ‘B’ side won 7-5 and the ‘A’ team lost by the same 7-5 margin. The ladies ‘B’ had to settle for a 3-3 draw but a 4-2 win for the ladies ‘A’ gave Oxfordshire the winning points.
All four games were played off in division two and after the opening day’s fixtures it is Somerset with their 23-13 home win over Derbyshire who are the early pacesetters. The ladies were in top form for the hosts as the ‘B’ team handed out a 6-0 whitewash and the ‘A’ side had a cracking 5-1 victory.
Honours were shared in the men’s games as the ‘A’ side won 7-5 and the ‘B’ lost 7-5. Two points behind Somerset, in second place is Devon, who played away against Shropshire and it all began well for the home team as the ladies ‘B’ won 4-2 and the men’s ‘B’ won 7-5 to give Shropshire an overnight lead of 11-7. It was all-change in the ‘A’ games as Devon’s ladies ‘A’ won 4-2 and their men’s ‘A’ chalked up a huge 10-2 win to give them an overall 21-15 victory.
None of the four fixtures were played in division three, all were postponed to a later date.
All four games were played in division four, Breconshire coming out on top with their 28-08 win at Montgomery and Radnor. Breconshire got three of the four wins over the weekend, the men’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ in turn winning 9-3 and 10-2, the ladies ‘A’ had a convincing 6-0 win while the ‘B’ side shared the points in a 3-3 draw. Breconshire top the table with thirty-one points, four more than second placed Wirral who won their home game against Pembrokeshire 24-12.
The home team’s ladies were in fine form the ‘B’ side handing out a 6-0 whitewash and the ‘A’ winning 5-1, the men’s ‘B’ won 9-3 but the weekend ended with a loss as the men’s ‘A’ went down 8-4. Nevertheless the overall score of 24-12 was enough to put them in second place with twenty-seven points. Newcomers to the UKDA National League, Herefordshire, had an inaugural 23-13 home win over Isle of Wight to give them twenty-six points, both men’s teams winning, the ‘A’ team 9-3 and the ‘B’ 8-4. Both ladies teams shared the points, both finishing with a 3-3 draw.
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