EMERALD CLUB Vs CASTLE A.
Hello, good evening and welcome. Well, how has your week been? Cold? Wet? Or just the realisation that this time of the year means that you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Well, in case you didn’t know, it’s only 6 weeks ‘til Christmas. Yes, it’s been a whole year since your last panic attack, when you couldn’t think what to get your nearest and dearest. Some of you don’t have to think too hard, knowing your better half, it’s easy.
Well, have a thought for Neil Pointon’s missus, she has just had to take back the electric tooth brush she had got in the sales, and is torn between an unbreakable mirror, a super deluxe metal polishing kit or a reversible shirt.
Anyway, tonight we played hosts to a team that thought they had something missing. This was a team that, at their height, could rip another squad apart and get back for last orders. But at their lowest, would fill the swear jars before they got back to the local. Now they have tweaked their team a little and obviously feel they have a great chance this year. They have, probably, the widest age bracket that a team has ever had in the league, and that’s got to give them an advantage. From the young and fearless to the old and wise. I am of course talking about the Castle A. How nice it is to see Norman Bugler, if you remember this time last year, Norm was going on a journey to find his lost darts. Well, he enjoyed the trip so much that he is making it a pilgrimage every year. Mark “Pretty Boy” Hylton has shown up, fresh and limping into the room, apparently recently having got plastered. Now it has been removed, he can start practising with his feet again, you never know he might throw better. With Adam and Steve Johnson and Ryan Herrington, you now know the away teams’ line up.
The home team is; Jim “Tiger” Harrison, looking forward to the winter hibernation period. Tim “Whizz” Whiston, looking anxiously towards the last day of term so that he can take his toys into school to play with. Mark “Railings” Harvey, also looking forward to the break. Apparently he is booked in for a shot-blast and respray. Paul “Badger” Wright is with us again. After the report I gave on him about his hair cut, he now longs for his hair to be on the lengthier side again. So give it a few weeks and you’ll be able to see him on T.V. as the Dulux dog look a like. Trev “TC” Carter is present and really looking forward to Christmas, he will doing the usual charity work and taking confessionals in the local church. Unfortunately, Simon “Hitman” Astle couldn’t be with us tonight as a few of Santa’s little helpers have been taken ill, and he has had to go to the North Pole to take up the tools of the elves and help out. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.
So with the draw done, here’s how it panned out;
The first two up were; Jim “Tiger” Harrison Vs “Stormin” Norman Bugler.
The 1st and 2nd legs went to Tiger and I have to be honest, the boy dun good. Norman started out as if he was still cold and to be frank, every body expected him to pounce into action, but it didn’t happen, a few loose darts here and there, that’s all it took to frustrate Stormin. That was until the 3rd leg, as all old school know, you should never say never. I suppose it’s the one good thing about Norman, he will never give up. With Jim sitting on 62, Stormin finished a great 3 darter 71 to put him back in the match. Unfortunately, as quick as it came, it went. Norman dropped off, and Jim stepped up. Completing with a 17 darter, Jim took the 4th leg and the match to make it 1-0 to the home side.
Second up to the oche are; Trev “TC” Carter Vs Adam “Imac” Johnson.
The first leg went to TC, only just, Adam was hot on his tail. It was a long leg though, 26 darts for TC. Still, they were just warming up. The next 2 legs went to Adam, along the way hitting a maximum, this time it was TC’s turn to be hot on the heels of his opponent. Better legs, though 21 and 18 winning darts, respectively. The 4th leg was a must for TC, if he lost it was all square between the two sides, a win would keep him in contention. 4 red scores and a missed double 16 helped TC with his strategy, while Adam hits a 99 to leave himself 34. Gratefully, TC finds the double eight with his first dart to pull it all even. The 5th leg must have been good to watch, but let me reassure you, to play in wasn’t so good. After 15 darts TC required 116, while Adam had left himself 112. Three brilliant darts were needed to clinch the match; either player had the capability to do it. Once again, gratefully, it was TC who did it. Immediately turning to his opponent and friend Adam and thanking him for a great match. Unlucky Adam.
The 3rd game of the evening was between two best friends; Tim “Whizz” Whiston and Mark “Pretty Boy” Hylton.
With Mark to kick in, he didn’t hang about, hitting a maximum half way through this 13 darter, leaving Tim on 230. Whizz was still warming up! Whizz answers back by taking the next leg in a slightly longer 20 darts, but it was still a tick in the box. Mark by the way did miss a 118, but fell short on the tops to leave 20. The next 2 legs were won by the away player. Completing in 14 and 15 darts respectively, he hit no less than 6 red scores one of them another maximum. This didn’t mean Tim was left in the dark, oh no! Whizz, himself hitting 5 red scores and in these was his own maximum. The 3rd leg, Tim was sitting on a three darter, and in the 4th leg he missed double eleven to make it all square, but it was not meant to be. Brilliant game guys, well done.
The next match was between; Mark “Railings” Harvey and Ryan Herrington.
This was a quick outcome. Only three legs used and the away player was the winner. Although a short game, it could have all been so different. In the first leg, Mark was left on 110, but the 2nd leg, Ryan’s finishing was poor and Mark really should have stepped in, but once again the fickle finger of fate pointed in the wrong direction, and Ryan hit his double at the right time. The last leg saw both players on the same score, 74, before Ryan once again found it first and took the match.
So with the score standing at 2-2, here’s how the last match went;
Paul “Badger” Wright shook hands with Steve Johnson and Steve started the 1st leg. Paul immediately started with a 140 and completed the 16 dart leg with his favourite double 18. Steve was left looking at a half respectable 156. I say half respectable because we all know he can definitely throw a lot better than he did. The second leg, and Paul started with his own maximum, a further 140 midway aided him to take this leg in a slightly longer 18 darts. This time Steve was sitting on an unfinishable 189. The 3rd leg the longest of the match so far, after 15 darts, Badger wanted 121 and Steve required 84. A further 12 darts off Steve saw him break down his remaining score but not finish. It was Paul who took the leg after finally hitting mad house which he felt he had to leave himself, after missing so many other numbers. Bad luck Steve, we know you’re better than this.
Final score;
EMERALD CLUB 3-2 CASTLE A.
So, something actually worked well for us, mainly the draw. It does help sometimes.
It was great to see, and be part of, a team who can pick themselves up after a bad loss the week before, and come through it to win against a side who could easily have knocked the rest of the brown stuff out of us. On another note, how nice it is to play a team who is so gracious in defeat.
So on to the stats;
Averages;
Emerald. J.Harrison, 25.89. T.Carter, 25.62. T.Whiston, 27.05. M.Harvey, 19.71. P.Wright, 25.47.
Castle A. N.Bugler, 18.90. A.Johnson, 24.15. M.Hylton, 33.06. R.Herrington, 23.12. S.Johnson, 19.16.
M.O.M. J.Harrison, M.Hylton.
180’s. M.Hylton X 2, A.Johnson, T.Whiston, P.Wright.
So that’s it!
Oh, just one more thing. Don’t forget about the knock-out the Saturday after Christmas. After all it is invitation only. Book now!
With this said, all that’s left to say is;
Good luck, good darts and good bye.
Yours, TC.
Tonight The White Hart played host to Chadsmore Progressive Club, the Hart having five players in attendance meant team selection was straight forward. The first two players to the oche were: Glen Cullen & D. Westbury, The away player opening up with a score of 121 twice in his first twelve darts, Glen replied with 60, 140, 100 & 100 to put him in a commanding position only to miss his out shots to allow Westbury to sneak the leg in 25 darts with Glen left on 2. Glen then took the next leg in style with three tons and finishing in 18 darts. The next leg also went to Glen in 23 darts, hitting a ton along the way where D.Westbury had hit 2 tons and was sat waiting on 40. The fourth and what was to be the final leg, both players exchanged a ton a piece and Glen took the leg in 25 darts with D. Westbury sitting again waiting on 40.
Next two to the board were Jaffa Cummings & S. Wiggin, the first leg saw Jaffa start slowly with scores of 55, 44 & 60, in reply his opponent opened in blistering fashion with scores of 180, 85 and 140. Jaffa, then kicked into action with scores of 100, 100 and 122 and with S. Wiggin failing to take his out shot Jaffa snuck in to take the leg in 21 darts. Second leg saw another 180, this time it was Jaffa's first three darts, he continued to take the leg in 26 darts. The third leg saw Jaffa come out firing with 100, 140 and another 140 taking out 64 for a 15 dart leg., taking the game 3 - 0.
Next on, Dougie Thompson Vs G. Coulter. After last weeks performance it has to be said that Dougie was not quite finding his range though he hit the scores when it mattered taking the first leg in 23 darts, the second leg also in 23 darts and the final leg in 21 darts, culminating in a 114 outshot, with his bewildered opponent sat waiting on 4 after scoring 100 and 134 and missing his double 10 to take the leg.
Fourth pairing were Craig Stretch and Jim Riddle, Craig starting with 60 and then managing to hit a majestical score of 1 in open play. Jim starting with a ton, Craig then came back with scores of 140 and 100, but it was not enough as Jim took the leg in 22 darts, with his opponent sat on 40. The next leg Fod also hit 100 and 140, his opponent replying with a ton of his own, Fod taking the leg in 22 darts. Third leg, both players exchanging average scores until with 182 left Fod hit a 180 and dually took out double 1 at the first attempt to take the leg in 19 darts. Fourth leg, Fod scored two tons to Jim's 125 and with 88 left after 18 darts, Fod stepped up to nail the treble 20 only to bust, but on his return for the same score he took it out in 3 with a nice bull finish.
The final game of the evening saw Colin Smith Vs J. Lucas, Colin opened up with 60, 140, 125, 81, 55 and 40/1 for a fine 16 dart leg, with his opponent finding one red score in the first leg. Second leg saw both players hit 140, Colin also managing a 117 to give him the upper hand to take the leg in 22 darts, with his opponent waiting on 16. Third leg saw J. Lucas scores 3 tons with no reply from Colin and he took the leg in 23 darts, this time Colin was waiting on 40. Fourth leg was a scrappy affair, with just the one ton from each player and Colin took the leg in 29 darts after his opponent had not took his chances and was left waiting on 5.
Stats:
White Hart 5 - 0 Chadsmore Progressive
Glen Cullen D Westbury
Av. 22.21, 1 x 140, 7 x 100. Av. 19.58, 5 x 100.
R. Cummings S. Wiggin
Av. 24.21, 1 x 180, 2 x 140, 4 x 100. Av. 21.70, 1 x 180, 1 x 140.
Dougie Thompson G. Coulter
Av. 22.40, 1 x 140, 5 x 100. Av. 20.53, 4 x 100.
Craig Stretch Jimmy Riddle
Av. 22.54, 1 x 180, 2 x 140, 4 x 100. Av. 19.67, 3 x 100.
Colin Smith J. Lucas
Av. 22.28, 2 x 140, 3 x 100. Av. 20.22, 1 x 140, 5 x 100.
Man Of The Match 180's
White Hart - Jaffa Cummings. Jaffa Cummings, Craig Stretch
Chadsmore Progressive - S. Wiggin. S. Wiggin.
Thankyou, and good evening.
White Eagle 3 Yew Tree 2
Jack ‘Crafty Pensioner’ Routledge gave the visitors a stunning start with a 3-0 win over a shell shocked Jack Senior, he opened with a fabulous 13 dart leg, 140, 140, 140, 41, finishing on double top. He then takes the 2nd leg in 24 darts and the 3rd in 26 darts.
Jack; failed to hit a red score but had several over 60+, average, 17.56
Crafty Jack; 3 x 140 and 2 x 100+ scores, average, 23.86 (MoM).
Simon Pearce levelled the scores with a 3-0 win over Ian Golightly; Simon took the 1st leg in 27 darts and the 2nd in 30, with Ian waiting on two. The 3rd leg and both players hit 2 x 100+ scores, and Simon takes out 32, with Ian sitting on 4.
Simon; 4 x 100+ scores, average, 18.79.
Ian; 3 x 100+ scores, average, 18.43.
The 3rd game and Spencer Trow puts the Eagle ahead with a 3-1 win against Martin Millington, it’s Martin who takes the 1st leg, hitting 100 and 134, and checking out on 38 in 2 for a 26 dart leg. Spence opens with 140 in the second leg and he also hits 100 as he levels with a 20 darter, some excellent scoring sees him improve by taking the 3rd leg in just 19 darts. Both players hit 100 in the 4th leg, and with Martin waiting on 42, Spence coolly takes out 60 in 3 for a 24 dart leg.
Spence; 1 x 140 and 4 x 100, average, 22.29, (MoM)
Martin; 5 x 100+ scores, average, 20.20.
Craig Johnson levelled the scores with a 3-2 win over Poppa Powell, Craig hit a 140 in the 1st leg, but Poppa takes it, checking out with a fabulous 129 finish for a 24 darter. The 2nd leg and Poppa hits 121 and 100, but Craig’s hit 2 x 121 and 100 and neatly checks out on 54 for a 18 dart leg, the 3rd leg and Poppa regains the advantage with a 25 darter. The 4th leg should have gone to the home player, but Poppa fails to take out 40 and Craig once again takes out 54. The decider and Craig opens with a ton, Poppa scores well and is down to 62 after 24 darts, but Craig’s finishing is excellent and he takes out 96 in 2 for a 23 dart game winning leg.
Poppa; 4 x 100+ scores, average, 20.66.
Craig; 7 x 100+ scores, average, 19.37.
The decider is between Ted Dodd and Simon Metcalfe, and it’s Ted who draws first blood, he hits 2 x 100 and is first to his double, but he needs 9 darts to win the leg in 33 darts. The second legs close and Ted hits 140 and 131, with Simon hitting 2 x 100, but Ted fails to take out 30 with 6 darts and Simon levels with a 21 dart leg, finishing on 50. The 3rd leg and Simon’s in complete control, scoring, 140, 125 and 100 and taking out 78 in 2 for an excellent 17 dart leg, with Ted still in the clouds. The 4th leg and Simon hits 2 x 100, but Ted’s hit 100 and 3 x 80+ plus and he levels the scores with a 22 dart leg, the decider and Ted bangs in 100 and 135, with Simon hitting 100, and it’s Ted who gives his side victory with a 25 darter, with Simon waiting on 22 after failing to take out 45.
Ted; 7 x 100+ scores, average, 19.07.
Simon; 8 x 100+ scores, average, 20.21.
A great night with the match played in an excellent spirit.
Woolpack 3 Cheslyn Hay 2
Ian Jones gave the visitors a good start with a 3-0 win over Neil Timmis, no red scores for either player in the 1st leg, which went to Jona in 29 darts. The 2nd leg and Neil strikes a ton, but although Jona fails to hit red, he takes the leg in 23 darts, with Neil on 18, Jona breaks with a 140 in the 3rd leg and Neil hits 133, but there both sloppy at the business end and Jona takes it in 28 darts.
Neil; 2 x 100+ scores, average, 17.91.
Jona; 1 x 140, average, 18.79.
Martin Wheawall turns in a man of the match performance to level the score with a 3-0 win against Scott Stanley, Both players hit 100 in the 1st leg and Martin checks out on 81 in 2 for a 23 dart leg, the second leg and Martin hits 140 and 128, with Scott scoring a couple of tons, with Martin taking the leg in 22 darts, with Scott waiting on 4.Mmartin’s rampant in the 3rd leg, hitting, 125 and 2 x 100, for a 17 darter.
Martin; 6 x 100+ scores, average, 24.24.
Scott; 4 x 100, average, 18.92.
Craig Stanley regains the lead for the visitors, beating Allan Carrington over the distance, who hit 2 x 140 as he won the 1st leg in 20, with Craig having hit 2 x 100 left waiting on 20. The second leg and its Craig’s turn to bang in a couple of 140’s, and he levels with a 23 darter, Craig takes the lead with a 19 dart leg, hitting 140 and 122, Allan levels with a 25 dart 4th leg. The decider close and Allan hits 134 and 121, but Craig hit 3 x 100 and neatly checks out on 72 in 3 for a 21 dart winning leg.
Allan; 6 x 100+ scores, average, 22.75.
Craig; 10 x 100+ scores, average, 22.79 (MoM).
Lee Edgington comes back from 2 down to beat Chris Stanley to level the match score, Chris hits 2 x 100+ scores to take the 1st leg in 21 darts, before taking the second in 18 darts, finishing on 110, and this after Lee had hit 100 and 140. the 3rd leg and Chris hit 2 x 100 and Lee one, but Lee has scored well and takes the leg in 20 darts, with Chris waiting on 16. Lee levels with a 23 darter, hitting 2 x 100, both players hit 100 in the decider and when Chris fails to take out 58, Lee hits tops, for a great comeback victory.
Lee; 8 x 100+ scores, average, 23.12.
Chris; 8 x 100+ scores, average, 23.30.
The deciders between Keith Stubbs and Steve Gillam, who opens up with scores of, 140, 140. 100 and 85, but unbelievably he fails to take out 36 with 15 darts and Keith checks out on 72 in 3. the second leg goes to Steve in 24 darts, this time neatly checking out on 84 in 3, the 3rd leg and both hit 100, but finishing lets them down, with it going to Keith in 31 darts. Keith’s warmed up by now and he opens up in the 4th leg with 3 consecutive 100’s and he takes the game with a 17 dart leg.
Keith; 6 x 100+ scores, average, 19.91.
Steve; 3 x 140 and 2 x 100, average, 18.09. |
