Away draw moves Warwickshire up table

WARWICKSHIRE had their away game against Hertfordshire in the UKDA National League’s Cosmo Darts Premier Division brought forward a couple of weeks. Prior to the fixture, Warwickshire were fourth in the division with 146 points and their hosts three places below them with 133 points.

- By ALAN TOWE

The weekend didn’t get off to a very good start as the ladies ‘B’ finished on the wrong side of the 5-1 result with Courtney Hine their sole winner beating Kerry King 3-0 with a 16.52 match award winning average.

The men’s ‘B’ levelled the score for the day when they won 8-4, thanks to wins from Jnr Joyce, Steve Hine, Mark Strong, Mark Faulkner, Karl Reynolds, Jack Wareing, Mark Martin and Zac Prince, the match award shared by both Mark Faulkner and Jack Wareing who both averaged 25.69 in their respective wins over Ian Clarkson and Matt Creed.

In Sunday's games the ladies ‘A’ finished all square at 3-3, their three winners being Caroline Pike, Hannah Meek and Marian Conway with Hannah Meek topping the averages with her 19.88 and 3-1 win over Stacey Aylesbury. Like the ladies ‘A’ the men’s ‘A’ also finished on level terms, their six winners being Danny Lauby, Nigel Heydon, Kevin Dowling, Samuel Price, Jamie Hughes and Gareth Braham with Jamie Hughes their top player averaging 30.49 in his 4-2 win against Jarred Cole.

The overall 18-18 draw for the weekend saw Warwickshire move up one place to third with 165 points just three short of second placed Lancashire.

The ever-popular Brandon Easter Open was staged over the weekend which paid out a total of £790. Making their exits in the last 16 were John Hilton, Nigel Heydon, Ryan Saunders, Alex Kenney, Ian McFarlane, Martin Tonks, Mark Tennant and Dan Hutchinson. In the quarter-finals Harry Earp won 6-3 against Charlie Symons, Noel Grant had a 6-4 win over Dave Pallett, Jenson Walker won 6-4 against Taylor McGuckian and Liam Mulryne had a close 6-5 verdict over Matt Norton. The first of the semis was another game to go down to the wire as Warwickshire’s Noel Grant got the 6-5 edge on Leicestershire’s Harry Earp while Lincolnshire’s Jenson Walker beat Liam Mulryne 6-1. The top prize of £300 went to Jenson Walker after winning 7-3 in the final against Noel Grant who received £150.