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FRIDAY NIGHT
INDIVIDUAL DARTS LEAGUE
Latest
reports from the 2006-2007 season in the
Boston Friday Night Individual Darts League are:
Index
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February 2007 |
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Round-up
for week ending February 23
Boston
Standard Premier Division
There were two “firsts” for Richard Pearson this week.
Initially he raced to his first 4-0 win of the season. And in doing so he
also inflicted opponent Colin Hewson’s first whitewash of his season. Richard
caused a shock by hitting impressive 138 and 118 checkouts on his way to
completing a rout. With the top two not in action, fourth against fifth was
the top game and Dave Hasnip warmed up for his clash with Ady Parker with a
game against Debra Royal and both players hit 180s. This game was crucially
decided on doubles and Dave achieved a rather flattering 4-0 win, hitting a
16-dart leg in the process as he took his chances while Deb failed to take
any of hers. Dave then took a 1-0 lead against Ady in game two, but Ady
fought back to hit 23, 19 and 19-dart legs to take control at 3-1. However,
Dave raised his game to make it 3-2. It looked as if a decider was going to
be needed when Dave started leg six with scores of 100, 140 and 140 but he
missed his doubles after looking like he was going to draw level in less than
18 darts. And this allowed Ady to grab a vital 4-2 win, hitting the divisions
best average of 24-71 to enable him to stay in touch with the top five. Trev Day extended the gap between him and the bottom
spot points-wise after another win came his way this week. He also closed the
gap to Chris Royal just above him as Trev hit a 20-dart leg the best of the
match in a 4-1 win over Chris. Tony Hillyard was not such a comfortable winner over
Chris when they toed the oche next. In fact, Chris played better as he scored
100, 100, 100, 140 and 61 (checkout) for a 15-dart leg that put him in to a
3-1 lead. But the wheels came off after that and Tony struck back to gain a
4-3 win, hitting a 97 checkout in the decider. Debra Royal returned to play Kev Lenton who has
traditionally been difficult to beat at times — although this has seldom been
the case this season, hence his position!
The first four legs were shared but Deb hit a 109 checkout to go 3-2
up, although the chances were there for Kev to extend it further! Deb averted
one of Kev’s famous seven-leg, time-consuming encounters as she won 4-2. The final game saw Shane Richardson conclude with a narrow 4-3 win over Tony Hillyard as Shane fought back from 2-0 down. A 19-dart leg from Shane was a clear highlight in his fightback. Lincs Racing Championship
A top of the table encounter between Darren Butler and
Dan Martin needed all five legs to find a winner! Not for the first time,
Darren rode his luck. Trailing 2-0 to the youngster it was more a case of
let-off instead of fightback as the pressure seemed to get to the youngster.
This resulted in Dan missing his chances to gain a vital win and Darren
escaped with a 3-2 win, hitting a 19-72 average to Daniel’s 18-66 in defeat. Daley Richardson continues his excellent run of form a
swash-buckling 3-0 win over Mick Flynn was just too good as he recorded a
22-10 average (division’s best). Ben Carr gained
a surprise win this week. Surely it has come far too late for him to avoid
the drop! But a 3-2 win over Rob Birtwhistle gave him the double over Rob. Ben
last won a match some six weeks ago. So, perhaps, it was lucky seven against
Rob. Mick Vinters lost ground on the leaders as he crashed to
defeat against Kev Dickinson. Kev gained a 3-1 win over Mick to strengthen
his position while denting Mick’s chances in the process. Nathan “Nobby” Richardson hit the division’s best
checkout a 122 finish on the bull
against Mick Parker allowed Nobby to gain a 3-1 win in double quick
time and thus allow Mick the chance to shoot off to what he said was a more
pressing engagement! Pedro Silva outplayed Redvers Dickinson, hitting a 21-16 average in a 3-0 win. This result could have stopped Redvers from getting in to the shake-up at the top? But it could only be a slight hiccup as he resumed winning ways in game two 3-2 against Dick “Top Pocket” Taylor. John Smith’s Challenge There was no awesome performance from Richard Attwell
this week as Paul Limb gained a 3-0 win at Richard’s expense. A 180 from Paul
also put him in front in the division’s maximums table. Di Jenkins was chuffed to gain a 2-1 win over
high-flying Sharon Butler, although Sharon looked set to take a 2-0 lead only
to bust on 124 and hand the advantage to Di. Keith Dack closed the gap on Dennis Turner (not in
action) with a 3-0 win over Susie Watson as the latter failed to take her
chances when they arose. Angie Upsall was in form, completing a double on the
night. A 3-0 win over Janine Timms was followed by a 2-1 win over Louise
Charalambou to consolidate her position in mid-table to be a leading lady
position in seventh spot. Third versus fourth saw James Harmer stay ahead of Scott
Lea after a narrow 2-1 win and George Harness who, at 90 years young, produced
by far the best leg of darts in the division. Somehow he found himself at 1-1
with Susan Games. But scores of 85, 92, 133, 41, 60, 72 and double nine saved
face for a 2-1 win in 19 darts. Emma Grant let slip her chance to make ground as those above
her faltered. She lost 2-1 to Janine Timms. Adam Kemp continued his mini-run
of wins, a 71 checkout giving him a 2-1 win over Tracey Richardson. It turned
out to be a bad night for Tracey as she concluded the action with a 2-1
defeat to Louise Charalambou as the latter shows her mum how it should be
done! |
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Round-up
for week ending February 16
Boston
Standard Premier Division
It’s been a long time coming, but Trev Day has at last
got himself off the bottom of the Boston Standard Premier Division. Game one of
two on the night for Trev saw him take on Colin Hewson. And the latter was in
generous mood as missed doubles meant Trev found himself in an unaccustomed
2-0 lead as the opening two legs took 69 darts to complete. But the game
picked up pace from a poor start and Colin soon got his act together. He
rattled in three consecutive legs to take a 3-2 lead with 19, 20 and 20
darts. A 94 checkout in another 20-dart leg secured a 4-2 win. Trev then
played Derek Johnson. Personally, it was hard to assess whether Trev played
better or not, but at least he was allowed the freedom to play unchallenged
as Derek failed to put Trev under any real pressure with a poor performance.
Trev cruised to a 4-1 win, hitting a 22.48 average to Derek’s 18.12 in
defeat. Surely it could not get any worse for Derek! Sadly it
did. Up against Harry “Lottery” Lee he continued to struggle to put three
darts together and although Harry plodded along with his usual array of bonus
ball scores he soon found himself in a 3-0 lead. And although Derek salvaged
a consolation point by taking leg four to make it 3-1, he still wanted a
massive 288 when Harry checked out in 20 darts for a 4-1 win, hitting a 19.55
average to Derek’s 16.18 in defeat. Some one said “they were playing on the
wrong board.” This was probably true as this game came close to making Susan
Games and Tina Willicombe look like superstars! The final game in the Premier Division did restore some
credibility as Shane Richardson outplayed Kev Lenton, Shane raced in to a 3-0
lead before a great leg sealed the victory as Shane hit a score of 3 followed
by three 140s and a 78 checkout for a 15-dart leg giving him a 24.74 average
(best on the night) to complete the whitewash and leave Kev four points
adrift at the bottom. Lincs Racing Championship
A family encounter saw seventh and eighth placed players
clash, with uncle Redvers Dickinson coming out victorious over Kev Dickinson
in the end after Kev let a 2-0 lead slip. Redvers hit back to take three legs
on the bounce to record a 20.53 average (division’s best) to escape with a
3-2 win and move in to sixth spot. Current leader Darren Butler continues to lead the way
although his crystal ball is failing with his predictions, his rabbit’s foot
does at least keeps him winning. A 19.28 average was far from spectacular,
but it gave him a 3-1 win over Dick ‘Top Pocket” Taylor to keep him ahead of
Pete Reid who stays second after he produced scores of 100, 140, 100, 91 and
70 out for a 15-dart leg in his 3-1 win over Mick Flynn with Mick sadly
lacking a bit of Errol’s flair at present. Dan Martin continues to score heavily but the doubles
were not quite there this week against Ben Carr, something Ben has suffered
with all season, this resulted in 42 darts going astray at doubles,
devastating what looked a reasonable average in the process as Dan still
gained a 3-0 win to stay third. A 108 checkout from Pedro Silva (division’s best)
ensured that his game with Daley Richardson went the distance with Daley
gaining a narrow 3-2 win to stay in the hunt for honours. Mick Parker climbed above opponent Pete Johnson in the
table after a 3-2 win went Mick’s way, although there was very little between
the two in a game that was “worse than hard work” according to Mick. Another Mick struggled next also, as Mick Vinters and
Rick Woods clashed. Despite being 2-0 up with a 90 checkout Mick stumbled and
staggered over the winning line in the end to gain a 3-2 win. Finally Nathan “Nobby” Richardson took a 1-0 lead
against Rob Birtwhistle but by the final whistle Rob had turned it around to
gain a 3-1 win although his return to winning ways has come perhaps too late.
At least it left him in mid-table security. John Smith’s Challenge You can be forgiven for thinking that Emma Grant played
well this week. In fact, it was opponent Richard Attwell who was awesome!
This by his own admission, however! In reflection Richard scored very well
but Emma hit the all important doubles. This meant a 2-1 win for Emma and
this also maintained Richard’s “awesome” form against female opposition. Sharon Butler got off to a flyer against table-topper
Dennis Turner, going 1-0 up with a 83 checkout in 18 darts. But with the
score at 1-1 she failed to gain a famous win by missing with 15 darts. This
allowed Dennis to come down and pinch a 2-1 win. The dynamic duo Tina Willicombe (mother) and Louise
Charalambou (daughter) did their best again this week but the whitewash was
out again although it did take Louise rather longer to get coated as James
Harmer needed a record breaking leg of 228 darts to achieve his while Adam
Kemp only needed 191 darts to complete the match against Tina! Diane Jenkins got what is believed to be her first
winning double as she completed 2-1 wins over Emma Grant and Angie Upsall
respectively. A visit to Nottingham on Thursday night for Paul Limb to
watch the sky televised Holsten Premier Darts League (and return journey with
a PDC shirt worn on Friday) failed to inspire a top performance. However
12.63 and 13.66 averages did give him 2-1 wins over George Harness and Angie
Upsall respectively |
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Round-up
for week ending February 9
Boston Standard
Premier Division
It looks like being a two-horse race as both Martyn
Palmer and Graham Sharp continue to notch up the wins. A mouth-watering head-to-head in three weeks looks set to
give one or the other the edge. Friday saw Martyn achieve his 17th straight
win, even though he seems unable to win for the county! Up against fourth
placed Ady Parker, Martyn found winning legs of 16, 17and 21 darts to secure
a 4-1 win with the division’s best average set at 26.22 in the process. This
set Graham the task of at least matching Martyn’s performance as he too faced
Ady. Leg one saw Ady look set to take a 1-0 lead but Graham saved the day
with a 110 checkout only to watch Ady draw level by taking the next. Graham
then hit two tons and a 140 as he regained the lead at 2-1 only to see Ady
start leg four with a 180. Unfortunately doubles went astray allowing Graham
to make it 3-1. Leg five went the same way as the previous leg and this gave
Graham a 4-1 win with a 23.40 average.
Graham went on to complete a double later in the evening
as once again his opponent Shane Richardson missed doubles against him to
allow him to gain another 4-1 win and move to within a point of the leader
although he has played a game more. Colin Hewson stays a distant third after a 180 put him
3-0 up against Bob Mountain. And although Bob hit back to make it 3-2, Colin
held on to win 4-2. It turned out to be a bad night for Bob as he crashed to
another defeat when Chris Royal put his earlier defeat to Dave Hasnip behind
him Chris had lost to Dave 4-1. Despite hitting a 180, he hit very little
else, but he was a different player
against Bob and he turned his fortunes around with a 4-2 win. Different shirts in recent weeks have failed to change
Derek Johnson’s luck at the oche. But a change of tactics did the trick this
week. He went in to Kev Lenton mode in a dour seven-leg encounter with
Richard Pearson that took over 50 minutes to find a winner. The first six
legs failed to be completed in less than 30 darts and the decider was no
better. Despite both players reaching an out shot after 21darts, they needed
another 27 between them at doubles before Derek hit the winner with his 36th
dart of the leg for a 4-3 win. The final game
saw another seven-leg encounter, this time between Dave Hasnip and Shane
Richardson. And it was the latter who upset the formbook to gain a 4-3 win
over fourth placed Dave. Lincs Racing
Championship
The Crystal ball was out again this week as Darren
‘Gypsy’ Butler gave his predictions! When you are top, you have to keep
winning. A nd although it was top
versus bottom there was no massive gulf in class evident against Ben Carr.
Unfortunately Ben has had no luck at the doubles all season to date and if he
had just a little he would not be languishing in his current position, Darren
gained a 3-1 win to keep the pressure on his pursuers. Pete Reid is in hot pursuit a point adrift after he
fought back from 1-0 down against Pedro Silva to gain a 3-1 win with a
23-dart leg (best of the match). Daley Richardson had put together a great
recent run to get in to the top four but it came to an abrupt halt when Rick
Woods surprisingly turned Daley over 3-0. The shock inspired Daley to perform
better in game two as he set a 21.26 average (division’s best) in a 3-1 win
over high-flying Kev Dickinson who could have done without back-to-back
defeats in recent weeks derailing his challenge somewhat! This allowed uncle Redvers Dickinson to climb back above
Kev after Redvers hit a 120 checkout in a 3-0 win over Rick Woods. Mick
Vinters climbed one place after a 180 set him on the way to a 3-1 win over
Dick ‘Top Pocket’ Taylor. Dick was unlucky not to at least force a decider as
doubles let him down at the crucial moment. The final game had Rob
Birtwhistle and Pete Johnson hopping about as Bob narrowly missed a 170
checkout against him. It brought back memories for Pete as he had been on the
receiving end of a maximum checkout before! He regained his composure to draw
level at 2-2 having been 2-0 down but Rob re-took the lead when it mattered
the most to win 3-2. John Smith’s Challenge A top of the table clash between Dennis Turner and Keith
Dack was the main event in this division and it saw Dennis gain a 3-0 win
over Keith to finally put some distance between them. It gave Dennis a
seven-point cushion by the end of the night, although average scores of 15.98
and 15.43 shows little between them scoring-wise! James Harmer dropped further behind the front two after
Paul Limb found a inspired performance his 18.49 average was the best in the division
giving him a 2-1 win over James. Scott Lea also suffered a setback. He went
down to Tracey Richardson 2-1 with the latter completing a good night’s work
as the double was completed in game two at the expense of Susan Games by
another 2-1 scoreline. So desperate is Susan or a change of fortune and to
avoid the wooden spoon, she has changed her coach and bought new darts!
Unfortunately she still needs a barn door for Sunday nights!. If anybody has
one for her to practice on, let her know! Adam Kemp also gained a surprise win as he beat Suzie
Watson 3-0 to climb up the table. The shocks then kept coming when Emma Grant
hit her doubles with uncanny accuracy for once to beat fellow lady dart
player Sharon Butler 2-1 in the four-way ladies battle in mid-table. With Tina Willicombe not in action at the foot, daughter
Louise Charalambou stepped in as replacement for the whitewash treatment
losing both her matches to Dennis Turner and George Harness respectively. The
final action saw Diane Jenkins take a 1-0 lead against Richard Atwell. But
surprisingly, Richard managed to fight back and win this one 2-1 despite his
poor overall record against female opposition. |
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Round-up
for week ending February 2
Boston Standard
Premier Division
Graham Sharp moved up to second place and a step closer
to Martyn Palmer at the head of the Boston Standard Premier Division after
completing a double. He won game one by a 4-1 margin against Chris Royal and
he then won his “love match” against long-time girlfriend Debra Royal to
complete something of a “Royal rumble”. It was not easy in game two in what looked a tricky
encounter. And so it proved as Deb took a 2-0 lead by hitting an 83 checkout.
But she then missed doubles! It cost Deb a comfortable 3-0 lead and this
allowed Graham to start his fightback by hitting a 105 checkout to get back
into the match. As it turned out Graham went on to take the remaining legs
also without reply to achieve a 4-2 win. It closed the gap on Martyn Palmer to a point briefly
but Martyn then played next and he extended his winning run of games to 16.
This opened the gap back to five points as he too gained a victory over Deb
Royal. Martyn won 4-1with the highlight being a 135 checkout in a 15-dart leg
as Deb once again failed to hit her doubles when her chance arose. Harry Lee finds it easier to hit maximums than doubles.
Another two 180s came this week to at least stretch his game against Richard
Pearson to seven legs. But it was Richard who grabbed the win 4-3 as he
punished Harry for missing with 12 darts in the decider and this time there
was no way back. The next game between Colin Hewson and Tony Hillyard
started out as a cracker with Colin taking a 3-1 lead when he hit 160 double
10 with just four darts. But some marking mistakes rattled both players and
the game turned! Colin’s game went to pieces as Tony stormed his way back a
180 in 14 darts made it 3-2 and then 17 and 18 dart legs followed as Tony
took the match 4-3 with a 120 checkout. It gave Tony a 30.67 average for the
last three legs and a game average of 25.98 overall (division’s best) to
Colin’s 24.00 in defeat. The final game
saw Kev Lenton record his first win in two months as he beat a snatching
Chris Royal. Kev’s 4-1 win was welcome relief for him as he climbed up the
table and out of the bottom two. Lincs Racing
Championship
Darren Butler gained an impressive win over fellow title
challenger Mick Vinters this week. He recorded a 22.10 average (division’s
best) and also hit a 111 checkout on his way to an emphatic 3-0 win. The
result keeps Darren at the top while Mick drops out of the top four for the
first time in ages. The new challenge may come from Pete Reid. He moved in
to second spot after a he hit a 20.58 average in a 3-0 win over another
player who was looking to force his way into contention, Kev Dickinson. Kev
had been on a good run of his own until this performance. Dan Martin continues to keep the pressure on at the top.
Another double was registered this week as he beat Pete Johnson and Rob Scrupps
both 3-0 to stay third. It was a familiar score on the night as Nathan
‘Nobby’ Richardson gave himself a chance of avoiding the drop after a 3-0 win
boosted his chances against lowly Ben Carr who is now adrift at the foot and
looking like an odds-on shot to get relegated. Who will join him is not as clear, although Rob Scrupps
and Pete Johnson will have to improve! Rob returned and suffered yet another
3-0 defeat, this time against Rob Birtwhistle who had been unable to buy a
win recently. The final game was the only one to go the distance as
Mick Flynn and Mick Parker were evenly matched until a 180 gave the former a
2-1 lead. Parker hit back by scoring 140 and 137 to draw level but he went
down in the decider.
The bottom two clashed this week in a titanic struggle
that took an age to find a winner. But with Susan Games and Tina Willicombe
at the oche, at least the entertainment factor was there! In fact these two
would probably miss hooking a duck! They also missed out on the record for
the most darts in a game thus far. This was a surprise because they were
going for it! After one leg taking 215 darts, things could only get better.
And by the time Susan crossed the winning line with a 2-1 win they had failed
in their record attempt falling some 80 darts short of the record of 519
currently held by Susan anyway. It turned out to be a fair night for Susan, however, as
she followed up by losing game two 2-1 to Suzie Watson. But the points
amassed with her new darts did at least get her off the bottom. This result
sent Tina crashing back to the foot of the table and she once again became
the strongest player. So it was no surprise when she also lost game two this
time 3-0 to Scott Lea. At the other end of the table, Sharon Butler put in
another good performance this week as she beat high-flying Keith Dack. Sharon
was 2-0 up before Keith gained a consolation leg. However, Keith bounced
straight back with a 3-0 win over Carla Slade. The latter had a tough night
as game two saw her face pole-sitter Dennis Turner. And the long time leader
hit a 180 and a 18.32 average (division’s best) as he raced to a 3-0 win,
strengthening his position at the top. The final game saw James Harmer conclude with a win over
Janine Timms, this coming after something of a scare! Janine belied her
position by hitting a 99 checkout (best in division) to draw level at 1-1
only for James to scrape a 2-1 win in the end to maintain his third spot. |
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