Chelmsford 5 - 5 Shotley Club A

Picture courtesy of countydarts.com

Our recent losing run came to an end on Tuesday night with a draw to halt the slide. We started very slowly, losing the Team game and the first Doubles game, but by the end of the three Doubles games we had managed to pull level at 2-2. 

Shotley A were't quite as strong as the previous week and there were opportunities for either team in most of the matches. As always it was the doubles which were crucial, and this week we were much more accurate. The six Singles games were equally shared, which was probably the correct outcome.

Kris hit two of the winning doubles. Peter also scored two of them and he gets the Man Of The Match for hitting numerous ton-plus shots throughout the night, especially in his Singles game where they bought him a few attempts at finishing before finally taking out a small finish.

Shotley Club 7 - 3 Chelmsford

Practice darts before the game

Our squad was extremely depleted on Tuesday night and there was no element of selection for the captain to make. However we played quite well and could easily have scored more points, as evidenced with our win in the opening 1001X Team Game. This is always a hard point to win if anyone in the team is having an off-night, but it was a comfortable point for us, with Ian finishing on 60.

At the end of the three Doubles games we were drawing 2-2 with Glen taking out the dreaded D1 partnering Lena, but we really fell down in the remaining Singles games. I finished on D19 to take a brief 2-3 lead, but Shotley took all of the remaining Singles points to give them a convincing 7-3 win.

I'm delighted to award Man Of The Match to Glen this week. Everyone hates D1 so to take it out in his first darts game for our team was a real lift.

Chelmsford 3 - 7 Coach and Horses

A disappointing night's darts for us on Tuesday. The scoring was OK, even very good in certain parts of the games, but our finishing deserted us time and time again. Typical of this was the opening team game of 1001X where we ploughed ahead to get down to the finish with throws to spare, but we faltered and CaH crossed the line with their good finishing.

The three Doubles games were quite good for us however, and we took a 2-1 lead with finishes from Kris (on 24) and Alan (on 20). These were to be our last points gained until Peter won his Singles point in the penultimate game of the evening with a 58 finish.

CaH's finishing was worthy of the points though, and no complaints from us because we all know just how important it is to close games when the chances arise.

Coach and Horses 6 - 4 Chelmsford

When The Commercial pub was demolished last year their darts team moved 30 yards up the road to The Coach and Horses. They've re-branded the team with some great team T-Shirts, each carrying the individual's nick name on the back and a Fender Stratocaster / pub name design on the front. I was really tempted to buy one at the bar but didn't have the money for an impulse clothes purchase on the night!

Although we're a pair of well matched teams we made it really hard for ourselves by losing the opening Team game after leading throughout. Then, two Doubles losses saw us 3-0 down which was always going to be difficult to overcome. It seemed we were just wandering towards defeat without really playing any worse than our opponents.

However, three wins in the Singles games saw us back on track, and we were really close to drawing the match but for a narrow defeat in the last Singles Game of the night. Kris takes this week's Man Of The Match for his wining check-outs in his Doubles and Singles matches, but there were no true highlights to report. Perhaps Joe from their team plus Peter and  Kris from ours were the most consistent throughout the games.

I have three of our games to report upon. Firstly, I missed the return leg against Chopwell B on 30/10/2012 due to a commitment, but Kris Cameron sent me an emailed report.

Apparently we were down to the bone squad wise. Chopwell didn't play as well as the previous week, but were still out scoring us. Kris hit D8 for us in the team game which was close all the way down. The Doubles games weren't so close but poor finishing from Chopwell was letting us get to finishes,  which we missed. Alan and Kris took points from the singles. Alan faced young Scot who was on a finish after 9 darts but again poor finishing allowed Alan to nick the game with D4. Kris had a close run game with Davey Reed which he also nicked with D2. The final score was Chelsmford 3 - 7 Chopwell B.

We then played Leadgate Cricket Club on 6/11/2012 and it was a bit of a low point in our season. We were't that bad and even took the opening point of the evening when Mickey finished on 32, but LCC always seemed to have enough to take the points, and Ian's 20 finish in the second Singles game was to be our last contribution to the score card. The final score was Leadgate CC 8 - 2 Chelmsford.

To bring us bang up to date we played the return leg against Leadgate Cricket Club last night, and thankfully we were able to get a bit of pride back. To be honest they seemed to drop the pace from last Tuesday, but we tightened up a bit too to bring the games more into our favour. Ian again finished the Team game and we also took two of the three Doubles points to put us in an early 3-1 lead. Last week had already been bettered! However, they returned to form in the Singles games, and only Kris and Peter were able to win their Singles games. The final score was Chelmsford 5 - 5 Leadgate Cricket Club.

Chopwell B 7 - 3 Chelmsford

Newcastle Quayside

Apologies for the lack of an update recently.

Our recent good form came to a halt up at Chopwell B Team on 23/11/2012. We were outscored in most of the games, and when we did get down to the doubles we found we only had one shot at it or the game was lost. A bad result for us, but the most we could get on the night, and we needed late Singles points from Kris and Peter to prevent it from being a total disaster.

I try to be as fair as possible with my reviews, and this was a dominant performance by Chopwell B, and they will really well in the league this season - it was their game. We didn't hit our odd chances at doubles in the main, and the score could've been worse but for the two late Singles points, so no complaints.

I had to miss the return leg on Tuesday, but Kris has sent me some info, and it follows shortly.

Chelmsford 8 - 2 Cricketers

"Special Stuff" to report!

Although we managed the same score against The Cricketers as in the Away leg last week it was a very different game. The Cricketers were scoring well and with more consistency than previously, but two of our players were making all the difference for us, getting 5 of the 8 points with some great highlights to report.

Alan hit a 180 plus winning finishes in his Singles and Doubles games. Man Of The Match for us though was Peter, also hitting a 180 but also hitting the three winning finishes in Team and Doubles games, plus a 17 darter in his Singles game. He becomes the first player since I've been doing the Brownie Points thing to get 5 of them in a single game. This takes him to joint top of the Brownie Points table with Kris, despite having to miss a third of our games due to work.

The Cricketers played a steady game and would normally have returned more points for their efforts, but Peter and Alan just swung it for us on the night.

Cricketers 2 - 8 Chelmsford

We hit a very steady pace against The Cricketers on Tuesday night, taking the lead in the Team Game as Lena hit the D12 on the first dart to win the Team game and we continued to play well in the Double games to take a 0-4 lead. Nothing spectacular, just steady throwing and not spoiling the finishes.

The Cricketers were certainly having their moments, but "consistency" was wining the points, and The Cricketers were unlucky to find their best performances being matched against our best games too. For example Angela from their team would have won plenty of games with her scoring had it not been for Kris' 114 finish in their Singles game

I was really pleased to hit a 180 in my Doubles game with Kris, but Man Of The Match goes to him. Kris was one of three players to hit two winning doubles, but his 114 checkout was our best of the season so far.

Team Cup : Chelmsford 4 - 2 Leadgate Cricketers

We played in the first round of the Team Cup competition on Tuesday. We started really well with a good win in the first of the three 1001 Double Start, Double Finish team games. The games in this competition alternate between these darts games and Singles Dominoes games, with the points from each being of equal importance.

By winning the first dominoes game we took a 2-0 lead, but from that point our darts weren't as good as those of Leadgate Cricket Club. We had trouble getting the all important starting double, but even after staring our scores weren't as high as theirs.

We lost the next two darts games, but thankfully our dominoes players came to the rescue, wining all three of their games. Despite losing the darts 1-2 the 3-0 score in the dominoes gave us a 4-2 overall victory.

Chelmsford 7 - 3 The Turf

Tennis balls, food, and drink - or "the holy trinity" as Bracken calls them.

Both teams played a bit below par compared to last week, but I thought we just did enough to keep our noses in front, and we made a solid start by going into a 4-0 lead. We really needed this, as the six Singles points were shared.

 There were still a good number of high shots, but way too many "Less Than 40" shots from many of us. Tommy from The Turf seemed to be the only player who took it forward from last week's game and he won a Singles point for his efforts.

It was a quiet night up at The Chelmsford with many of the regulars staying at home while we endured a month's worth of rain in a single day - and not for the first time this year either! Still, a good turn out in The Bar for the darts.

I'll hold back on a Man Of The Match for this week as the good performances within our team were fairly well spread.

The Turf - 4 - 6 Chelmsford

We played The Turf on Tuesday night, using their other board in the main Bar as opposed to the one in side bar which we used to use. There were a few changes in their team from previous seasons and they seem stronger for it. A high number of ton plus shots were being thrown by both teams, and the game was very closely run. We certainly improved from the opening two games of the season, and I hope we can maintain this.

We won the opening team game, but The Turf pulled it back by the end of the Doubles game and the scores were tied at 2-2. They won the first Singles game to take a 3-2 lead, but we then had a good showing in the remaining Singles games, winning three in a row at one point.

Quite a lot of players from both teams played really well, but I'll give Alan the Man Of The Match for his 17 darter in the final game of the night, finishing on 52. Roger would have got it but one of his two wining doubles was a D1 Marathon - the only long game of the evening!

Chelmsford 1 - 9 Blackhill Club

Bracken : Still bored with darts!

Blackhill Club were never forced to play their A game on Tuesday, and we made the cardinal sin of missing the small number of shots at doubles that came our way. We seemed to be heading to the dreaded "whitewash" until Michael won the penultimate point of the night in his Singles game. That gets him the Man Of The Match for us because it has saved me having to write about anoter absolute drubbing on here!

Alan gets a Brownie Point for his "Baby Ton Eighty" shot of 177 to leave him 42. That leaves an inviting target of either Single 10 or the adjacent Single 6 on the next throw, but it wasn't to be despite this strong finish to his game.

Davey Gill seemed to be getting some consistently high scores for them, with his team mates always seeming to get far more of the ton plus shots. For us though it just seemed to be getting the odd good shot here and there, and we didn't score well enough to win points.

Two very enjoyable games against the Blackhill Club crew as always though. If we can tighten up on the end game we should be OK, and we have a larger squad of players than last season.

Blackhill Club 7 - 3 Chelmsford

The new season is underway and we played our first game up at Blackhill Club on Tuesday night. After our 10-0 thrashing in the corresponding fixture in 2010 (a night where we actually played a decent game) I was really hopeful for some early points to remove the possibility of another whitewash.

Early points indeed appeared for us. Despite losing the opening Team Game we took a 1-2 lead with two Doubles wins, and then a 2-3 lead after the first Singles game. Sadly that was our last contribution to the score and Blackhill steamed away to a 7-3 victory by winning the last five consecutive Singles games.

Kris was our Man Of The Match, with winning doubles in the Doubles and Singles, with Peter getting our only other point in the Doubles. Still, a big improvement on the 2010 result!

Friendly : Chelmsford 7 - 3 Duke

Peter (right) collects his Player Of The Season Trophy 2011/12

The Duke of Wellington brought a good crew with them on Tuesday night, filling The Bar and making for a good atmosphere on a pre season evening.

The scoring was quite erratic from both sides, with their 180 in a Singles game needing to share the chalk board with some sub 20 shots. However, we really applied ourselves on the finishes, and apart from a Double 1 marathon in one of the Singles games we finished well. Both teams will have to "up" the scoring to score points next season though.

Thanks to Lena and Peter for arranging these two Friendly games. They've been very enjoyable games and they've maintained the interest prior to the new season (news of the first fixture to follow when verified).

Friendly - Duke 4 - 5 Chelmsford

Many thanks to Ellen and Angela for providing the transport last night - it was much appreciated.

I thought we did really well last night. We were without two of our best players and The Duke Of Wellington players were frequently finding the T20 in the pre-match practice throws. Thankfully our finishing in the games was fairly good and we managed to nab a few early points to settle us.

They have a very well illuminated Blade 4 board and the throw is excellent. It is the first time I've been in The Duke Of Wellington and it has a very welcoming feel to it.

We lost the dominoes 2-1, with our point coming from Ellen. There will be a return match next Tuesday night at the Chelmsford and I assume we will play the same format of 1 x Team, 2 x Trebles, and 6 x Singles games, which is slightly different from our League's format.

Pre Season 2012 / 13

We've all enjoyed the incredible Olympics, I'm back from Longleat Center Parcs (pics from the holiday will hopefully provide a break from my lamentable "dart board" shots), and my attention is now turning to the 2012 / 13 darts season.

Lena and Peter have arranged a friendly fixture on Tuesday 14th August away at The Duke, and we are meeting at the usual time in The Chelmsford prior to travel.

I've been taking a break from my usual weekly practice to enjoy the pre season break, but I'l be cranking it up prior to the start of the season. Most efforts are going into reducing head movement and basically getting consistent shots into the board rather than the odd ton to rescue poor throws.

Peter will be presented with his well deserved Player Of The Season 2011/12 trophy at the start of this season, probably at the first Home game depending on how quickly it arrives in the post!

Chopwell Central 8 - 2 Chelmsford

We had a very disappointing points return from the efforts we put into our last game of the season at Chopwell Central on Tuesday night. We played a better game than the previous week, but Chopwell always seemed to edge us out of the games with their finishing. When we were in the lead they'd hit a big finish. When they were in the lead they allowed us to get close before finishing the game themselves.


Kris and I won a doubles point and our Man Of The Match Michael struck a great 64 finish, taking it out well in his own way. We can't feel too disappointed with this performance, which would have seen us winning against several other teams - it's just a pity it looks like a pasting.


We have a tied Player Of The Season this year with both Peter and Alan tied on 40 Brownie Points each. No one else even made it to the 30 mark, so it shows how well they have played.  I will tie break it with "total 180's scored" and if needs be "4 point games". I don't know who that favours, but I'll do my research and announce the result soon!

Chelmsford 3 - 7 Chopwell Central

I know the Wheatsheaf will be keeping an eye on our last two games of the season against Chopwell Central as they will have a bearing on the title. They won't like to see us losing, but it could have been far worse for us last night as we found ourselves 0-5 down and struggling to take the minimal chances that came our way. We usually fell well behind in the scoring but were then unable to take advantage of Copwell taking several attempts at the finishes.


We rescued three points from this match in the Singles games though. Welcome wins for Alan, Kris, and Willie game us at least some return for our efforts.


The dominoes were mixed for us, with a 3-2 win in the Singles games, but defeat in the Doubles game.


It is the last game of the season next week, but I know Kris has some more of his mini competitions to run during the close season so we'll be keeping the Tuesday habit.

Chelmsford 6 - 4 Wheatsheaf

We played a good game and took our chances well against a Wheatsheaf team who were not playing as strongly as the previous week.


After the Team and three Double games we were drawing at 2-2, but from that point we had a great showing in the six Singles games, with just two defeats in them.


Peter was our Man Of The Match. He's had to miss a third of this season's matches but made an impact with high scoring and winning finishes in his Doubles and Singles games.

Wheatsheaf 7 - 3 Chelsmford

Firstly, we received the very sad news that our ex Landlord Lyndon died on Friday, aged 62. I believe the funeral is on Friday 1st June but I don't have any further details yet.

On Tuesday we played league leaders The Wheatsheaf up at Leadgate. Although they were outscoring us in many of the games and building large leads we managed to hang in and get down to the doubles. At around the mid point we were just 3-2 down, but the remaining 5 Singles games proved tough for us and we had to settle for just the 3 points on the night.

We'l really have to concentrate hard in our final three games of the season because we have the return leg against this strong Wheatsheaf side followed by equally tough games against Chopwell Central. Its a good job we picked up so many points in the last two months.

Chelmsford 7 - 3 Derwentside A Team

We have really put some points on the board in the last few games and we repeated a 4 point margin win against Derwentside A Team in our return game on Tuesday night. We took a 3-0 lead with Peter's 32 finish in the Team game, followed by a couple of wins in the Doubles games.


We weren't scoring particularly highly, but our finishing was decent, and we took at least two points in games where we were trailing. Peter scored another 180 to add to his tally, but I'll have to Man Of The Match to Michael for his important 104 finish in the final game of the night.


I think it is Dominoes Singles cup on Tuesday coming, and we'll then start out on the last 4 games of the season.

Derwentside 3 - 7 Chelmsford

A good start for us saw us forge a win against The Derwentside last night. We took a 0-4 lead by winning the opening team game and all three of the Doubles games. From that point the Singles games were evenly shared, so the importance of the strong start was evident.


We had the use of their concert room upstairs which I think worked better than playing in the downstairs side bar. Great hospitality as always and a choice of two cask conditioned ales including their excellent "Blonde".


Peter was our Man Of The Match with three winning doubles, including a well taken 66 finish in his Singles game which (I think) was  T10, S18, D9. Four Brownie Points to him then, and at this stage in the season it seems only Peter himself and Alan can win this blog's Player Of The Season trophy. There are just two points between them, and they're 10 points clear of the chasing pack.


We look forward to seeing The Derwentside team back at The Chelmsford for the return game - it'll be close.

Chelmsford 9 - 1 Jolly Drovers

We continued our recent run if good results on Tuesday night, but it was always going to be a struggle for the Jollies ; they were a man down on the night which means they had to forfeit a Singles point, be heavily disadvantaged in one of the Doubles games, plus they missed one throw in six during the opening 1001x Team game.

We won the Team game by a large margin, but the score went to 2-1 when they won a Doubles game and it may have been a different result if they had their full compliment. From that point in the game they were unlucky to lose all of the six Singles games, as several of games had close finishes. All of our finishes were small shots at D16 etc.

Alan P was yet again our Man Of The Match, hitting three of our winning doubles, but an extra Brownie Point goes to Peter for the 180 in his Singles game.

Jolly Drovers 2 - 8 Chelmsford

The dartboard pictures are back!

The game started off far closer than the final score implies. We trailed throughout the opening team game and considered ourselves lucky when Kris sank the D4 to pinch the point. The Doubles games also were close affairs, as The Jollies brought it back to 2-2.

The six Singles games were a different matter though. We had started to score well and settle on their board, and although most of our finishes on the night were shots at low doubles we played a very strong game and won all 6 of the Singles points.

I'll give Kris Man Of The Match for his important finish on the opening game in which we struggled as well as a great 74 finish in a game against their strongest payer on the night (Paul). Forgive me for a quick humble mention to my 180 followed by a 135 too!

We now have two weeks away from the League. The Chelmsford will be the neutral host of the Team Cup competition semi final on 3rd April and there will be a Race Night at Chopwell Central on 10th April.

Chelmsford 9 - 1 Cricketers

Although we didn't play particularly well last night we were allowed to scoop another 9 points against The Cricketers who did not build their scoring as well as they did two weeks ago in the Away leg.

We started well and got down to the double fairly quickly in the opening Team game, with Peter finishing it on D4. By the time the Doubles games were played we had a 3-1 lead, but after their good scoring in the earlier game I thought they'd be good for a few Singles points.

Although we won all of the Singles games they were a really mixed affair and several times we had to rely on The Cricketers missing their doubles and having some bad luck. Two points from the two games for them really isn't a fair reflection on their efforts, but as always it is the finishes that count.

Peter was the Man Of The Match, getting three of our winning doubles.

Singles Cup Night

What a great night for our 4 team members who made it through to the last 16 of the Darts Singles Cup. The games were played at The Derwentside last night and many of our team went up to support them.

Peter was first up for us, but lost 2-1 to Alan W from Coach & Horses. Alan played a very steady game with good scoring. He rarely strayed from the 20 bed and was impressive all night.

We were guaranteed a success though as Roger and Alan were drawn against eachother. Roger edged it 2-1 to progress. Kris too made it into the next round with a 2-0 victory over NC.

To top off a great night for us Roger booked his place on Finals Night with 2-0 victory over Thomas, and Kris called upon his AAA game to beat Steve Dawson 2-0 and join Roger in the last 4 on Finals Night.

Cricketers 1 - 9 Chelmsford

We picked up some useful points on Tuesday night after a long string of 6-4 results which have seen us slip down to 10th in the League Table. We played a reasonable game but The Cricketers were let down by some poor finishing and would have scored two more points at the very least if they had finished off the games they were doing well in.

Our finishing was better than in previous weeks with a 76 from Peter, 55 from Alan, and a 68 from Roger being the best three.

Alan P was again the clear Man Of The Match for us, hitting three winning doubles in his Team, Doubles, and Singles games.

Chelmsford 6 - 4 Stanley Masons

Yet another 6-4 result to report from Tuesday night, and again it was in our favour. We were scoring well and getting down to the doubles first, but several times we faltered on the finishes.

We took the lead on the opening Team game and won two of the three Doubles games, but from this point the Singles games were shared and we had to just take a narrow victory on a night where better finishing would have seen far more points for us

Alan P was again the Man Of The Match for us, hitting half of the winning doubles for us.

Doubles Cup Night

It was the Doubles Cup on Tuesday. One wining team of Doubles partners went through from each of the four venues to Finals Night.

None of our players from The Chelmsford made it through, but myself and Roger enjoyed our game up at Shotley Club, losing 2-1 to Peter and his partner. Whittling the eight Doubles teams down to one worked well on the night with not too much waiting around to play the games.

Stanley Masons 4 - 6 Chelmsford

Derwent Walk, Winter 2011 / 12

For the third game in a row the result was 6-4, but this time it was in our favour. There were some high scores being hit, but the finishing was generally poor. The one exception was a D16, D16 finish on 64 for Stanley Masons in the Singles Games.

Alan P hit a 180 for us in the opening Team game, but it was not enough to prevent us losing this leg as they finally hit a D1 after several attempts. We won all three of the Doubles games and a good start in the Singles games saw us take a 2-5 lead. Stanley Masons hit a 180 of their own in a strong finish to the Singles games, and the 4-6 result was a fair one.

We played in a small room up at The Masons. The board's lighting was a little too dim, and I feel they could improve it by moving the existing spot lights to the beam which is nearer the board. The board is a Unicorn Eclipse Pro which sounded great as the darts went in.

Alan P was a clear Man Of The Match for us, finding the T20 bed with great regularity in all three of his games and he was averaging over 100 at several points in the evening. This is one of those rare occasions where 4 brownie points are awarded to a single player (the MoTM award, the 180 in the Team Game, a winning Doubles finish, and a winning Singles finish).

Chelmsford 4 - 6 Leadgate Cricket Club

It was a really good night of darts in The Chelmsford last night. There was a high standard of play from both teams and there were some bid scores being hit.

We got off to a great start by taking a 2-0 lead in the Team and first Doubles game, but from that point LCC really cranked up the pressure. They won the next five conecutive games to make it 2-5 before Peter and Chris had fine Singles wins to bring it back to 4-5. We lost the final Singles game however, and the final result was a 6-4 defeat for us as it was in the Away leg a couple of weeks ago.

It was a very enjoyable night of darts though. I won't award a Man Of The Match this week, but those 4 points were so hard fought for I'll award double Brownie Points to all those who hit winning doubles (KC, MB, PMc, and CM).

Doubles Dominos Cup 2012

It was the League's Dominoes Doubles Cup at The Jolly Drovers last night. The Chelmsford were well represented there but sadly none of us made it through to Finals Night. Myself and Angela made it through to the 3rd Round before being narrowly beaten 5-3 by Ian and Shaz.

I must admit I'm not always fully motivated in the Dominos cup games but last night was great, and I could't have tried any harder.

Its back to the darts next week for the Return leg against Leadgate CC.

Leadgate Cricket Club 6 - 4 Chelmsford

Photo by Deborah McIntyre

We were at full strength minus just one player for the first time in a good few weeks and I was expecting a better performance from us on Tuesday. Kris was the only one who played at all well in the opening Team Game (one brownie point awarded for showing the way) and we lost the game disappointingly. There was a damaging string of five scores which were all under 30, and it is really difficult to recover from such low scoring.

I prefer the Cricket Club's new oche of a line on the carpet rather than the aluminium bar they used to have, but we were finding it hard to put some decent scores together. It seemed the harder we tried the more T1 and T5's we were getting. There was no shortage of effort though.

We only picked up 2 of the 6 Singles points, and Roger finished his 32 really well to get us the last point of the evening and keep the scoreline reasonable.

Chelmsford 5 - 5 Moorcock B

We lost the opening team game in an appalling way on Tuesday - leading by 300 points we each took two turns at messing up the finish while Moorcock B quietly got down to the finish and hit it. Worse was to follow as we found ourselves 1-3 down after the Doubles games despite playing a decent game.

Any of the Moorcock players who weren't scoring too highly were making up for it by hitting the doubles. The Singles games were better for us though, and we made up a bit of ground by winning 4 of the 6 to at least get the draw.

Our Man Of The Match was Alan P. He hit a 180 in his Singles game which he followed with an 80+ shot to consolidate it. Typical of much of our finishing he still allowed a big lead to be lost due to hesitance on the finishing, but thankfully he finally got the finish to make it 5-4 in the penultimate game.

Moorcock B Team 7 - 3 Chelmsford

Open fire in The Chelmsford Bar

We were without 4 of our regular players on Tuesday night, but still put up a decent show. The score may not look too good but in every one of the 10 legs we were down to a good double (i.e. D16 etc, not D1!) and just a little more accuracy on the doubles would have seen us draw at the very least.

Michael and Alan both won their Singles games, and I'll award Alan the Man Of The Match for his 70 finish in the Singles as well as a winning performance with me in the Doubles game. They are our three points on the night, but we've played far worse than this and won in the past - it can be a strange game.

Tuesday was a very windy evening up there in Waskerley and many seemed to have chosen to stay at home, with only the 12 participants in the Bar. That said, Helen put on a great buffet and the roaring open fire was so hot you had to keep well out of its way.