Leadgate C.C. 7 - 3 Chelmsford

Practice darts

We made one of the worst starts I can remember on Tuesday night at the Leadgate Cricket Club, going 5-0 down. We were scoring reasonably well (in patches), but we just didn't take out our Doubles, and I think most of the games went down to both sides looking at low finishes so the chances were there.

Thankfully Peter, Alan, and Kris won their Singles game to stop it from being a total mare, and Peter takes this week's MOTM for putting a good string of steady scores together and getting that all important first point of the night.

There were some good all round performances from LCC's Jan, Roly, and Macca. Also, the person who seemed to be covering for Taff chipped in very well.

The Shirt from Rags

I ordered a darts shirt from Rags on 10th October and just 11 days later it arrived all the way from the USA.

It's a good quality cotton polo shirt with nothing on the front but this brilliant design on the back. The sizing seems to be the same as the UK, with the XL version pictured giving just that little bit of freedom for the throwing arm.

Check out the great designs here and you can expect slick and efficient service from the Cafepress people who handle the orders.

Chelmsford 5 - 5 Leadgate Cricket Club

Pictured : A bounce-out rests on the other darts

For the second week running we drew 5-5 in an evenly matched game, though the standard was a little lower than last week's effort against The Wheatsheaf. We almost took it in turns to win points with LCC winning the opening game, and us getting the final Singles point of the night to avoid defeat.

Their veteran player Alan had a quiet night by his standards, but still checked out a precise 92 finish in his Doubles game (T20, marker dart, D16). Good finishing from Peter and Roger in their Doubles game too with Roger scoring 121 to leave 150, Peter reducing this to a 32 finish, and Roger taking out the double. It was a little against the flow of their match, but a very strong final three throws nonetheless.

No MOTM award this week, as I felt we were all of a similar standard with no-one really leading the way.

Chelmsford 5 - 5 Wheatsheaf

We played a very tight and competitive match against The Wheatsheaf on Tuesday night. The standard was higher than the Away leg a couple of weeks ago and I think this would've been a decent game to watch.

Good performances from players of both teams, and I thought we stood up to the challenge well.

Man of The Match goes to Peter M for a fantastic showing against Sean in a game that was broadcast quality. After trading 100+ shots Peter finished on 66 with 2 darts in his hand with S16, Bull.

It was good to see Jay Coulson selected for The Wheatsheaf and he played a strong game all night. We were both disappointed not to be drawn in our Singles games against each other. Its just a friendly rivalry that wanders into football as well :o)

A reasonable match to report on for the first time in a few weeks, and a fair result for both teams' efforts.

Team Cup Competition 2009 / 10

Popcorn on the third dart

We were knocked out of the Team Cup Competition in the 1st round last night with a scoreline of Chelmsford 2 - 4 Chopwell Central.

It was a disappointment to take a 2-0 lead and then lose all of the subsequent legs. In this competition the games swing between 1001 DSDF Team darts games and Doubles dominoes games, with both points being of equal importance.

It's sad to exit this so early because it is a competition I always think we stand a fair chance of doing well in.

No one will admit it but there seems to be a nervous ripple when the darts players realise they need a double to start. In two of the darts legs I noticed that the team that took longer to get off managed to turn it around and win the leg. I suppose 1001 allows you some time to make up a deficit.

We used to play League games with a double start (before my time), but I gather it wasn't popular. I'm undecided either way - it certainly adds a bit of tension from the very start.

Wheatsheaf 7 - 3 Chelmsford

Practice darts : A "dog's dinner" on D20

I think this was a disappointing game for both teams. The scoring wasn't good, but at least the finishing was reasonable. With The Wheatsheaf having an off-night I was hopeful we'd get some points on the board, but 3 was the best we could manage.

Kris got us off to a good start by finishing in the opening team game but things went badly for us in the Doubles games and we found ourselves 3-1 down.

I was again on the lucky side of a robbery in my Singles match as my opponent had appallingly bad luck on his finishing doubles. Really - I could hardly bare to watch as he bashed the wires so many times. As in my Doubles game with Kris at Blackhill I just kept on going to avoid embarassment and somehow managed to sneak it. You just can't learn from games like this.

The other games seemed reasonably close, but our finishing was a little off and I think Wheatsheaf will have been relieved to get those crucial doubles. We should have capitalised but we just couldn't manage it.

Roger gets the MOTM this week for an important Singles win to prevent an even heavier defeat towards the end of the evening when we were trailing badly.

Chelmsford 7 - 3 Coach & Horses

Getting the horizontal accuracy right

Neither team played particularly well last night, and many of us from both teams found it difficult to get some steady score building. In a low scoring opening Team Game Kris sunk the winning 32 with his first dart, and we then won the next two Doubles games to build a 3-0 lead. This good start was key to getting the win because the points swung evenly from this point.

Man Of The Match this week is not an easy choice, but I think Peter should have it for playing the smoothest game with some good scoring while many of us struggled for consistency.

The C&H Landlord (Darren) was playing for them last night and he is quite a character. He's not been in the job up there for very long and I really hope he makes a success of it.