Patrick Chaplin - Darts Historian

Essex vs Cambridgeshire

BRITISH INTER COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

PREMIER DIVISION

ESSEX vs. CAMBRIDGESHIRE

Gary Phipps 'A' Team MoM vs Cambridge Viv Dundon 'A' Team LoM vs Cambridge Terry Rose 'B' Team MoM vs Cambridge Jenny Powell 'B' Team LoM vs Cambridge

DR. DARTS VISITS THE ESSEX HQ

I was thrilled recently to be invited by Barry Gilbey, Chairman of Essex County, to the Essex v Cambridgeshire match on Sunday 27^th April at the Chelmsford Social Club to present the Lady and Man of the Match Awards.

Barry and his Essex colleagues made my wife Maureen and me very welcome and we witnessed a feast of excellent darts. Lagging behind 10-8 after the B team matches on the Saturday, Essex Men’s A rushed into a 6-0 lead only to be caught in the very last moment by the Cambridgeshire lads to level the match 18-18. (For Barry’s full report of the match click here).

It was also a great opportunity to meet Essex Ladies Captain Julie Vickers. I used to work with Julie and hadn’t seen or heard from her for ages. (Julie, you looked great.) I also – at last – met the Cambridgeshire Chairman Peter Melton for the first time. Peter and I had exchanged e-mails about a number of darts issues over the years but had never actually met. It was good to put that right last Sunday. It was also great to briefly meet Viv Dundon on stage and congratulate her on her recent international success.

At the end of the afternoon, I was called up on stage for the presentations and received a nice round of applause from the crowd. Superb averages were recorded by all those who won awards, and many who didn’t. The photos (which are reproduced courtesy of Kevin Stammers) show yours truly with the Lady of the Match and Man of the Match from both the Essex Ladies and Men’s A and B teams.

I had to admit to Barry that I had not been to an Essex County since before the venue moved from Canvey Island to the county town. I was embarrassed when Barry told me exactly how long ago that was! However, I have promised the Essex Chairman that I will become a more regular visitor next season.

Maureen and I left the venue having known we had been at a great darts match. This was darts at its very best and, in my humble opinion based on the matches I witnessed on Sunday afternoon, honours shared was a fair result.

Patrick Chaplin

Match Report

Essex welcomed Cambridgeshire for their final league match of the season writes Barry Gilbey. At the start of the weekend there appeared little at stake as the visitors just needed to pick up some reasonable points to avoid relegation, whilst their Ladies ‘A’ team required a big win to challenge for the Ladies league title and Essex Mens ‘A’ team needed a similarly large win to win their league.

The Ladies ‘B’ match produced an even contest with Clacton’s Sheila Busby, Braintree’s Jenny Powell and Hockley’s Jan Corn winning for Essex in the three-all draw. The Mens ‘B’ match saw Cambridgeshire race into a 6-3 lead with Chelmsford’s Andy Kateley (70.68) Hockley’s Jimmy Allison (72.72) and Cressing’s Tim Franklin the Essex winners. However Ashley Evans (72.72) (Springfield) and Thameside’s Terry Rose (75.15) ensured the match went down to the final set where the visitors capped off a hard earned win as Cressing’s Stuart Mortimer (75.87) found Simon Cassidy just too hot to handle.

Sunday started with Essex taking the first Ladies ‘A’ set as Sue Waterman (Colchester) (69.36) overcame Fiona Coker 3-0. However, it was not until the final set that Essex managed another win as England International Viv Dundon (72.30) produced another lady of the match performance and in doing so denied Cambridgeshire the Ladies ‘A’ title by just one point.

The Men’s ‘A’ match started in dramatic fashion as Essex stormed into an unlikely 6-0 lead. Colchester’s James Noone (84.48) started the ball rolling against former England International Dennis Harbour (82.86) with a 3-2 win. Further wins for Thameside’s Ben Adams (74.37), Harwich’s maximum hitting Scott Lawrie (73.01) and the Hockley trio of Mark Landers (81.54), John McFall (73.86) and Gary Phipps (86.37), who hit a maximum and 116 checkout, gave Essex the opportunity to gain the massive win required to win the title.

However, Cambridgeshire dug deep and only the Thameside pair of Alan Collins (73.34) and Phil Cox (66.36) could manage further wins giving Essex an 8-4 win to leave the overall match score all square at 18 sets apiece and the Essex Men’s ‘A’ team a tantalising two points shy of the league title.